Tove Jansson's art journey continues at HAM and in Japan

From the end of April 2025, visitors to HAM can admire both Tove Jansson's earliest and latest public commissions featuring Moomin characters. The permanently displayed frescoes Party in the City (1947) and Party in the Countryside (1947) will be joined by the three-part painting Summer, Spring, Autumn, completed in 1984 for the Taikurinhattu (Hobgoblin’s Hat) kindergarten in the city of Pori.

Architects Raili and Reima Pietilä, who designed the Taikurinhattu kindergarten, wanted to create a home-like space that encourages children to play and is scaled to their size. The building was named after Tove Jansson's book Finn Family Moomintroll (known as The Happy Moomins in the US). The Finnish title of the book is Taikurin hattu, which means Hobgoblin’s Hat. The Pietiläs got to know Jansson by artist Tuulikki Pietilä, who was Reima Pietilä's sister and Tove Jansson's life partner. According to Reima Pietilä, the building also resembles a magician's hat in appearance.

From the Taikurinhattu kindergarten, HAM has also received mixed-media works depicting characters from Moominvalley, Tuulikki Pietilä's cat-themed graphic works, and a scale model of the kindergarten and the adjacent Himmeli retirement home. All loans will return to their original locations once the kindergarten's renovation is complete.

Through the Hobgoblin's Hat installation, HAM encourages families with children to spend time with art. In the art huts within the exhibition space, visitors can engage with the art through touch and by experiencing the specially created soundscapes. Playing is also allowed!

Tove Jansson: Frescoes and The Hobgoblin’s Hat has been curated by HAM's curator Heli Harni, specialist (audience engagement) Lotta Kjellberg, and curator (audience engagement and learning) Sonja Taimiaho.

Tove Jansson as part of the Free Art School's anniversary exhibition

HAM opens simultaneously two exhibitions, Tove Jansson: Frescoes and The Hobgoblin's Hat and the Free Art School's anniversary exhibition, Free 90. The Free 90 exhibition showcases the school's history and its significance in the development of Finnish painting and modernism. Tove Jansson studied at the Free Art School from 1937 to 1944, and before that, she had already participated in croquis evenings. Some of her croquis drawings are on display at HAM as part of the Free 90 exhibition.

Tove Jansson – Paradise exhibition continues its journey to Japan

The Tove Jansson – Paradise exhibition, which showcased Tove Jansson’s commissioned works for public spaces, concluded at HAM in early April 2025. The major exhibition, which also gathered significant international media attention, attracted a large number of visitors to HAM: the exhibition was seen by a total of 140,892 visitors from 25 October 2024 to 6 April 2025. The exhibition was carried out in collaboration with Moomin Characters and marked the occasion of Moomins 80 anniversary.

- Both Tove Jansson and public art are at the core of HAM's identity. Over the past few months, it has been absolutely wonderful to wander through the exhibition halls among the audience – we presented a completely new perspective on Jansson's work for the first time, and it truly touched our visitors, says HAM's museum director Arja Miller.

After the exhibition ended, some of the works will travel to Japan to highlight Jansson's work in public art. The tour will start at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo from 16 July to 17 September 2025, before moving to the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art from 1 October to 24 November 2025. After these dates, the exhibition will continue its journey across Japan, with specific locations to be announced later. The tour is carried out by Asahi Shimbun in collaboration with HAM Helsinki Art Museum.

New Tove Jansson Gallery opening in 2026

Following the Tove Jansson: Frescoes and The Hobgoblin’s Hat at HAM, larger changes are on the horizon. Early in 2026, HAM will open a Tove Jansson Gallery, which will create a more expansive and experiential exhibit around the beloved frescoes than ever before.

The new gallery is designed to celebrate Jansson’s artistic legacy and foster recognition of her lasting contribution to art history and Finnish society. It will provide a diverse presentation of Tove Jansson’s art and offer new perspectives on Jansson as a Helsinki resident and an international artist. The themes of the temporary exhibitions will change about once a year, with the first exhibition themed Courage, inspired by the book Comet in Moominland.

The Tove Jansson Gallery is produced in collaboration with Moomin Characters.

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Media representatives are welcome to visit Tove Jansson: Frescoes and The Hobgoblin’s Hat on 24 April at 13–15. HAM's curator Heli Harni, specialist (audience engagement) Lotta Kjellberg, and curator (audience engagement and learning) Sonja Taimiaho. For more information and to register, please contact anna.vihanta@hamhelsinki.fi.