In Search of the Present

For the third time, EMMA presents the international group exhibition In Search of the Present, featuring leading contemporary artists whose works explore key phenomena and questions of our time. The 2026 exhibition, celebrating EMMA’s 20th anniversary, is an exploration of the now and an invitation to be present both in time and in place. Spatial and multisensory installations will transform EMMA’s galleries into places for quiet presence and contemplation, in which notions around belonging and rootlessness are brought into focus.

The exhibition features works by Marina Abramović, Haruka Kashima, Kimsooja, Tarik Kiswanson, Germaine Kruip, Ken Matsubara, Lydia Ourahmane, Helen Pashgian, Jani-Matti Salo, Danh Võ, WAUHAUS x TTK (Nurture), Ian Wilson, and Maaria Wirkkala. Some of the works have been selected from the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection, while others have been newly commissioned for the exhibition.

The title In Search of the Present refers to a collection of essays published in 1929 by Finnish author Olavi Paavolainen, in which he reflected on modern identity and experience in a rapidly changing world. Previous editions of the exhibition series were presented in 2016 and 2022.

Our warmest thank you to the supporters of In Search of the Present: LocalTapiola whose donation enables the realisation of Helen Pashgian’s work, and the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, whose support makes Kimsooja’s installation possible.