Each year, there are many Moomin and Tove Jansson exhibitions around the world. Moomin.com has gathered information about some of the current instalments – why not head to a museum on a rainy day this summer?
We present some of the exhibitions more at length elsewhere on moomin.com, but here is a summary of exhibitions organised by country:
Moomin exhibitions in Finland
From Tove’s Bookshelves / Moomin Museum, Tampere
What did Tove Jansson read, and what books inspired her?
The Moomin Museum in Tampere, Finland, browses through Tove Jansson’s bookshelves, including world literature, children’s books and beautiful illustrations.
The oldest book in the exhibition is from the 1880s, and the newest is from the 1970s. The collection spans almost a century and shows how children’s literature and illustration evolved and how interested Tove Jansson was in following what other children’s authors were doing.
The temporary exhibition, which is open until March 2023, features both books which inspired Tove Jansson and her own books.
The exhibition showcases Jansson’s written and sketched dedications to her friends and family. There are many first edition Moomin books with personal inscriptions, for example, the first edition of Comet in Moominland with a personal inscription from Tove to her father. There are also books by other writers, such as Astrid Lindgren, who sent their books to Jansson with inscriptions dedicated to her.
Opening dates: May 21, 2022 – March 12, 2023
More information here and in an upcoming article on Moomin.com. And don’t forget to visit the Moomin Museum’s extensive permanent exhibition about the Moomins, which is a real treasure chest for Moomin fans – featuring among many other things 41 three-dimensional tableaux of events and places in Moominvalley, including a Moominhouse built by Tove Jansson’s partner Tuulikki Pietilä and their friend Pentti Eistola, assisted by Jansson herself.
Tove Jansson exhibition: Tove Jansson and the Sea, Townhall of Hamina
The historic Town Hall of Hamina hosts an exhibition focusing on sea-themed works by Tove Jansson. The main attractions are two murals, more than 5 meters wide, commissioned by the Town of Hamina for the 300th anniversary of the city back in 1952. One of the paintings depicts the history of the fortress town in hundreds of interesting details, while the other shows the same story on the seafloor, as if in a dream.
These large paintings by Tove Jansson, now turning 70 years, will be on display for the first time in an art exhibition for the general public.
The exhibition also features other paintings and drawings by Tove Jansson, emphasizing the artist’s close relationship with the sea. The core of the art exhibition is composed of dozens of works by Tove Jansson from the collections of the artist’s family and Moomin Characters.
Opening dates: 10 June – 13 August 2022
Tove Jansson and the Moomins exhibition (Tove Jansson ja Muumit), Jukolanmäen Navetanvintti, Lohtaja
The exhibition at Jukolanmäen Navetanvintti, Lohtaja will feature Jansson’s paintings, illustrations and cartoons. At the center are the Moomin characters and the process of creating them, but the exhibition is not limited only to them.
The exhibition also focuses on the sea as a theme in Jansson’s production and life. Tove Jansson spent almost all her summers in the Pellinge archipelago in the eastern Gulf of Finland, first with her childhood family and later with her life partner, the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä. The sea and the archipelago were dear to Jansson and a great source of inspiration, visible throughout her artistic production. In the exhibition, this can be seen through sea-themed Moomin imagery and photos from Jansson’s life in the archipelago. Visitors will also be able to see the documentary Haru – Island of the Solitary, which is based on Pietilä’s 16mm film footage of their summers on the Klovharun Island.
Opening dates: June 29 – August 7th, 2022.
Moomin Ice Cave, Leppävirta
The popular Moomin Ice Cave, located in Leppävirta, Finland, is open for Moomin fans of all ages also during summer. This year’s exhibition is based on a story from the Moominvalley animation series. Moominmamma and Moominpappa are about to go into hibernation when the police inspector knocks on the door. Stinky has escaped and the tracks lead to Moominhouse. In addition, Mrs Fillyjonk decides to visit the Moomin family, which means that there’s no time for sleep – adventures await!
The Ice Cave is located 30 meters underground in a skiing arena. The frozen winter wonderland is carved by the best ice sculptors in the world. The exhibition consists of ice sculptures and various winter activities, such as a slide from a castle, a snow tube, and a whip sledge. The temperature in the cave is -3 degrees Celsius all around the year.
Opening dates: Open around the year
Moomin ABC Exhibition touring different venues in Finland and Sweden
The Moomin ABC exhibition invites children to play with words and to learn about emotions.
The touring exhibition offers a thrilling introduction to the alphabet and a tour of the magical Moominvalley. Children and adults can get acquainted with the Moomin stories and discuss different emotions such as disappointment, sadness and the desire for adventure. The Moomin ABC Exhibition, first seen in the Helsinki Bookhouse in Helsinki, Finland and at the Eden Project in Cornwall, the UK, is exhibited at several venues in Finland and Sweden during 2022.
