Kids’ Comics Fest and Helsinki Comics Festival will take place at Cultural Center Stoa and Itäkeskus Library from September 18 to 20, 2026. In addition to the main festival programme, a variety of satellite events will be held at Itäkeskus and elsewhere in Helsinki, most of which are organised in collaboration with festival partners. These partners include Helsinki Central Library Oodi, House of Text, Epic Scape mobile game, Black Bird restaurant, Sörkan Ruusu, Vallila Brewery, MUJI Restaurant, and Molotow Finland. Art exhibitions related to the festival will be spread across different parts of Helsinki.
An advance event for Helsinki Comics Festival 2026 will be held at Oodi Central Library on Thursday, September 10, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. At 4:00 pm, there will be an interview with Suvi Ermilä and Heikki Kemppainen about their books Äidit and Perintö. At 5:00 pm, the creators of Kamala luonto comics, Jarkko Vehniäinen and Marja Lappalainen, will be interviewed, followed by Pinja Meretoja and Jessi Jokelainen, known for their feminist comics, at 6:00 pm. The programme in Oodi is in Finnish.
The Sivullinen Bookstore will host a discussion on Ukrainian literature during the war on 17 September from 4 to 5 pm. On stage will be publishers Lilija Omeljanenko and Eliash Strongowski, as well as cartoonist Sophia Tomilenko, whose new book is The History of Ukrainian Sex (Vydavnytstvo, 2026). Organized by Voima magazine and interview by Iida Simes.
On Friday, September 18, Finnish Comics Society will host the festival opening at House of Text (Lintulahdenkatu 3, Helsinki). The Swedish indie comics publisher and collective MAL magasin will perform “Mal in 4D,” a live performance combining comics and music. Additionally, visitors will have a unique opportunity to participate in a karaoke evening with comics artists, activists, and enthusiasts!
During the festival, September 18–20, a comics-themed Epic Scape mobile game will be available to play via smartphone browser at Itis shopping centre and Cultural Centre Stoa. The game features a series of puzzles to solve by moving around the Itäkeskus area.
On Saturday, September 19, the official festival afterparty will be held at Black Bird restaurant from 8:00 pm to midnight. The German comics collective Pure Fruit will host an energetic comics battle, and the audience will have the chance to test their knowledge in a challenging comics quiz.
As part of Helsinki Comics Festival, there will also be 12 comics-themed exhibitions across Helsinki:
- exhibition by festival artist Emilia Laatikainen, Stoa gallery, upper floor, September 3–20
- exhibition of a Ukrainian-Finnish comics project, Stoa gallery, lower floor, September 3–20 (guided tour on September 16)
- “Kutiburger: A Finnish-Slovenian Comics Dialogue,” Stoa balcony gallery, September 3–20
- group exhibition: “The Most Heavenly Exhibition,” Itäkeskus Library, September 3–20
- The Top Secret Boob Mermaid Society, Itäkeskus Library (vitrine), September 3–20
- Pelätyt ja palvotut art collective: “The Feared and Worshipped North,” Stoa courtyard area, September 18–20
- “Mythbústers,” Nordic Culture Point Library, September 22–October 8
- Plenty Collective, Helsinki Central Library Oodi, projection on the wall, ground floor restaurant, September 7–20
- Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Visual Arts: “With Others,” Geezers Creative Space, Molotow Finland, September 1–28
- Hannele Richert & Amanda Vähämäki: “Mixpihlaja: Myrtillum et Fragum,” Sörkan Ruusu, September 2–30
- Juliana Hyrri: “Pampulat,” Vallila Brewery gallery, September 2–30
- Terhi Ekebom: “Hidden (Sometimes in the Shade of Trees),” MUJI Restaurant, Kamppi shopping centre, September 9–October 31
Finnish Comics Society will also participate in Idän kirjamessut held at Itäkeskus on Saturday, September 26. Check the programme online (in Finnish)!
More information and interview requests
Athanasía Aarniosuo
Artistic Director
athanasia.aarniosuo@sarjakuvaseura.fi
Ella Tahkolahti
Producer
info@sarjakuvafestivaalit.fi
The festival weekend is September 18–20, 2026. Cultural Centre Stoa will be open to the public on Friday from 9:30 am to 6 pm, Saturday from 10:30 am to 7 pm, and Sunday from 10:30 am to 6 pm. The event is free and open to all. The venue is wheelchair accessible. We follow principles of safer space at the event.