This June, the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux will bring four Benelux-based professionals from the craft and design field to Finland on a curated study trip taking in Helsinki and the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale.
The fourth Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale explores the Sense of Water
The Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale opens on 7 June 2026 and runs until the end of August. Now in its fourth edition, the international event for contemporary art, design and architecture once again brings a thought-provoking programme to the historic ironworks village of Fiskars.
The exceptionally well-preserved village environment and the river that runs through the old ironworks provide a compelling setting for this year’s main exhibitions exploring the layered meanings and significances of water.
“The Fiskars ironworks and the village that eventually grew around it are located right here because of the Fiskars River. The river powered the ironworks and provided a transport route far into Europe and beyond. It is easy to take something so fundamental and ever-present for granted, but we cannot afford to do so. Without water, there is no life, and our planet’s water resources cannot sustain our current lifestyles much longer,” says Kari Korkman, founder of the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale at Luovi Productions.
Veden taju / Känsla för vatten / Sense of Water
The main exhibition produced by Luovi is located across three floors of the Old Granary. On the entrance level you’ll find Veden taju / Känsla för vatten / Sense of Water, curated by artist-researcher Riikka Latva-Somppi, an exhibition that examines the human relationship with water; how knowledge, emotions and action shape our sense of water.
The exhibition brings together design, art, science and personal experience. It features art and design projects as well as cross-disciplinary research initiatives. Key themes include water stewardship, and the relationship between plastics and water. The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on their own personal relationship with water. On the lower ground floor, the Biennale Shop offers a carefully curated selection of timely and
compelling Finnish design and craftsmanship.
Sense of Water is curated by artist-researcher Riikka Latva-Somppi, and the participating artists are:
Atso Airola / Vala Boucht / Álvaro Catalán de Ocón / Karoline Hjorth, Riitta Ikonen / Sohvi Kangasluoma / Tuula Lehtinen / Riikka Latva-Somppi & Sense of Water research group / Anna van der Lei, Julia Lohmann / Gary Markle / Maarit Mäkelä & project team / Zoé Bruhat, Asia Pomorska, Vilma Sainio / Pia Sirén / Kirsti Taiviola
Read more about the exhibition Sense of Water.
KASTE / DAGG / DEW
The Biennale’s second main exhibition is KASTE / DAGG / DEW, the annual summer exhibition of The Onoma Cooperative of Artists, Designers and Artisans in Fiskars, curated and architecturally designed by Marco Casagrande.
Now in its 32nd edition, the cooperative’s summer exhibition explores the cycle of water and its role as the engine of the machine of life, positioning the human being as dew, too.
“Dew shimmers freely between the fields of art and science. The exhibition forms a kind of an organic machine, covered entirely in dew. The machine glistens, or sweats. The life-producing fabric of the surrounding nature continuously baptizes itself with dew; we are trying to connect with this ritual. All of Fiskars Village began from a drop of dew. Otherwise there would be no river, no forging hammer,” Casagrande describes.
The majority of the artists participating have been selected through an open call among members of the cooperative. In addition, a carefully considered group of Finnish and international practitioners has been invited to join in. Casagrande’s curation engages with the ironworks environment, the owing river, and the architecture of the historic buildings in a way that invites dialogue with history and the Fiskars River. A broad public program of talks, workshops and artist meetings will accompany the exhibitions.
The artists featured in Onoma’s DEW exhibition, curated by architect Marco Casagrande are:
Erna Aaltonen / Olga Angove / Nanna Bayer & Iris Orasjärvi / Kirsti Doukas / Tapio Elevant / Jack Faber / Georg Grotenfelt / Eero Haikala / Lulu Halme / Pekka Ijäs / Mari Isopahkala / Lotta Jalava / Outi Karikivi / Tiina Karimaa / Ann Kraus / Maaretta Krohn & Risto Puurunen / Mikko Laakkonen / Elina Makkonen / Laura Mattila & Mikko Merz / Rowan E. Mena & Marja Hepo-aho / Maija Mustonen & work group: Viki Kontopoulou and Vilma Mankonen / Anu Mykrä / Jukka Mäkelä / Pia Nieminen / Ron Nordström / Pasi Orrensalo / Saara Paatero-Burtsov & Risto Paatero / Katri Pailos / Jaakko Pakkala / Piia Maria Pekkanen / Tuulia Penttilä / Sniedze Praulina / Nina Pulkkis & Merja Penttilä / Aapo Repo / Perttu Rista & Aapo Rista / Sami Ryhänen / Sarah Råholm / Kristian Saarikorpi / Saine Ensemble / Kim Simonsson / Jan Söderblom / Matti Söderkultalahti / Riitta Talonpoika / Anna Ul / Viivi Varesvuo & Kirsi Costi Snellman / Karin Widnäs / Katja Öhrnberg.
Read more about the exhibition DEW.
Curators
Marco Casagrande
A Finnish architect, biourbanist and professor whose motto is: “There is no other reality than nature.” Casagrande has received, among others, the UNESCO Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, and his works have been presented multiple times at the Venice Architecture Biennale. He is known for his work in ecologically and socially sustainable architecture and reconstruction, including projects in Ukraine, where he serves as a professor at two universities.
Riikka Latva-Somppi
An artist-researcher and curator working at the intersection of fine art, design, and craft. She is a doctoral researcher at Aalto University, studying the role of craft in environmental discourse and the relationship between humans and soil. Her research combines artistic and scientic methods.
Material Flow: Redefining the Lifecycle of Design
Collaboration with universities continues in the main exhibition at the Granary. In 2022, participants included ECAL (École cantonale d’art de Lausanne), and in 2024, the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.
Material Flow, curated by Aalto University professors Tomek Rygalik and Katrin Greiling, presents a radical reimagining of the circular economy through the lens of Aalto University’s Furniture program. The exhibition showcases high-caliber student experiments that challenge the linear “take-make-waste” paradigm. By treating resources as part of a uid, perpetual journey, the works on display explore the transition of matter from its raw origins to functional forms and, ultimately, back to the earth. The exhibition is structured around three research themes, including pushing the boundaries of traditional interior categories into unexplored functional territory. It also examines how by-products of biological production and waste can be transformed into scalable, high-quality interior solutions. The third theme focuses on mono-material design, a masterclass in wood, metal, and glass craftsmanship designed for longevity, graceful aging, and effortless disassembly.
Parallel Programme
In addition to the two comprehensive main exhibitions and the Material Flow exhibition, a diverse Parallel Programme has once again been organised around the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale, offering cultural content for every taste to Raasepori residents and visitors alike.
The programme includes, among other things, ART26 at Mustion Linna, curated by Panu Ruotsalo; the Nikari & Woodnotes Showroom in Fiskars; and a retrospective exhibition of Erik Creutziger at Galleria Elverket in Tammisaari.
For the complete biennale programme and all additional information, visit fiskarsvillagebiennale.com
Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale
7 June – 30 August 2026
10470 Fiskars, Raasepori FINLAND
@fiskarsvillagebiennale #fiskarsvillagebiennale2026
Luovi Productions is a creative company that provides curation, production and communication services. Luovi’s best known production is Helsinki Design Week, the largest design festival in the Nordic countries.
Onoma Cooperative of Artists, Designers and Artisans in Fiskars, is one of the largest and oldest artist cooperatives in Finland. Founded in Fiskars in Raasepori in 1996, Onoma has grown and diversied continuously. The cooperative manages a year-round shop and gallery spaces at Fiskars ironworks, produces curated summer exhibitions and runs an international artist residency. Biennale’s main partner is Fiskars.
Biennale’s main partner is Fiskars.
Cover image courtesy of Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale.