Finlandia Art Gallery presents: Friends of Finland Youth Exhibition
Artist Reception: Thursday, December 4, 6:30-7:30pm
December 1, 2025 – January 28, 2026
HANCOCK, MI – The Finlandia Art Gallery and Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) are pleased to present the Friends of Finland Youth Exhibition featuring the work of elementary and high school students from three states.
A reception for the artists will take place on Thursday, December 4 from 6:30-7:30pm and will include hands-on activities for young people. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. The exhibit is on display through January 28, 2026 at the Finlandia Art Gallery, located in the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock.
This exhibit showcases the work of students from three Michigan schools as well as one from Wisconsin and individual artists from Pennsylvania.
Much of the work in this show is inspired by Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946). The opening of the Friends of Finland Youth Exhibit coincides with the opening of Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first exhibition to show the work of the artist in a major United States museum.
Art students at Florence High School (Wisconsin) created pastel landscapes of their area that were inspired by Schjerfbeck’s landscapes of Finland. According to Florence art teacher Kelli Ellis, students found the landscapes of Finland they studied to be so familiar they couldn’t believe they were not actually pictures of home. Schjerfbeck is also known for her self-portraits and still-life paintings. Florence students and first and second graders at Houghton Elementary School (Michigan) painted and drew flowers and self-portraits while learning about the artist.
Young artists found inspiration in other aspects of Finnish art and culture as well. Students at Calumet High School (Michigan) created gel plate prints focused on the flora and fauna of Finland and drew inspiration from Marimekko, the iconic Finnish design collective. Students from Jeffers High School (Michigan) wove colorful wall hangings inspired by Finnish and Finnish-American rag rug weavers.
The opening reception will feature hands-on arts activities for children and teens as well as Finnish refreshments. Immediately preceding the reception from 5:30-6:30pm, the Finnish American Heritage Center will host its annual observation of Finnish Independence Day. That event features young people as well, with the Kivajat Dancers performing to music played by the youth folk band Kuparikielet.