Under the aegis of Ms Pirkko Siitari, who was director of Kiasma until spring 2015, the museum’s exhibition programme was essentially planned through to the end of 2016. Dr Leevi Haapala tells us they are now working on the forthcoming ARS17 exhibition as well as on further exhibitions and themes for the coming years. Autumn 2015 holds a strong flavour of politics and social issues. In addition to School of Disobedience by Jani Leinonen, in October Demonstrating Minds, an exhibition of dissenting voices in contemporary art, was opened.

“I feel topicality is one of our key criteria. We want to showcase contemporary art both from Finland and abroad, especially from the Millennial generation. The visitor profile of Kiasma is relatively youthful, as more than half our visitors are below 35. The content and presenters of art need to live in the same age as the public. Another challenge is to present the research aspect of the museum in our exhibitions and offer ways to learn more about the works for those who are interested. Different sections of the public need different approaches.”

Dr Haapala feels Kiasma should be a forum for artists, debaters, and thinkers. The artworks and artists the museum presents are its contribution to the ongoing debate. The mission of the museum of contemporary art is to present art from various cultures, selected from the global flood of art for a Finnish audience.

“The fundamental mission of contemporary art is to present art from this age and depict the world we live in. Sometimes it may be difficult for people to understand the difference between modern art and contemporary art, that we don't worry so much whether a work is figurative or not. On the other hand we do concentrate on what and how art tells us about our time.”

Dr Haapala will leave his own stamp on the forthcoming ARS17 exhibition. The programme will be published later in the Autumn, but he has agreed to offer a brief glimpse into the forthcoming exhibition.

“On the centennial year of Finnish independence, our idea is to offer something else, in other words a topical and international exhibition. We want to look to the future rather than one hundred years into the past. I see contemporary art and artists as certain kinds of fortune tellers. As they describe this time, they also mirror our thoughts about the future. We will be presenting the work of some 30-40 young and international artists. By ARS17 Kiasma will look like the art exhibition of my dreams.”