Jacqueline Kennedy liked it
Nine large fabrics were displayed at the exhibition of the Finnish design icon Marimekko. The exhibition of the 65-year-old Marimekko was first opened in Estonia by the Finnish Institute three years ago. It was held in the Museum of Applied Art and Design in Tallinn and attracted a whopping 6000 visitors.
“The exhibition visited other places in Estonia in addition to Tallinn and achieved almost equal success everywhere,” said Vain. “How could it be any different? Something this attractive, striking, colourful and suggestive is bound to inject positivity into everyone and bring some sparkle, novelty and freshness into our lives.”
The exhibited fabrics represent different periods of time and show patters created by different designers. Maija Isola (1927-2001) the one among the represented designers who deserves a special mention. The pattern created by the legendary designer that is exhibited in Narva is ‘The Red Poppy’. Isola created more than 500 different patterns when working for Marimekko and one-fifth of them depict flowers.
Marimekko’s status as a symbol of pop art is further confirmed by the synchrony of its design with, for example, the flower paintings of Andy Warhol. Or the fact that Jacqueline Kennedy bought eight Marimekko dresses before her husband’s presidential campaign. This paved the way for Marimekko’s popularity in the US. “Marimekko has become a lifestyle and it’s here to stay,” said Vain. Minister of Culture Indrek Saar hoped that someone in Estonia will soon come up with a design as good as Marimekko’s. The Marimekko exhibition at the Narva Art Residency will remain open until 22 December.
Nordic walking and Finnish films
Director of Academic Affairs at Narva College Aet Kiisla praises the Ambassador of Finland whom she first met at the Opinion Festival in Paide this year. Nordic walking and its thoroughly Finnish roots came up in conversation. This resulted in the agreement that a Nordic walking event will also be organised during the Finnish Days.
Kiisla invited the best Estonian Nordic walking specialist and promoter Rene Meimer to be the instructor during the Finnish week. Around twenty people gathered for the event and as it was very icy outside, they used grassy areas where they could walk in circles. The slope by the Narva river was used to practice walking up and down. However, the event started with a theory lesson in the college’s foyer.
Kiisla said that she and Meimer have definite plans to also promote Nordic walking to people other than older ladies, who are the main fans of this form of exercise at present.
“Athletes could also practice this, as we know how good Nordic walking is for the development of basic fitness,” said Kiisla. “Rene used to be a strong triathlete and I know how effective Nordic walking has been when preparing for a marathon. When you look at Nordic walkers in Narva, you see many more people using the correct technique than, for example, at Stroomi beach in Tallinn. I think this is the result of the many Nordic walking events we’ve had here.”
Programme Coordinator of the Nordic Council of Minister in Narva Jevgeni Timoštšuk said that the Finnish week had been a resounding success. For example, 300 people visited the Astri cinema in Narva to watch the four Finnish films represented at the event − Antti Haase’s documentary ‘Monsterman’ about the heavy metal band Lordi; Juho Kuosmanen’s ‘The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki’; Mika Kaurismäki’s ‘Homecoming’; and the collaboration of Estonia and Finland ‘The Secret Society of Souptown’, which is based on the novel by Mika Keränen, a Finnish author living in Estonia.
“The goal was to cover different target groups and it seems that we achieved this by offering events from Nordic walking to the Finnish service in Narva Alexander’s Cathedral,” said Timoštšuk. “There was a lot of interest in the Marimekko exhibition and the introduction of the cuisine of Ingrian Finns at the Community Centre. The positive feedback made us realise that we could introduce a Nordic country to the people of Narva at a larger scale every year. The Norwegian Days will be taking place in Narva next year.”
Teet Korsten
Põhjarannik 14.12.2016