A Home for Art 14.2.–10.8.2025
Rajakartano, the shared home of Aine Art Museum and Tornio City Library, will turn 40 in 2025. Over the years, the building has become one of the city’s landmarks. The positive and open attitude of the City of Tornio towards art and culture, active local operators, and the sizable art collection of Eila and Veli Aine contributed to the creation of this cultural centre and the activities it houses.
There had long been dreams of a cultural centre in Tornio, and there was a real need for a multi-purpose space. One party that was particularly active in pushing the matter forward was Tornio’s visual arts association – Tornion Kuvataideseura ry. In 1974, Tornio City Board set up its Museum Committee tasked with exploring and clarifying the need, location options and significance of a combined art museum and cultural centre for the City of Tornio, and the need for an extension to the Museum of Torne Valley, founded in 1914. The year 1974 also saw the foundation of Aine Pictorial Art Foundation by Elia and Veli Aine. The idea for a home for art and culture, Rajakartano, was born.
In 1977, the Museum Committee decided to propose a “centralised and diverse cultural centre in Suensaari, Tornio, near the Museum of Torne Valley.” The aim was to realise the cultural centre in stages, with the first stage to be completed by 1981, the year of the city’s 360th anniversary.
The agreement between the Aine Pictorial Art Foundation and the City of Tornio was signed on 23 October 1979. The agreement stated that the City committed to constructing museum-level exhibition and storage facilities for the art collection, as well as being responsible for the management of the collection and running the art museum. The foundation committed to permanently placing its art collection in the premises of the art museum.
The agreement stipulated that the exhibition facilities were to be located in the combined art museum and library building and that the construction of the exhibition facilities was to begin at the same time as the construction of the library, once a government building permit had been obtained for the construction of the library.
The City invited Tornio-based Architect Matti Porkka (b. 1937) and his architecture firm to design the art museum and library building. Porkka had previously worked for the architecture firm of renowned Finnish Architect Alvar Aalto, among others.
The building permit for the cultural centre was obtained in the spring of 1984 and construction work started immediately. Despite the intensely cold winter, the construction work progressed quickly. According to contemporary memories from the construction period, the cold winter drove even the water-dwelling muskrats that lived in the city’s bay to seek warmth in the foundations of the building.
The topping out ceremony for the building was held on 3 May 1985. Structurally, the building was completed in late 1985. The original cost estimate for the joint library and art museum was 23 million Finnish markka, but it ultimately ended up costing much less – 17.5 million markka.
Aine Art Museum was opened in the brand-new Rajakartano building on 8 March 1986. The people of Tornio’s dream of having their own versatile cultural centre had become a reality.
Exhibition working group
Anita Alamaunu, Amanda Hakoköngäs, Jari Hannuniemi, Merja Hooli, Virpi Kanniainen, Joel Kumpulainen, Neea Rautio, Aapo Suominen, Ronja Viidanoja, Brita-Kaisa Välimaa
Acknowledgements
Matti Porkka, Yrjö Nurkkala, Museum of Tornio Valley