The exhibition consists of beautiful and playful Moomin-themed modules children can crawl into and through. There is also a poster exhibition with different letters and stories behind them, combined with a whole adventure filled with thrilling tasks and a set of educational material about emotions. The engaging exhibition invites children to go through different kinds of tasks regarding emotions and letters, described in an instruction book available at the beginning of the exhibition. The Finnish and Swedish versions of the exhibition were created based on the ABC books Mumindalens Alfabet (Swedish) and Onnelliset Aakkoset (Finnish), whereas other language versions are based on the original Moomin stories created by Tove Jansson. You can experience the exhibition at the following venues in 2022, and more are being added.
The City Library, Uuskaarlepyy April 5 – June 22, 2022
City Library, Korsnäs, August 8 – September 30, 2022
Funnys Äventyr, Malmö, January 1 – September 2, 2022
Exhibition showcasing Tove Jansson’s heritage in Finnish children’s literature
Finnish children’s literature is both innovative and vigorous. The touring exhibition “Crossing the Baltic Sea” (En resa över Östersjön) by The Finnish Institute in Stockholm showcases Finnish children’s books and how they build upon the heritage of Tove Jansson and the universe of texts and pictures that she introduced in 1945. The exhibition is combined with pedagogical material in Finnish and Swedish.
Moomin exhibitions in Germany
The Fantastic World of Tove Jansson (Die fantastische Welt der Tove Jansson), Lübeck
The exhibition shows the creation of the enchanting Moominworld. It spans the painterly oeuvre of Tove Jansson, which has so far been little known in Germany, to her late literature for adults. More than forty top-class loans from Finland are on display. The show takes young and old museum guests on a long journey through the unconventional life and work of Tove Jansson.
The museum organises many other side events, such as musical Moomin readings where the actor Rainer Rudloff reads stories about the Moomins accompanied by Finnish songs on flute, singing and accordion.
Günter Grass House also offers training for teachers around Tove Jansson, as the exhibition offers numerous starting points for teaching German, art, but also history and ethics. It opens up opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching at primary and secondary level.
During Midsummer on June 25th, a Finnish midsummer festival is taking place in the garden of the Günter Grass house for guests of all ages.
Opening dates: March 27 – September 25, 2022
Tove 22, Brake, Germany
Tove 22 is a multi-facet-festival in northern Germany promoting the Moomins as well as the work, life and values of Tove Jansson. It is initiated as a non-profit cooperation of a literature society, a seafarers museum and a local art school and running for a whole year.
Activities have included an illumination inspired by Moominland Midwinter, on-site lectures and a writing competition at Brake grammar school. An indoor exhibition and an outdoor installation in the seafarers’ museums in Brake were opened on April 24 and runs until September 15. In the exhibition, a presentation on Tove Jansson is supplemented by a collection of rare Moomin souvenirs. Visitors get a fascinating insight into how the Moomins were received in Germany during the last decades. The site also features vintage Moomin marionettes from the Augsburger Puppenkiste, as well as a miniature version of the ABC Module Exhibition.
Upcoming events include:
June 24 at 15:30, a guided tour “Kunst und Kuchen” with Moomin Aficionado Christian Panse.
June 25 from 10:00-17:00: museums garden: Summer Party-Wimmelfest with Moomin stories, Moomin songs and adventures
August 15 – 19: Children (age 6- 12 years) are invited to encounter “Tales from Moominvalley- The Invisible Child” with artist Stefan Schaffelt
September 17 final presentation of summer workshops
November/December ABC Module Exhibition starting in public library in Brake
The TOVE 22 program is constantly being expanded. Further information about the program can be found at www.tove22.de
Opening dates: Activities all throughout the year 2022
Moomin exhibitions in Estonia:
Muumit ja meri (The Moomins and the Sea) Ilon’s Wonderland (Iloni Ihmedemaa), Haapsalu
Ilon’s Wonderland is a gallery and theme centre for children and families based on the works of the world-famous illustrator of children’s books – Ilon Wikland. During the summer of 2022, the centre will feature an exhibition about the Moomins and the sea.
The exhibition examines the Moomins’ love for nature and the sea. Jansson’s original illustrations depict the characters embarking on an adventurous voyage and enjoying a picnic on the rocky shores. In Jansson’s stories and illustrations, the wide open sea sparkles far beyond the horizon like an ever-present companion, almost like a book character itself.
Opening dates: May 20th to September 25, 2022
Moomin exhibition in Japan:
Moomin Comic Strips Exhibition – the Art of Tove and Lars Jansson
Moomin Comic Strips Exhibition – the Art of Tove and Lars Jansson is an exhibition of Moomin material that has never been shown in Japan before.
Approximately 280 original comic drawings and sketches are being exhibited at once in a touring exhibition. The exhibition introduces stories that have not been translated into Japanese. The exhibition also highlights unique characters appearing only in the comics. Visitors to the exhibition will also have a unique possibility to purchase limited-edition Moomin products curated only for the exhibition. T-shirts, dishes, bags, keyrings, etc are sold in the shop, accessible with an exhibition ticket only.
Opened in September 2020, the exhibition has been displayed at a total of eleven locations in Japan.
Opening dates: September 2020 – end of September 2022