16.6.2026

The Cable Museums’ summer programme features a total of 10 exhibitions across four floors. There is something for every taste – enough to fill an entire day! You can also enjoy treats at the Cable Factory’s Kahvibaari café or Restaurant Hima & Sal.

Summer exhibitions at the Cable Museums

At the Theatre Museum, the temporary exhibition Amaze! Tales and Magic of Circus is on display, alongside the permanent exhibitions It’s Showtime and Arkadia Theatre.

Circus enchants, entertains, and captivates its audience with the antics of clowns, the bravery of circus artists, the sparkle of sequins, the scent of popcorn, magic, and masterful skills. Finnish circus is the world of legendary personalities, international adventures, the joy of circus enthusiasts,
absurd storytelling – and thousands of hours of sweaty practice. Amaze! tells the story of Finnish circus from the 19th century to the 2020s, when Finland has become internationally recognised for contemporary circus.

It’s Showtime explores performing arts and how a performance is created – from the initial idea through preparation and rehearsal to the moment on stage. In Arkadia Theatre, you can travel through theatre history and step onto the stage via the dressing room as the star of your own unique performance.

At the Hotel and Restaurant Museum, the summer programme includes the temporary exhibitions Spartak Khachanov: The Impersonal and Turbulent Decades – Photos of Restaurant Life in the 60s and 70s, as well as the core exhibition Taste Matters – views on food and drink culture.

Visual artist Spartak Khachanov’s artistic research project The Impersonal brings everyday life in a reception centre into the Taste Matters exhibition. It is based on his two years of personal experience living in such a centre. Through his works, the food culture formed there becomes part of the exhibition’s narrative, offering a new perspective.

The photography exhibition Turbulent Decades invites visitors to view restaurants as stages of society. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of change in Finland, which was reflected in restaurant culture. The exhibition shows how societal transformation appeared in restaurants and among their clientele.

The core exhibition Taste Matters explores what food and drink culture is, how it is formed and who shapes it. It takes visitors to places where culture is created – from campfires and home kitchens to restaurants, school dining halls and cafés. They say tastes cannot be argued – but they are certainly worth discussing!

At the Finnish Museum of Photography, the summer exhibitions include Film Stills by Malla Hukkanen, Z Walsh: Feminine Man, Photofuss: Contact, and the permanent exhibition Viewfinder.

Film Stills presents the extensive 40-year career of Marja-Leena “Malla” Hukkanen (b. 1959) as a still photographer on film sets. She has photographed stills for nearly all of Aki Kaurismäki’s films. Z Walsh’s exhibition is a tribute to the women in his life.

The youth group Photofuss explores connections between people and environments. The permanent exhibition Viewfinder examines photographs, photographers and their users, inviting visitors to experience the many dimensions of photography.

Opening hours

The Cable Museums are open throughout the summer (except Midsummer): Tuesday–Friday 11:00–19:00 and weekends 11:00–18:00. Closed on Mondays. During Midsummer (19–21 June), the museums are closed. Please check museum websites for any changes.

Events

• 11–24 June: Theatre Museum – Lesbian Power Duo: Four Dances and a Wedding
• 12 June: Helsinki Day – free entry all day
• 24 June, 16:00–19:00: Free evening (last Wednesday of the month)
• Fridays at 14:00 in July: Free English Mini Tour: How Finns Eat and Welcome Guests (with admission ticket)
• 29 July, 16:00–19:00: Free evening
• 20 August, 17:00–21:00: Night of the Arts – free entry and programme
• 26 August, 16:00–19:00: Free evening