The Moomins are coming to London later this year in a special exhibition
The life and times of Finland's finest
A sure-fire hit for kids and adults alike — aside from the few who find them unfathomably creepy — a Moomins exhibition is set to open in London this November.
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration has announced the exhibition, which begins on 21st November, but it’s clear this one won’t entirely focus on the beloved cartoony characters.
Tove Jansson and her Families is the title of the exhibition, which hopes to shine a light on “the personal relationships behind the celebrated artist,” through more than 100 illustrations and other artefacts, including those featuring — of course — the Moomins characters.
Finnish finesse
If you’ve read up on Jansson at all, you may well have heard about how the author and illustrator spent many summers living in a small cabin on a tiny rocky island in Finland with her partner Tuulikki Pietilä. It’s an evocative idea we’re likely to hear more about in the upcoming exhibition.
“Tove’s extended Moomin cast are intimately inspired by her family, friends and lovers in Helsinki’s cultural circles and lesbian community,” says curator Paul Gravett.
“Her lifelong celebration of inclusivity and individuality has never been more inspiring and necessary."
Alongside some of the earliest illustrations featuring the Moomins characters, through drawings surrounding her first book, we’ll see pieces of work Jansson created for “satirical magazine” Garm and those from her mother, who was a graphic designer.
A bit of an eye-opener, this is the “UK’s first ever exhibition to focus on Tove Jansson’s work as an illustrator,” according to the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration.
However, in 2016 and 2017 the Southbank Centre held an Adventures in Moominland exhibition-slash-immersive-experience. And there was a Moomin-related exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2017, should you swear you’ve seen Moomins exhibits in London before.
How to visit
Tickets for the upcoming Tove Jansson and her Families cost £15 for adults, and go on sale from 10am on 22nd September. The show will be on at the centre until 9th May, 2027.
It’s one of two exhibitions announced for the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration's winter season, alongside Faerdom: Now, As Ever.
That’s an exhibition from Fromm Studio, whose work combines modern techniques like 3D printing with tales of folklore.
Faerdom: Now, As Ever opens on 23rd October and runs until 29th March 2027 — tickets are also £15, and go on sale from 22nd September too.
Not heard of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration before? It only opened earlier this year, in June, and is found in Clerkenwell nearby the Angel tube station. Memberships start at £45 a year, which grant access to all exhibitions, plus a 10 per cent discount in the shop and cafe.
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