Laterna Magica
Antiquarian Bookstore & Art Gallery
The Book Gallery Laterna Magica is an art gallery and antiquarian bookstore founded in 1989 in the Kruununhaka district in Helsinki. So far, it has hosted more than 800 exhibitions!
It is hard to describe Laterna Magica simply as a bookstore or an art gallery. Since its inception, it has been a place for the soul, where the unique art gallery has specialized in photography and movies.
Their book collection has a wide variety of technical books as well as art books from world-renowned photographers. Finnish photography and photojournalism are also an important part of their collection.
Logems Pass Benefits
Unfortunately, we aren’t able to offer any benefits at this venue. But we believe it’s worth visiting, you won’t be disappointed!
- The antiquarian bookstore has a vast collection of books and specializes in photography and art books.
- The art gallery has three unique exhibition spaces. One of them is a cellar space with a floor that is 1,8 billion years old natural bedrock.
- Laterna Magica also hosts a variety of weekly events from concerts to book discussions.
- See more at laterna.net
Laterna Magica – Social Media & Directions
History of Laterna Magica
The story of Laterna Magica is full of twists and didn’t start with a bookstore but with an art exhibition called Taikalyhty, Magic Lantern.
Back in 1984, the brothers Mikko and Aapo Pekari in collaboration with Tytti Sutela put together an exhibition of three-dimensional holograms in gallery Hippolyte.
The name of that exhibition was Taikalyhty, Magic Lantern, and it ended up touring around Finland, Sweden and Norway.
It took five more years for the Pekari brothers to establish Laterna Magica but finally, in 1989, Laterna Magica was born as an antiquarian bookstore that specializes in movies, photography books and photography exhibitions.
The first exhibitions
The first exhibitions were by renowned photographer Caj Bremer and his son Stefan Bremer whose manipulated pictures of Soviet politburo members were hung in the windows.
Caj Bremer moved forward to eventually exhibit in some of the most photography museums in Finland – Kämp Galleria and The Finnish Museum of Photography at The Cable Factory.
The antiquarian bookstore
While more and more renowned photographers decided to exhibit at Laterna Magica, the antiquarian bookstore was also growing in tomes.
The name of the store was inspired partly by the aforementioned exhibition and partly by an Ingmar Bergman autobiography that came out a few years earlier.
Changing times
In between the years 2006-2018, gallerist Risto Korhonen was at the helm of the galleries and exhibitions.
In the summer of 2018, the businesses moved to Eira Sillanpää and Tapio Wilska.
