Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection is one of Finland’s most significant collections of Finnish and international art, with new works continuously being acquired. Saastamoinen Foundation is a founding partner of EMMA and one of the museum’s longest-standing collaborators.
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection comprises nearly 3,000 Finnish and international works of modern and contemporary art.
The collection includes artworks ranging from paintings and sculptures of the 1910s to installations, photographic art, and moving image works of the 2020s.
The development of the collection is overseen by an art committee composed of renowned professionals in the field. The Foundation’s art collection is continuously evolving, with the aim of maintaining a high-quality, diverse, topical, and thought-provoking selection of works.
The collection is maintained and developed in a way that preserves, enriches, and shares cultural heritage and highlights the diversity of art now and in the future. Through its collection work, the Foundation promotes access to both Finnish and international art for everyone, strengthens artistic dialogue, and builds a bridge between the past and the future.
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection was deposited into EMMA’s collections at the time of the museum’s founding. Today, the collection comprises over 3,000 works.
The foundation of the art collection is the private collection of an industrial family from Kuopio. Saastamoinen Foundation was established in 1968 to advance society through science and art, and since then, it has supported the growth, preservation, and presentation of the art collection.
The collection’s works are permanently on display at EMMA, with rotating presentations. In addition, art from the foundation is also seen in Espoo’s public spaces, curated by EMMA.
Alien in Me - 20 years of Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection Exhibitions
The new exhibition Alien in Me celebrates 20 years of Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collections in EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition opens on 23 October 2026.
Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Self-portrait, Karjusaari, Lahti, 1992 (print 1995). Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. © Paula Virta / EMMA
Moving image
Moving image is one of the focus areas of Saastamoinen Foundation’s art collection strategy. Moving image works are presented at EMMA as part of the Saastamoinen Foundation collection exhibition, as well as in a room designed specifically for exhibiting media art. In 2025, the room will feature two new media art acquisitions by the foundation: The Genealogy of Violence (2023) by Mohamed Bourouissa and COSPlayers (2004) by Cao Fei.
Cao Fei, COSPlayers, 2004. Video still. Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection. © Cao Fei, Courtesy Sprüth Magers and Vitamin Creative Space.