I recently read an article about the letters Tove Jansson received from admirers around the world. Although she carefully replied to each one, she wrote the following to one particularly eager admirer: “You must promise me that you will not idolize me, it’s not good for either of us. Do you promise?”

Tove Jansson’s life and art resonate strongly with our time. She still manages to bring to the surface questions we are seeking answers to today. Perhaps it is most important to let her art and stories make an impression on us, but not to cling to the artist herself so tightly that we forget our own role and responsibility in this current time. Too easily we hold on to the actions of the past as if they were enough for the present. That would let us off too easily, and I dare say it’s not what Tove Jansson would have wanted from us.

For me, this journey through Tove Jansson’s life and art has only deepened my sense of how valuable it is to dare to live a life that is true to oneself, while staying connected to the surrounding world in all its pain and beauty. 

The present moment knows its history and, carried by it, steps into the future; with the same intensity, courage, and sensitivity as Tove Jansson. Unafraid of the storms, leaning into them, learning from them, laughing at oneself and at life. We have nothing but each other.

Thank you for coming on this shared journey through the Escape to Moominvalley exhibition. I hope it has stoked thoughts and emotions that lead you to reflect on your own experiences and interpretations in light of Tove Jansson’s life, art, and Moomin stories. I hope you’ll share your interpretations, experiences, and stories with someone close to you, someone that you love.