Amazing and Magical! A tale of the birth of Chappe 

2.10-28.2.2027

2 October 2026 – 28 February 2027 Chappe (cellar, Kromosom space)

“As I walked along the streets in Ekenäs, I found that block to be interesting enough, but I thought that it could be even more interesting. The idea is that it will be striking in the best sense of the word.” 
Albert de la Chapelle

The exhibition displays the life and career of Albert de la Chapelle, describes the origin and accumulation of his art and silver collection, and tells the story of the Chappe.

In 2016, Albert de la Chapelle (1933–2020) presented his ideas about building an art museum in Ekenäs. Albert’s wife, Professor Clara D. Bloomfield (1942–2020), also contributed to the project.   In 2018, the Albert de la Chapelle Art Foundation announced an architecture contest for invited architectural firms, and JKMM Architects was chosen as the winner.  The museum project’s main planner has been Asmo Jaaksi.

The exhibition presents an extensive timeline of the life of Albert de la Chapelle as well as the history and origin of the cultural quarter in Ekenäs. A documentary video produced by dlc media delves into the life of Albert by utilizing archive material and interviews to seek the person behind the deeds and accomplishments. The documentary film is available for viewing at the museum and on Chappe’s YouTube channel.

In the section describing the different phases of Chappe, architect Asmo Jaaksi, and architect Jenni Reuter, the chairperson of the architectural competition jury, share their thoughts. There is also on display a time-lapse video of the progress of the construction work as well as the original architectural drawings and the scale model submitted by JKMM Architects that were entered into the competition.