The Finnish Museum of Photography is Finland's national specialized museum for photography. Through exhibitions, collection management and research, the museum strives to promote and foster photographic art and culture in Finland. Founded on the initiative of Finnish photography organizations, the museum opened its doors in 1969. The museum is maintained by the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Photography.
The museum's main support comes from the Finnish Ministry of Education and from the City of Helsinki, which provides premises in the Cable Factory in Ruoholahti, Helsinki.
The vast collections include around 3.7 million pictures spanning various photographical user cultures. The emphasis in new collection acquisitions is on contemporary Finnish photographic art.
The archives contain a wide range of documents from newspaper clippings and sound recordings to films, printed invitations, and posters. The object collection comprises 3500 items, such as cameras and photographic instruments. The archives and collections are exhibited in the Angle space, in special exhibitions and on the museum's website.
The museum carries out basic research on its collections and produces research publications. It also promotes research, mainly by maintaining a nationwide network of photographic researchers, and by awarding grants from the Börje and Dagmar Söderholm fund. The museum maintains a database of Finnish photographers, along with other databases and a photography library for researchers.
