The Alvar Aalto Foundation’s museum sites in Jyväskylä and Helsinki welcomed 52,373 visitors in 2019, over 3000 more than in the previous year.

The Alvar Aalto Museum Jyväskylä received 25,886 visitors, and Alvar Aalto’s summer residence, the Muuratsalo Experimental House, which is only open in the summer, 1,394. Of the museum sites in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, the Aalto House attracted 15,510 visitors during the year, and Studio Aalto 9,583.

Interest in Alvar Aalto and the production of his architect’s office stayed strong internationally, but the domestic visitor numbers have also seen a gratifying increase from year to year. In 2019, we celebrated the 125^th anniversary of the birth of the architect Aino Aalto (1894-1949), and her life’s work was on display in the Museum, and also on guided tours of the Aalto House in January and on garden visits to the Aalto House in the spring.

The Museum’s exhibitions and events in 2019 put the accent on architecture, photography and film. In the spring, the public showed a particular interest in a lecture by Jyväskylä City Architect Leila Strömberg, which gave an overview of and future perspective on Jyväskylä’s current urban planning and Alvar Aalto’s heritage. The attraction that received the most visitors – a total of 9,367 – during the past year was the Museum’s summer exhibition “Let’s blow them away!” Alvar Aalto through the camera lens. During the spring and autumn, the museum showed a series of Rax Rinnekangas’ architecture films, in collaboration with the Film Center of Central Finland. The Museum also staged numerous architecture workshops aimed at children and young people during the year.

The nationalities of the Foundation’s museum visitors varied depending on the site and the city. Those visiting the Alvar Aalto Museum were mostly from Finland, the next-largest visitor groupings being from Italy, Russia and Germany. Of the visitors to Helsinki’s museum sites the largest national grouping came from Japan, followed by Finland, Germany, Sweden, the USA and Spain. The busiest periods for visitors were July, August and September, which are popular holiday months both in Finland and abroad.

Further information:
Alvar Aalto Foundation
Mirkka Vidgrén, Communications
tel. +358 40 168 5142
mirkka.vidgren@alvaraalto.fi

Visitors at the permanent exhibition of the Alvar Aalto Museum. Photo Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation.