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Amos Rex is an independent, privately funded contemporary art museum named after the publisher and arts patron Amos Anderson and located in Lasipalatsi, on Mannerheimintie boulevard in
The museum presents a dynamic programme of contemporary art, media art, and experimental installations.
The museum's first director was Kai Kartio, who led Amos Rex through its early years. In February 2024, Kieran Long was appointed the museum’s director and CEO.
The Amos Anderson Art Museum, established as a continuation of Amos Anderson’s legacy, played a significant role in promoting contemporary art in Finland. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was one of only two major museums dedicated primarily to contemporary art, alongside the Tampere Art Museum. Its collections and exhibitions reflected a commitment to supporting both Finnish and international artists, laying the groundwork for what would later evolve into Amos Rex.
By the early 2010s, the Amos Anderson Art Museum faced spatial limitations that restricted its ability to showcase large-scale contemporary art. In response, Konstsamfundet initiated plans to create a new, expanded museum. The transition from the Amos Anderson Art Museum to Amos Rex aimed to provide modern exhibition spaces while preserving Anderson’s legacy.
In 2013, the museum announced plans to build a subterranean annex under the Lasipalatsi plaza, located near the museum's premises on Yrjönkatu. The annex was estimated to cost 50 million euros and to also use facilities above the ground in the Lasipalatsi building. The Helsinki City Board decided to reserve the plot for the museum in December 2013. The funding was provided by the Finnish-Swedish arts foundation Konstsamfundet. The museum plan was unanimously approved by the Helsinki City Council in May 2014 and the new annex was scheduled to open in 2017. The name Amos Rex was chosen to meet three key requirements: it had to reference Amos Anderson, connect to Lasipalatsi, and be short enough to require no translation. A fourth, more light-hearted criterion was that Anderson himself would approve of it from above.
A key feature of the museum’s design is its interactive rooftop domes, which serve as both artistic elements and functional skylights, allowing natural light to filter into the underground spaces. These domes contribute to the museum’s public and accessible nature, with an emphasis on open, low-threshold spaces that engage both locals and visitors. Asmo Jaaksi, chief architect of the museum, said that it was important that some kind of contact between the ground level and the subterranean world was created. The roof construction was completed in cooperation with specialists from Sweco Structures. As The New York Times writes, the museum “appears to physically resist its placement in a vast underground space, as it is topped by five conical domes that bubble up from the surface of the Lasipalatsi Square in downtown Helsinki like inverted craters of an alien moonscape.” The design prioritises an urban connection, offering a welcoming environment for all to engage with contemporary art in a dynamic setting.
Inside, the exhibition room is defined by its distinctive ceiling discs, which conceal technical elements while also serving aesthetic and acoustic functions. Kone designed the elevators to accommodate the museum’s evolving exhibitions and events, ensuring they serve multiple uses and users. The elevators are highly adaptable, featuring programmable lights and animations on their walls, along with integrated speakers that enhance the experience with an auditory element.
The Finnish brand agency Werklig developed the visual identity for Amos Rex, drawing inspiration from both its historic and contemporary architecture. The logotype reflects the 1930s neon signs of the Lasipalatsi building, while the dynamic animation concept echoes the museum’s distinctive rooftop domes.
The construction of the new museum started in January 2016 and it opened to the public in August 2018.
The museum’s commitment to public art is reflected in installations such as Oasis and Nest, and future projects continue to expand its public role. The summer 2025 programme features an installation by the British artist Yinka Ilori, adding to the museum’s evolving contribution to public cultural life.
| An interactive, immersive exhibition by the Japanese 500-member art collective teamLab, where interactive videos were projected onto the walls. |
| The exhibition presented the works of the renowned Surrealism René Magritte for the first time in Finland. |
| The exhibition featured works by Studio Drift, with the most notable piece being Drifter, a floating concrete cube. |
| The exhibition showcased works by the five finalists of the Ars Fennica Prize. |
| The exhibition presented the life’s work of Carlstedt, including a reconstructed café designed by the artist, which was operational. |
| A triennial exhibition held every three years showcasing works by artists aged 15–23. |
| The exhibition highlighted Egyptian culture, featuring mummies and created in collaboration with the Italian Museo Egizio. |
| A triennial exhibition showcasing works by artists aged 15–23. |
In 2021, a German painting from the collections of Amos Rex was donated back to the city of Neubrandenburg. The 17th-century oil painting by Philipp Peter Roos was part of the Amos Anderson art collection. The painting may have been stolen from the Neubrandenburg Museum in 1919, after which Amos Anderson likely acquired it during a trip to Germany in the 1920s. Its origin remains uncertain, as the museum’s archives were destroyed in World War II, and Anderson may have purchased it in good faith, unaware of its possible theft.
The entrance to Amos Rex is located within Lasipalatsi, the iconic Glass Palace built in 1936 in a functionalistic style, characterised by rows of high windows. Designed by architects Viljo Revell, Heimo Riihimäki and Niilo Kokko, this historical building, which houses restaurants, shops, and the modernised Bio Rex Cinema, creates a seamless connection between the museum and the vibrant urban landscape of Helsinki.
In 2020, the museum won the AIT Award for “Best in Interior and Architecture” in the Public Buildings/Culture category. In 2019, it was named “New Cultural Destination of the Year (Europe)” at the LCD Awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the museum world. That same year, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) selected it as one of six winners of the 47th Interior Design Competition and awarded it “Best of Competition.”
In 2018, Amos Rex was awarded Concrete Structure of the Year, an annual recognition for outstanding Finnish concrete construction. Additionally, the BBC highlighted the museum as one of the year’s most innovative new architectural works.
Amos Rex’s visual identity has also received multiple awards for its innovative design. At Vuoden Huiput 2018, Finland’s premier creative design competition, it won Silver in the “Identity,” “Design,” and “Experience Design” categories. In 2019, the Art Directors Club of Europe (ADC*E), which celebrates excellence in European design and advertising, gave it a Silver in Graphic Design along with a nomination for “Spatial/Experiential Design.”
The museum arranges 8–12 exhibitions a year.
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