Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the opening of the exhibition on the Golden Age of Finnish art at KUMU in Tallinn, 27 March 2008

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In February 2006, I had the honour and the pleasure to attend the opening of KUMU Art Museum. The name is derived from the Estonian words for ‘art museum’ — KUnsti MUuseum. In Estonian, the word ‘kumu’ means ‘rumour’ or ‘word of mouth’. In Finnish, the word means a ‘loud noise’ or ‘echo’. KUMU Art Museum is well known on both shores of the Gulf of Finland and is a popular attraction for Estonians and Finns alike.

Today, I am happy to note yet again that cultural exchange between Finland and Estonia produces magnificent results. The Turku Art Museum has brought some of the best-loved works of Finnish art to KUMU. These artists from what is known as the Golden Age of Finnish Art are of huge importance to us Finns as builders of our national identity, in the same way as the author Aleksis Kivi, the poet Eino Leino and the composer Jean Sibelius. In this, too, Finland and Estonia have a similar history.

There is a long tradition of cultural exchange between Finland and Estonia. A hundred years ago, leading Estonian artists spent summers at the community of Õnningeby on Åland. Likewise, many Finnish artists visited Estonia.

Today, Estonians frequently visit the Ateneum, Kiasma, Emma and other Finnish art museums, and Finns in turn visit KUMU.

As Finns and Estonians, we should use every means to ensure that the interest of people in the neighbouring cultures remains high. This will help us to know one another better and lead us to see things that we have not known before. Mutual understanding contributes to better cooperation in all areas.

Culture and creativity are the building blocks of innovation. Culture — the food of the spirit — is just as important as the food of the body. Creativity is a fundamental cultural force. Creativity will also help us manage in today’s rapidly changing and globalized world. Perhaps more importantly, art helps us distinguish the important from the unimportant.

Tallinn and Turku have a long history of cooperation through different times and circumstances, going back to the Middle Ages. The exhibition entitled Punaste lippude all, to be displayed at Turku Art Museum in the summer at and Malmö Art Museum in the autumn, is a selection of works from the collections of the Estonian Art Museum that casts light on a highly interesting period not very well known to us.

A review of the Golden Age of Finnish Art is particularly appropriate for finishing off this winter, which has seen both Finland and Estonia celebrate the 90th anniversary of independence. Also, last December we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the cultural agreement between Finland and Estonia.

In 2005, Ambassador Matti Maasikas wrote of our relations that the best things always find their way across the Gulf of Finland. This is true – but it would not be possible without joint efforts of the kind that have brought about this exhibition of prominent Finnish art. I would like cordially to thank everyone involved in the project. Special thanks are due to the curators, Tiina Abel of KUMU and Christian Hoffmann and Mia Haltia of the Turku Art Museum.

Finland and Estonia together can make the Baltic Sea a sea that brings cultures together — a sea that links instead of separating. Tallinn and Turku will be European Capitals of Culture in 2011, and I believe that KUMU and the Turku Art Museum have good potential for continuing their cooperation in that context.

I hereby declare the exhibition on the Golden Age of Finnish Art open.