7. – 31.5.2026

This spring, the artist-run independent galleries Metropol and Huuto are visiting each other and exchanging exhibitions. In April, the Tühjusest exhibition by Huuto’s artists opened in Tallinn, and now Metropol is responding with its own exhibition in Helsinki.

Galerii Metropol celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Under different names but uninterruptedly, artists have used the old building in Tallinn as their studio, exhibition space, and at times even as their home. This art center, created through a series of coincidences, has played an important role in the lives and work of many of the artists involved. The gallery has hosted countless exhibitions, performances, circus shows and concerts, and it has always been open to collaboration, also with our Finnish friends. Visits have been frequent, and this exhibition at Huuto in a way also celebrates all previous collaborations.

The exhibition title, By Metro to Metropol, is a multilayered play on words: Galleria Huuto is located near the Kalasatama metro station in Helsinki, while Galerii Metropol is located in Tallinn’s Kalamaja district near Kalarand. Metro and Metropol, from Kalarand to Kalasatama, by metro from Metropol to Huuto and back. These two galleries and artist communities partly operate on the same basis, yet are also completely different. Metropol’s exhibition at Huuto is like an imaginary Estonian-Finnish tube (or metro) from an old punk song, connecting the galleries on opposite sides of the Gulf of Finland. By stepping into the Metropol exhibition at Galleria Huuto, the visitor simultaneously enters Galerii Metropol in Tallinn.

The exhibition By Metro to Metropol features artists working within and around the Metropol gallery and its artist community, as well as the artist group Vedelik, which is also based in the building. Each artwork tells its own story about Galerii Metropol and the building on the Vana-Kalamaja street, reflecting the friendship between Estonian and Finnish artists.

The original sign above the door of the Huuto exhibition space indicates that you have entered Galerii Metropol. You can also see documentary material from the opening event in Tallinn, and the artist group Vedelik presents an almanac created as an Estonian-Finnish collaboration. Our exhibition features objects found in the art community’s attic, alongside a representative image of the building, paintings, prints and collages hung on the walls, and selected objects placed on a pedestal. The whole is partly deliberate and curated, partly eclectic – in the spirit of Galerii Metropol.

Take the metro to the Kalasatama station and walk from there to Galleria Huuto. Once there, you might just find yourself in Tallinn, at Galerii Metropol near Kalarand. Welcome!