Prime Minister Vanhanen at the Opening of the Tales from Denmark Exhibition

Nordic cultural cooperation has long and honourable traditions. Contacts between Finland and Denmark, both members of the joint Nordic ‘family’, have also been close. As we can read from the publication for the exhibition opening today at our national art gallery, Finnish artists studied in Denmark already in the 1800s. The Royal Art Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen was a highly valued place of learning especially among our sculptors. Cultural exchange between our countries has been rich; yet exhibitions of Danish visual art have been rare in Finland. A more extensive exhibition of Danish art was last held here at the Ateneum Art Museum more than a century ago.

Fortunately, Danish art is not, however, a completely new acquaintance for us Finns. Your Royal Highness, in 2002, we had the great honour and pleasure of enjoying the artistic talents of your sister, Queen Margarethe of Denmark. The Didrichsen Art Museum hosted her exhibition, and she personally participated in setting up the exhibition.

The exhibition now opening gives the Finnish public the chance to see artworks spanning more than a hundred year’s time, from the start of the 1800s to the early 1900s. Artworks for the exhibition have been lent by the Danish National Gallery, the Swedish National Gallery and by Finnish collections. The Ateneum’s own collections include works by notable Danish artists. Also on display is the collection donated to the State of Finland in 1953 by H. B. Tobiesen, the Danish shipping company owner and friend of Finland. For decades this collection has been situated in the Finnish Embassy in Copenhagen; it is now exhibited in Finland for the first time. The artworks of interiors, portraits, and landscapes on display in the Tales from Denmark portray the Danes and Denmark, which to us, your Nordic neighbours, is both familiar and little known.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Programme of the Finnish Government formed in spring states the Government’s intention to strengthen the creative economy and to increase the importance of culture to the national economy by promoting exports of culture and enterprise in the cultural sector. My Government is also committed to the promotion of creativity, diverse talents and innovation, starting from early education. Art is every citizen’s basic right and a strategic resource for society, in the same way as science. We need artists. Their importance in our multifaceted and culturally diverse society is at least as great as it was in Finland at the time when these artworks were created. Then, through our artists, we wanted to show that we are a nation among nations; now we strive, for our part, to respond to the new, common challenges brought by a globalising world. Citizens’ well-being, equality, fairness, respect for the environment, and sustainable development are still our shared Nordic values.

Besides Nordic cooperation, Denmark and Finland are linked by European cooperation. Promotion of cultural diversity and furthering dialogue between cultures have been brought to the fore as the EU’s new objective in the sphere of culture. There is the wish to support the movement of artists and artworks across national borders. Among the countries of the Nordic region, this dialogue has always been both easy and natural.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

We are well acquainted with modern Danish architecture, design and visual arts but not so familiar with the artistic achievements of earlier times. I am certain that this exhibition will introduce us to new and interesting facets of Denmark and Danish art. This exhibition is a fine example of the possibilities an integrated Europe offers for Nordic cultural cooperation. It also speaks of the smooth and high quality of cooperation among Nordic institutions of art. It is my great honour to declare this exhibition open.