Helsinki Biennial contemporary art event 2021, Finland

One Friday evening we decided to go adventuring to Helsinki Biennial international contemporary art event at Vallisaari with my flatmate and another friend. We took off on a ferry that left from Kauppatori at 3 pm and had about 2,5 hours left before the indoor exhibitions closed. We had not realized that it was way too short of a time to enjoy Biennial to the fullest - we probably would've realized it, if we had read the Biennial web pages a little more thoroughly.

What is Helsinki Biennial?

Helsinki Biennial is a free-of-charge (the only fee is for the ferry to get there) international art event organized by HAM (Helsinki Art Museum) in Helsinki from 12th of June until 26th of September. 41 different artist from around the world were invited to present their artwork at Vallisaari. This is the first time the event was organized but to my understanding it is meant to be a yearly attraction with changing artists.

I loved the idea and buzz around Biennial but I didn't fully understand it since once again I didn't read much before stepping on the ferry and realizing that 2,5 hours is way too little time to see everything especially now that there are COVID-19 restrictions on the indoor exhibition halls. After making this mistake myself, I would suggest you make a full day trip to Vallisaari and start in the morning and leave at 6 pm or later. Even then, you might not have time to fully enjoy all the exhibitions, so research ahead to see what are the ones you really want to experience.

Tips:

• Use the Helsinki Biennial mobile guide to read more about the exhibitions on the island and find the ones you really want to see

• There is a café at the beginning of the route and a few different restaurants at the end of the tour as well as a terrace bar in the middle. Beware - you will be hungry after taking your time on the route!

• 100 % enjoy a home-made ice cream from Jäätelökahvila paja at the end. SO delicious.

• Below (and one already at the beginning of the post) I have compiled a few pictures of the exhibitions that were most memorable for me with the exhibition number (from the ones we had time to see... there were many that unfortunately we didn't get to experience because of our short amount of time to spend on the island)

There were so many more art pieces that caught my attention from outdoor soundscape worlds, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller - FOREST (for a thousand years...) to short animated movies, Hayoun Kwon - 489 vuotta, but you should just take a day trip and experience them yourself!