Fotografiska, Stockholm

Fotografiska occupies a former customs house, an Art Nouveau building from 1906 designed by Ferdinand Boberg. Its substantial façade gives you a sense of the setting before you enter: this is a museum devoted to photography and art, not simply a gallery for a single collection. Since its founding in Stockholm in 2010, Fotografiska has built an international network with locations in Tallinn, Berlin, and Shanghai.

The programme keeps changing, bringing temporary exhibitions by celebrated photographers together with work by artists still emerging. Some exhibitions travel between the network’s venues, so the experience can connect Stockholm with places far beyond it. Inside, photography is treated as visual storytelling, a way to engage with social and cultural subjects.

Talks, panel discussions, workshops, and other events extend the exhibitions beyond the walls. You can also find a restaurant, café, bar, shop, and event spaces here. A particularly distinctive detail is that drinks from the museum’s bars and restaurants are allowed in the exhibition areas. The building’s old customs-house character and the constantly changing photographic programme make this a place where historic architecture frames an art experience that keeps moving.