Arabia Museum – A New Home for Finnish Ceramics

The renewed Arabia Museum brings the story of Finnish ceramics within everyone’s reach – now closer than ever to the people, culture, and urban life of Helsinki’s Arabia district. Located at street level in the ARABIA135 block, the new exhibition offers a compelling journey through Arabia’s beloved tableware, artistic ceramics, and the legacy of industrial design.

For nearly a decade, the Iittala & Arabia Design Centre — on the eighth floor of a historic factory building — has showcased the history and present of Arabia and Iittala, both part of the Fiskars Group. With this transformation, museum operations will move to the ground floor, closer to retail and foot traffic. The museum’s origins date back to 1948, when Finland’s first ceramics museum opened its doors to Arabia employees. It became accessible to the public in 1984. From May 2025, the story continues in a refreshed form with a new, ceramics-focused exhibition space integrated with the ARABIA135 retail environment.

The new museum tells the story of Arabia, a brand beloved by generations of Finns: how a ceramics factory founded by Rörstrand in 1873 grew into one of the cornerstones of Finnish design. The exhibition features cherished tableware, decorative objects, and art ceramics from various decades. A timeline running along the museum’s walls highlights key moments in Arabia’s history, inviting visitors to explore the brand’s legacy independently.

The collection reflects the full breadth of Arabia’s production — from humble sauna mugs to prestigious dinnerware designed for the Finnish government. Naturally, the exhibition includes coffee cups that hold a special place in Finnish hearts. Visitors will also find enamel and glass objects, as well as pieces created through collaborative projects. The exhibition offers a comprehensive look at the materials, tools, and techniques used at Arabia, showcasing the company’s unique ceramic expertise. Works by late artists from the Arabia Art Department are also on display. Today, their legacy is carried forward by the Arabia Art Department Society, which curates changing mini-exhibitions within the museum.

In 2004, the Design Museum assumed responsibility for the extensive collections of Arabia, Iittala, and Nuutajärvi’s local museums. Today, these collections are part of the national holdings of the Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Foundation. While curatorial responsibility for the local museum shifts to Fiskars Group, the Arabia Museum continues to draw on these collections. Meanwhile, the Design Lab Gallery will close, and Iittala’s exhibition activities will evolve into a series of international brand events. The history of Finnish glass design will be showcased at the Iittala Glass Museum in the village of Iittala. Arabia and Iittala’s design heritage will also feature prominently in the future Museum of Architecture and Design, set to open in Helsinki’s South Harbour in 2030.

Arabia Museum
Hämeentie 135
00560 Helsinki

Open from 9 May 2025 onwards.

Photo: Design Museum Arabia | Exhibition / Fiskars Finland Oy Ab