Throughout my life, I have strongly identified with both struggle and creating change. As someone belonging to multiple minorities, it has been an inevitable necessity to carve out space for both myself and others. I have longed for connection with the world around me and its realities that differ from my own. I gave my first speech at the age of 12 at my school’s Independence Day celebration. It was 1990, and I had a burning need to share stories. 

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about themes of play and freedom. Alongside struggle, it’s important to preserve space for freedom. Who are we without the fight? What does a world where everyone has space to freely live and thrive look like? 

Above all, Tove Jansson created space for people to be themselves through her art and stories. At the same time, she also engaged in critical dialogue with surrounding society through her art, showing a reality where people are adrift without safety, and giving a voice to those who went unheard. 

As a person, Tove Jansson gives the impression that she created both a strong mental as well as physical home – a sanctuary for both herself and the art she loved. To me, she appears as someone who lived in harmony with life’s unpredictability and still managed to find joy amidst uncertainty. 

It’s astonishing that one person’s art and imagination can give rise to something that endures over decades. It also feels important that this is a woman’s voice – a voice not upheld over the years by power structures but by the people touched by her art. Perhaps one legacy of Jansson’s art is the strength of that human chain, reminding us that we are not isolated individuals but part of a greater humanity – its history, present, and future. That humanity brings with it great responsibility, but also reminds us that mischief and the ability to laugh at oneself are at the core of being human. 

Welcome to this shared journey into Tove Jansson’s life and art, and into Moominvalley. My name is Jani Toivola, I am an artist, writer, and speaker. I have selected a few works and themes from the Escape to Moominvalley exhibition that particularly resonate with me, which I will further explore and interpret. My reflections are based on my own personal experiences. Each of us has our own experiences and interpretations, and I encourage you to reflect on your own as you listen. Enjoy and let the dialogue between stories, art, and spaces carry you along.