Following landmark renovation, WAM unveils new exhibitions of international contemporary art
28.01.2026
WAM Turku City Art Museum (WAM) will open to the public following an extensive renovation. The opening programme brings together international media art, classic sculptures by Wäinö Aaltonen and the renewed WAMx platform, which introduces a new space for experimentation and encounter within the museum. The exhibitions will open on 31 October 2026.
Originally completed in 1967 by renowned architects Matti and Irma Aaltonen, WAM is an iconic modernist landmark and widely regarded as one of Finland’s architectural gems. Its €17 million renovation strengthens its role as a pivotal hub for art in the country, modernising the building to support immersive exhibitions while expanding the museum and restoring key spaces to their original form.
The museum’s reopening in October is set to coincide with the launch of Turku Music Centre Fuuga in autumn 2026, a new world‑class music venue located beside the museum on the banks of the River Aura.
Sabrina Ratté’s solo exhibition Web of Wyrd will mark the opening of WAM’s new exhibition space
Web of Wyrd, the first solo exhibition in the Nordic countries by Canadian media artist Sabrina Ratté (b. 1982), will inaugurate a new exhibition space on the museum’s ground floor. Based in Montreal, Ratté is known for her visually rich works combining 3D animation, analog video, print, and installation. At WAM, she will create a mystical environment where the boundaries between the space and the artwork are deliberately blurred.
The exhibition presents eight works created in the 2020s, shown as large-scale projections and image prints. Influenced by science fiction, the works reflect the artist’s interest in spirituality and animism.
As part of the opening programme, Ratté’s most recent work, Archipels, will be projected onto the museum’s façade. A new museum-produced publication on the artist’s work will be released to coincide with the exhibition. The exhibition is curated by Anna Perälä of WAM.
Photo of the artist: Tristan Khadka.
Collection exhibition brings Wäinö Aaltonen’s works into long-term display
Covering the period from the museum’s construction in the 1960s to the present day, the collection exhibition Primal Force – Works from the Turku City Art Collection brings together sculptures by Wäinö Aaltonen alongside other key works from the collection.
The exhibition takes its title from Aaltonen’s miniature sculpture Primal Force (1915), which depicts a forcefully advancing human figure toppling classical marble columns. The work reflects Aaltonen’s view of art as a means of renewal and a challenge to tradition. Visitors can also explore the artist’s life and work through a new audio play produced specifically for the exhibition.
The exhibition also includes recent acquisitions to the collection, such as works by Saara Ekström and Tommi Toija. It is curated by Eveliina Tammi and Riina Tiainen of WAM Turku City Art Museum.
Photo: Wäinö Aaltonen: Primal Force, 1915. Turku City Art Collection.
Renewed WAMx Showcases Art’s Capacity for Dialogue and Change
Opening in the museum’s studio space, WAMx introduces a flexible, artist-led programme focused on collaboration and exchange. Its activities bring together different artistic disciplines and practitioners, emphasising art’s potential to engage with and influence society.
WAMx will open with Notes on the State of the World, a body of work by serial and photographic artist Kati Rapia and visual artist Ilona Valkonen. Working in collaboration with young people, the artists will collect marine litter and lead photography workshops along the Baltic Sea, a region under significant environmental pressure.
During the summer of 2026, Rapia and Valkonen will conduct workshops with local youth in the Turku archipelago. These activities will be complemented by dancers from the Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland, who have participated in the youth workshops.
Image: Kati Rapia and Ilona Valkonen: Berta with Bengt wearing Note 6, Loviisa, 2021.
The Artists
Sabrina Ratté is a media artist based in Montreal. Ratté’s works have been seen at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Fotografiska Shanghai and the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.
Kati Rapia is a visual artist known for her comics, collages and photographs, which she has presented in exhibitions, books and events. Rapia was awarded the State Prize for Comics in 2018.
Ilona Valkonen is a visual artist who works with new forms of painting, living monuments and the transforming performance concept Vieno Motors. Valkonen has been performing Vieno Motors performances since 2014. Vieno Motors could be described as a changing improvisation band, where instead of music, the spotlight is on the handwritings of visually working artists.
Main image: Sabrina Ratté: Pharmakon: Nightshade, 2025 (still). Interactive installation.
