Join us for a visit to the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Helsinki, HAM and enjoy a nice look into the most modern in the art collection of the city on show in what used to be a fancy building with tennis courts.
HAM, officially the Helsinki Art Museum, looks after the modern and contemporary art collection of the City of Helsinki. There are over 10,000 pieces of art including the public artworks around the city and the municipality's public buildings.
The HAM is the most popular museum in Finland. The core collection consists of Finnish art from the 20th and 21st centuries, but it also includes some older Finnish masterpieces as well as international art. The collection includes both donated collections as well as the city’s own acquisitions. The heart of the HAM is the Leonard and Katarina Bäcksbacka collection received in 1976. It includes several gems of Finnish art history, such as Tove Jansson’s Before the Masquerade (1943) and Tyko Sallinen’s Mirri (1910).
Some 40 per cent of the collection are on show in the public premises of the city, along streets and park areas. The actual museum is located in the Tennis Palace building that was completed in 1937 in a functionalism style, originally for the Olympic Games that were supposed to take place in Helsinki in 1940 but were cancelled due to the Soviet Union attacking Finland in 1939. After years as a car shop at street level and tennis courts under the arches, the building was transferred for its current use in 1993 and HAM moved there in 1999.
The pick-up and drop-off area is located in the vicinity of the entrance giving easy access to the pavement. The route to the entrance of Tennis Palace is clearly marked and is of even surface, sufficiently wide and sufficiently lit. There is a canopy above the entrance. The doors connected to the entrance stand out clearly and the glass doors have contrast markings. Outside the door there is sufficient room for moving around in a wheelchair. The door may be a bit heavy, though to open. There are thresholds over 2 cm high at the entrance.
HAM’s ticket counter and entrance are located on the first floor, accessible using lifts located at the exits. On the Eteläinen Rautatienkatu side of the building there is an escalator leading directly to the museum ticket counter. The exhibition facilities are located on two floors. Lift access to the upper exhibition level (3rd floor) is located in the inner lobby of the museum. The workshop facility is also accessible on the museum´s lower floor.
The toilets are located inside the museum. They are not divided by gender but can be used by anyone. There is also an accessible toilet located on the same floor as the ticket counter. Opening the door requires a code, which is available from the ticket counter. The code can also be found on the admission ticket receipt. The door of the toilet is opened using a button and closes automatically.
There is no museum café but there are several ones in the building and more in the vicinity in the centre of Helsinki.
There is a small museum shop inside the museum.
HAM Helsinki Art Museum
Eteläinen Rautatiekatu 8, 00100 Helsinki