Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name kiasma, Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. The museum exhibits the contemporary art collection of the Finnish National Gallery founded in 1990. Its central goal is to make contemporary art better known and strengthen its status.
An architectural design competition to design a contemporary arts museum in Helsinki was held in 1992. The competition was meant for architects from the Nordic and Baltic countries. Five internationally renowned architects participated among whom there was only one US citizen. In 1993 the work Chiasma by the American architect Steven Holl was selected from the 516 competitors. The construction of the disputed and controversial Kiasma started in 1996. The museum opened in May 1998.
The museum attracted 160,000–180,000 visitors per year in 2011–2013.
Kiasma was closed for repairs in September 2014 and reopened in the Spring 2015.
You see inside
You see inside
You read my mind
You read my mind
You survived a hellish dream
Now the light can mend the seams
But your will wraps tight around
Watch the sky come crashing down
You breathe
Believe
You touch
Won't face I need you so much
Embrace
Encase
I fear
Your love for me is so clear
You survived a hellish dream
Now the light can mend the seams
But your will wraps tight around
Watch the sky come crashing down
I arrived on foreign land
With no one to hold my hand
But my guide came shining through
From the fog alone stood you
A love that's so defined
You'll never wake the newness that can be
A happiness so kind
Mistaken for seductive falsity
You breathe
Believe
You touch
Won't face I need you so much
Embrace
Encase
I fear
Your love for me is so clear
A love that's so defined
You'll never wake the newness that can be
A happiness so kind
Mistaken for seductive falsity
Just knowing that you're mine
Erases all reverse complexity
The emptiness unwinds
An unexpected flexibility
You survived a hellish dream
Now the light can mend the seams
But your will wraps tight around