Private funding for the new architecture and design museum planned for the capital’s South Harbor has so far reached "exceptional" level, the City of Helsinki has announced.
According to the city, three foundations – the Jane and Aatos Erko Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland – have made a conditional commitment to activate the museum by at least 24 million euros.
The Jane and Aatos Erko Foundation’s EUR 20 million grant is Finland’s largest private donation to the cultural sector.
In addition to this amount, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland both entered into preliminary agreements for a contribution of at least two million euros.
The City of Helsinki and the Finnish government plan to establish a foundation for the new museum later this year with the aim of raising at least 150 million euros in capital. The state and the city will each contribute to the 60 million target, with the remaining € 30 million raised from private sources.
In March, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the city set up a project steering group to prepare and guide the establishment of the museum. The project is led by Kaarina Gould, currently CEO of the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York.
The preparatory phase is expected to last until the end of 2023, when the final decisions on the implementation of the project will be made.
A separate architectural competition has been planned for the design of the museum.
Source: The Nordic Page
