Tampere Art Museum to Close 14 June for Three-Year, €36M Rebuild with New Siilo and Paja

The Tampere Art Museum will close to the public on June 14 as a major overhaul gets under way. Aamulehti reports the city-centre museum will be fenced off for a project starting with demolition and utility relocations in August, with two new buildings — Siilo and Paja — and a renovation of the historic Makasiini due to finish in June 2029.

Ahead of the shutdown, Aamulehti says the museum will not go fully dark: a mini-exhibition opens on 19 May during the run-up to the closure. The temporary display will feature five works lent by the Nordea Art Foundation, including Helene Schjerfbeck’s 1907 portrait study “Silence,” which travelled to Tampere after appearing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Seeing Silence” exhibition.

Aamulehti adds that the other loan works are “My Mother” (1909) and “Boy in Armour” (1894). Together, they are intended to supplement the museum’s own February collection exhibition “Encore!”, which already includes two Schjerfbeck works from the museum’s holdings. The museum will continue its activities from temporary premises throughout the renovations.

The plan adds a six-storey Siilo of about 3,000 m² and a two-storey Paja of roughly 1,000 m², reconnecting the site with a new underground link that replaces older subterranean exhibition spaces. Project manager Satu Lahdensivu of Tampere facilities says Siilo will house modern technical systems required for contemporary exhibitions and that testing and commissioning of those systems will take about six months before the museum can reopen. The entire package is budgeted at just over €36 million, with Siilo estimated at €23.2 million, Paja €5.9 million, the Makasiini renovation €6.2 million and the former caretaker flat €0.96 million; €150,000 is reserved for art acquisitions.

Contractor selection is due in May and museum staff will move out in early July as the site is prepared and fenced. Demolition of a small kiosk and early utility work on Pirkankatu may begin even before the June closure; trees are scheduled to be felled in August with plans to reuse the wood for benches. "We have had contacts saying there are birds and squirrels in the park, but August is already after nesting season. We will follow city guidance," Lahdensivu says.