Konstsamfundet (suomi)

► The Konstsamfundet Association is one of Finland’s largest cultural institutions. It was founded by the publisher, printing entrepreneur, businessman and art patron Amos Anderson in December 1940. Continued by his family after his death in 1961, the association has remained true to its bylaws and the spirit of its founder, working consistently to promote and foster art and culture in Finland.

In this book historian Kim Björklund chronicles the story of the Konstsamfundet Association and its subsidiaries within a wider historical and social context. Prominent institutions such as the Amos Anderson Art Museum, the new Amos Rex Museum, the Forum shopping mall, Villa Lante (the Finnish Institute in Rome), Hufvudstadsbladet (Finland’s leading Swedish-language daily) and the KSF Media enterprise are all woven into the Konstsamfundet story, which began with a young boy growing up in the village of Brokärr in Kemiönsaari and eventually building a fortune and carving out a cosmopolitan career. Since its early days, the association has growing significantly, both in wealth and significance.

The Konstsamfundet Association plays an indispensable role as a key financier in the fields of publishing, art, culture and education. The sound and healthy octogenarian remains a venerable rock of strength among Finland’s cultural foundations.