Espoo Museum of Modern Art
EMMA’s sculpture park expands with a new commissioned work in August
EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art will unveil a new public artwork on Espoo Day, 30 August. The commissioned piece by sculptor Pekka Jylhä will enrich the sculpture park in front of the Exhibition Centre WeeGee, inviting both museum visitors and passers-by to encounter art outside the cultural hub. Created in collaboration with the City of Espoo, the new work will become part of the museum’s own EMMA Collection. In addition to the museum and the City of Espoo, the piece has been funded by the Saastamoinen Foundation.
A new addition to the Exhibition Centre WeeGee’s sculpture park will be unveiled in early autumn. The Rope Dancer (2025), by sculptor Pekka Jylhä (b. 1955), reflects on the uncertainty of the present and the future, portraying a delicate yet courageous figure balancing through the turbulence of the world. The striking six-metre-tall sculpture will be installed on the park side of the courtyard, at the corner of Leikki – The Museum of Play and the Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery Kruunu, greeting visitors arriving from Ahertajantie.
The Rope Dancer is a significant addition to EMMA’s curated outdoor sculpture park, where each piece enters into dialogue with the brutalist concrete architecture of the WeeGee building, designed by Professor Aarno Ruusuvuori (1925–1992), and the surrounding natural landscape. The park currently features four sculptures: Passage (1990) by Matti Peltokangas, A Winding Path (2006) by Pertti Kukkonen, Pro Aqua (2005–2006) by Eero Hiironen, and Stream I (1981/2006) by Raimo Utriainen.
Installation of the new sculpture will begin in June, and the completed piece will be unveiled to the public on Saturday 30 August at 1 pm as part of the Espoo Day celebrations. Everyone is warmly welcome to attend the unveiling, where the artist, EMMA, and the City of Espoo will share insights into the work and its creation process. Additional related programming will also take place.
Ahertajantie is home to five museums and cultural institutions: the Exhibition Centre WeeGee – which houses EMMA and KAMU Espoo City Museum – as well as Museum Leikki and the Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery Kruunu. Over the past year, the museum courtyard has undergone a transformation. Completed in May 2025, the landscaping project has created a welcoming, park-like atmosphere with green spaces, seating areas, and a small playground. The commissioned work by Pekka Jylhä is intended to further strengthen the area’s identity as Espoo’s central museum square and to highlight Ahertajantie’s growing role as an internationally relevant hub for museums and the arts. The choice of artist also underscores local ties, as Jylhä lives and works nearby at the Nallenpolku artist studios in Tapiola.
“This work complements the overall ensemble at the Exhibition Centre WeeGee and sparks curiosity about the museums. The beauty of public art lies in its accessibility – it brings art close to people. The Rope Dancer is both serious and playful, and each viewer can interpret it in their own way – that is art at its best,” says Susanna Tommila, Cultural Director of the City of Espoo.
