The artist-driven and non-profit Galleria Forum Box has been operating in Ruoholahdenranta for 26 years, offering free art and cultural experiences to over 10,000 visitors annually. Now the gallery’s activities are seriously threatened, as the City of Helsinki has announced at short notice that it is preparing to sell the property that houses its premises. Selling the property would be a death blow to one of Finland’s most significant actor of free art and would destroy an irreplaceable part of Helsinki’s cultural life.

We appeal to decision-makers on the following grounds: the activities are long-term and planned. Forum Box is an art institution that operates professionally and the gallery’s exhibition program has already been decided until the end of 2027. Preparations for the 2028 exhibitions are already underway. A decision to sell in this situation would leave numerous artists in an uncertain situation and would interrupt years of long-term work. 2029 is the 30th anniversary of the gallery, which was founded in 1999. It would be unsustainable and short-sighted from a cultural policy perspective to push such a significant actor into trouble just before its historic milestone.

The unique space in the heart of Helsinki, next to the emerging Jätkäsaari and Hietalahti districts, is also valuable from a cultural and historical perspective. The gallery operates in a space established in an old underbridge warehouse, which the artist cooperative founded by sculptor Kain Tapper and his colleagues renovated with volunteer efforts based on the plans of architect Juhani Pallasmaa. The unique “rough atmosphere” of the space is an essential part of Forum Box’s identity, and many artists come there precisely for the space itself. The 300m² and six-meter-high exhibition space enables the presentation of works that could hardly be presented anywhere else. As Minna Sirnö, the chairperson of the Forum Box board, says: “This is not just a space – this is an ecosystem”. Forum Box is a community formed by over a hundred leading Finnish visual artists, which serves as an example of a sustainable and equal art space. It is a living part of Helsinki’s art history and an important, low-threshold meeting place for city residents. Securing the activities of Forum Box is an investment in Helsinki’s vibrant and diverse cultural scene.