EMMA sets new all-time visitor record – more than 190,000 visitors welcomed in 2023!

“We are extremely happy to have attained this milestone. Our content has appealed to a very wide audience this year. Our new visitor record is the fruit of EMMA’s committed, goal-oriented work. We want to make a pioneering contribution to the museum field through our dedicated focus on our collections, exhibitions and services and by catering to a wide variety of different audiences,” comments EMMA’s Museum Director Pilvi Kalhama. 

EMMA owes its recent success to its long-term work establishing itself as an interactive, experiential meeting place for as many people as possible. Over the past few years, EMMA has strengthened its profile as a museum specializing in modern art, contemporary art as well as design, deriving unique strength from the dialogue generated between these art forms. The November 2022 opening of a new space built especially for the Collection Kakkonen exhibition saw the museum’s offering expand to two floors. During 2023, EMMA hosted a total of 10 exhibitions celebrating art’s diversity and polyphony in a setting distinguished by its inspiring architecture. 

“EMMA is a familiar favourite that many locals love to visit over and over again. We present varied exhibitions and collections simultaneously, so EMMA always offers something for everyone. In recent years, we and our collaborators have been doing strategic outreach work targeted especially at new audiences both nationally and internationally. This year we have attracted a gratifying number of first-time visitors, as reflected by this year’s record-breaking visitor tally,” enthuses EMMA’s Development Director Saara Suojoki. “It's amazing to celebrate such an impressive achievement in the museum’s history – and the year isn’t even over yet!” 

The museum broke its all-time visitor record and exceeded its 2023 goal of 180,000 visits already in November. The previous record (178,000 visits) is from 2007, which was the museum’s first full year of operation. Since then, EMMA’s annual visitor numbers have consistently totalled around 100,000, but have climbed steadily in recent years, except for during the pandemic. 

We would like to express a special word of thanks to all our visitors, artists, partners and of course our dedicated personnel. EMMA is excited to continue on its path to new achievements in 2024!