Helsinki Biennial 2027
Unknowns
Since ancient times, humanity has explored the structure of this world, from the human body to the cosmos. Through celestial observation, ancient people created charts and calendars to understand celestial systems and to navigate the unknown. They also imagined an afterlife beyond earthly existence that required boundless curiosity, inquiry, and imagination.
Today, we are consumed by political and economic turmoil and the path ahead remains utterly unknown. While this evokes profound unease, humanity has never understood but a fraction of this world. As diverse disciplines explore unknown territories, we are reminded how vast the unknown remains.
Art and artists reveal unfamiliar cultures and untold histories, expanding awareness of human resilience while making us conscious of our essential universality as fellow living beings. Transcending challenges facing humanity and diverse life forms, we wish to recall the joy of exploring and imagining unknown realms through art, along with the ethical responsibility this entails.
This is the starting point for pursuing truth – a critical gaze on what we think we know –connected to the Socratic concept of knowing that one knows nothing.
Helsinki Biennial 2027 will delve into artistic practices exploring the Unknowns from perspectives including physical science, astronomy, geology, spirituality, mythology, and abstraction. Conscious of connections between myths and cultures born from the distinctive climates of the Nordic region and Asia, it seeks to interweave ancient imagination with contemporary artists’ vision, contemplating the nature of the world from a holistic epistemological perspective.
Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller, Co-curators, Helsinki Biennial 2027. Photo: HAM / Helsinki Biennial / Kerttu Malinen
Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller are co-curators of Helsinki Biennial 2027.
Mami Kataoka is the Director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. Her curatorial work emphasises social themes, intercultural dialogue, and the role of art in exploring global structures and the equilibrium of fundamental cosmic elements. Kataoka brings diverse perspectives and an extensive network from Asia and beyond to the Helsinki Biennial, opening new opportunities for Finnish art.
Arja Miller is the Director of HAM Helsinki Art Museum and Helsinki Biennial. Her work combines artistic ambition with strategic urban development. She is interested in curating site-specific and multisensory works that explore universal themes and speculate unknown territories. Miller seeks new ways for contemporary art to exist in a state of flux – breathing, transforming, yet leaving lasting impressions. Her goal is to strengthen Helsinki’s position as an internationally recognised art city.
Tove Jansson created the Hattifatteners for the Moomin stories. Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller see these mysterious wanderers in resonance with their curatorial concept and consider them as a symbol of Unknowns. For the co-curators, the Hattifatteners reflect the curiosity, imagination, and joy of exploring what remains unknown that shape Helsinki Biennial 2027.
“Hattifatteners fascinate us because they inhabit a space between worlds. They embody what is present yet not fully understood, and as beings of boundless potential, they remind us of the joy of imagining something wondrous. In many ways they capture the spirit of Unknowns. Through the Hattifatteners and the works of the participating artists, we hope audiences will find inspiration to look beyond what is already known and imagine other ways of understanding the world,” say co-curators Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller.