An epic museum year awaits – these are Tampere’s best exhibitions in 2026

The master of Finnish printmaking, Pentti Kaskipuro (1930–2010), receives a well-deserved major exhibition as his quietly absurd prints step into the spotlight at the Sara Hildén Art Museum. A self-taught pioneer of Finnish graphic art, Kaskipuro was also a teacher and one of Finland’s most internationally recognised printmakers, nicknamed Master K.

Why go? Kaskipuro created pared-back, strikingly elegant works featuring turnips, rye bread, chanterelles and other everyday subjects — black-and-white compositions so direct and unadorned they feel as if they’re revealing the very essence of the objects themselves.

The exhibition Pentti Kaskipuro is on display at the Sara Hildén Art Museum from 01–19 April 2026.

The Encore! exhibition taking over Tampere Art Museum lives up to its name. This blockbuster brings the museum’s most cherished classics and contemporary favourites back into the spotlight one last time before the building closes for four years of renovation and expansion. Tampere Art Museum’s collection is the second largest in Finland – surpassed only by the Finnish National Gallery – so this is a farewell worth marking in your calendar.

Why go? Spanning three floors, the exhibition gathers works by 90 artists from the 1810s to the 2020s. Nearly every major figure in Finnish art history is here, joined by an impressive roster of contemporary names. Highlights include Hugo Simberg’s Death Skating, Elin Danielson’s Potato Gatherers, Maria Wiik’s Bad Conscience and Robert Wilhelm Ekman’s Lemminkäinen on the Fiery Lake – an unintentionally entertaining vision in which the Kalevala’s heroic troublemaker strikes a pose worthy of a Homeric demigod.

The Encore! exhibition is at Tampere Art Museum from 7 February to 14 June 2026.

The Nature Photographs of the Year once again kick off spring at the Vapriikki Museum Centre. This exhibition of award-winning nature images is a perennial favourite among Vapriikki visitors. From Tampere, it will tour Finland throughout 2026.

Why go? The Nature Photograph of the Year 2025 is Paws by Ossi Saarinen, a mesmerisingly sculptural shot of a lynx’s front paws. The fine details of this close-up reward long viewing.

The Nature Photographs of the Year exhibition is on display at Vapriikki from 13 February to 12 April 2026.

Vapriikki Museum Centre joins the excitement of the 2026 football World Cup. In April the museum opens Football World Cup Through the Ages, showcasing the stars, moments and stories from the history of the men’s and women’s tournaments. Most of the objects are on loan from the FIFA Museum in Zurich and the International Museum of Football in Rome.

Why go? As the excitement grows for the 2026 tournament hosted by Canada, the USA and Mexico, Tampere revisits the unforgettable highs and lows of past competitions. Photos, videos, trophies, shirts and balls recall the heroes, antiheroes, controversies and iconic matches. Among the highlights is a shirt worn by Diego Maradona.

Football World Cups Through the Ages at Vapriikki runs from 16 April 2026 to 1 November 2026.

In May, Tampere Art Museum’s Encore! collection exhibition is joined by a Helene Schjerfbeck show featuring five works from the Nordea Art Foundation’s collection – rarely seen in public. Together these pieces offer a cross-section of Helene Schjerfbeck’s (1862–1946) artistic career, from early realist historical works to ethereal late self-portraits.

Why go? Schjerfbeck is currently enjoying a surge in acclaim, having become the first Nordic woman artist to receive a solo exhibition at New York’s prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art. From there, the portrait Silence (1907) travels to Tampere once the MET’s exhibition closes in April.

The exhibition Schjerfbeck X Nordea Art Foundation is on display at Tampere Art Museum from 19 May to 14 June 2026.

Opening in June, the exhibition A World Gone By – Tampere in the Early 1900s takes visitors on a photographic journey to the years just before Finnish independence, when modernity was beginning to reshape the city. This was the belle époque, when stunning Art Nouveau buildings transformed the skyline. At the same time industry grew and the city prospered. The exhibition reveals both Tampere’s changing cityscape and the lives of ordinary people in the modest wooden housing districts where daily life was tough.

Why go?There’s something quietly moving about seeing a city you know captured in old photographs – at once familiar and strangely foreign. You marvel at the beautiful buildings that survived, grieve a little for those that didn’t, and you’re reminded that life for the poor in those wooden quarters was far from idyllic. Cities evolve, as they must.

The exhibition A World Gone By – Tampere in the Early 1900s is on display at Vapriikki from 4 June 2026 to 31 January 2027.

The biennial jointly organised by Tampere Art Museum, Hämeenlinna Art Museum and Lahti’s visual arts museum Malva centres on the theme Together. The idea of being and creating together is explored from different angles in works by individual artists, artist duos, collectives and groups. This is the second Art Realm biennial, the first having been held in Hämeenlinna in 2024.

Why go? With its theme and its artworks, the biennial encourages us to consider how we can shape a shared and hopeful future.

The Art Realm ’26 biennial is on display from 12 June to 16 August 2026 in the exhibition spaces around the Finlayson area (TR1, TR2, Vooninki and Terde), at Haihara Art Centre and at locations across central Tampere.

Moomin mugs take centre stage at the Moomin Museum, where the rotating exhibition delves into the philosophy behind collecting them. The very first Moomin mug was designed by Tove Jansson herself (1914–2011), the creator of Moomin Characters. The current line of mugs has been in production since the 1990s, becoming a familiar presence in Finnish homes ever since.

Why go? You’ll find yourself looking at these everyday mugs with fresh eyes, wondering how they ended up in almost every Finnish kitchen. Moomin mugs capture something essential about the Moomin spirit – warmth, kindness and a gentle sense of joy. Owning them feels like holding a small piece of those values in your hands.
The exhibition Moomin Mug Mania is on display at the Moomin Museum from 25 September 2026 to 19 September 2027.

The Finnish Museum of Games, which is turning ten, reopens in October 2026 after a major renovation. The museum gains more exhibition space, a wider selection of games and two entirely new themed rooms – plus state-of-the-art tech throughout.

Why go? You could claim you’re visiting to deepen your understanding of Finnish gaming history and its cultural impact. Or you could be honest and admit the real thrill: getting to play all those classic games again, just like you did back in the day.

The Museum of Games, located at the Vapriikki Museum Centre, closes for renovation on 3 August 2026 and reopens on 10 October 2026.