Helinä Rautavaara Museum

The Living Museum of World Cultures is named after Helinä Rautavaara (1928-1998), the eccentric world traveller who created the museum.

The ritual, everyday and art objects collected by globetrotter Helinä Rautavaara in Africa, Asia and Latin America comprise the core of the Museum’s collection. Photographs and audio visual material from Rautavaara’s travels are also part of the collection, as are her notes and diaries. The Museum houses Finland’s largest collection of objects from West Africa.

The museum contributes to Rautavaara's life's work by bringing people together and increasing knowledge and understanding of world cultures.