At the Helsinki International Boat Show from 12 February to 21 February 2016, the John Nurminen Foundation, an organisation working to preserve marine culture and the Baltic Sea, will present its map collection and projects focusing on the protection of the Baltic Sea.
The annual Helsinki International Boat Show is the largest boating event in Northern Europe.
During the Boat Show, the Foundation’s map exhibition in the Glass Gallery of the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre will bring to you the history of nautical charts depicting the Gulf of Finland: you can see, for example, what the earliest seafarers’ maps of the area and the first nautical charts used in recreational sailing looked like. The exhibition includes e.g. rare Waghenaer nautical charts from the late 16th century. A map of the Gulf of Finland, for example, published in 1592, depicted the route from Vyborg to the Sea of Åland. The Finnish coastline, with its peculiar rocks and island, was considered astonishing. According to him, the fairway to Turku features a Seylstein, in the vicinity of which a compass will just twirl around, calming down only a mile away from the location.
These nautical charts, drawn on paper, tell their own story of navigational secrets of the past. The Foundation works actively to ensure that the pearls of our rich maritime culture reach everyone who is interested. The Foundation’s new cultural project, implemented in cooperation with the Maritime Museum of Finland, the Forum Marinum Maritime Centre, the Åland Maritime Museum and the Rauma Maritime Museum, will create the Loki map service, which combines sea-related imagery, stories and events on the same map. The first version of the online service will be completed in March 2016. At the Foundation’s stand, 4b41, organisations and private individuals can sign up to be included in the ‘inner circle’ of the service: we are looking for first users and enthusiasts with a personal and close relationship to the sea. https://www.johnnurmisensaatio.fi/kartta-etsii-merenkulkijaa/.
At the Foundation’s stand, you can also learn about the Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects and work to save the Baltic Sea. The Archipelago Sea Local Fishing project, launched last year by the Foundation, has moved ahead under fair winds. The project promotes the use of Finnish cyprinid fish, and is now in its pilot phase, which includes building a functioning production chain in cooperation with stakeholders of the Turku area. Municipalities of the region are invited to join the project so that a steady demand for the fish products can be ensured from the outset, responding to the needs of, for example, institutional kitchens providing daily food services. The objective is to support the creation of a local fish product market with regional operations, and scan the related small-scale opportunities, challenges and bottlenecks. Environmental education at schools is an important part of the project. At the Foundation’s stand, you will see the poster ‘Life in the Baltic Sea’, created in cooperation with SEA LIFE and the artist Peter Gibson; at the end of last year, this poster was distributed to schools in the Turku area. The interactive version of the poster is available at the Foundation’s web site, where you can also test your knowledge on the fish of the Baltic Sea. https://www.johnnurmisensaatio.fi/puhdas-itameri/tietoa-itameresta/itameren-vedenalainen-luonto/#/0 A version of the poster can also be purchased at the Boat Show: the proceeds of the sales will be used in the Clean Baltic Sea projects.
You can also support the Foundation’s work for the Baltic Sea by purchasing tickets, for yourself or as a present to a loved one, to the Clean Baltic Sea Concert, organised on 19 April 2016 at the Helsinki Music Centre, where the Foundation, in cooperation with the international Baltic Sea Philharmonic orchestra, will bring the Baltic Sea to the Music Centre. The concert will be illustrated with wonderful marine landscapes, composed of Petri Porkola’s photography. Petri Porkola’s creations can also be admired at the Horizon exhibition at the Boat Show, where the photography of Porkola and other marine photographers is on display.
As always, at the Foundation’s stand you can browse the Foundation’s non-fiction publications, and purchase them at special Boat Show prices. New publications from last year include Eero Lehtinen’s Suomalaiset sankaripurjehtijat – Kahvelipurjeista skiffeihin (Heroic Finnish sailors – from gaff sails to skiffs), where the heroic deeds and accomplishments of Finnish sailing legends are compiled to one book, which at the same time sheds light on the origins and history of Finnish competitive sailing from the late 19th century onwards, and Marjo T. Nurminen’s magnum opus Maailma piirtyy kartalle – tuhat vuotta Euroopan kulttuurihistoriaa (The Mapmakers’ World – A Cultural History of the European World Map), a truly informative and aesthetic experience telling the story of a thousand years of European history via maps.
As in previous years, the Foundation participates in tours for schoolchildren, organised for children from grades 3 to 5. The tours for schoolchildren will be organised on Monday 15 February, Tuesday 16 February, and Wednesday 17 February 2016.
Further information
Tuula Putkinen
Communications Director
John Nurminen Foundation
Tel. +358 400 907 809
etunimi.sukunimi@jnfoundation.fi
The John Nurminen Foundation, established in 1992, works for the Baltic Sea and its marine cultural heritage in a way that makes an impact and brings results. The Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects improve the status of the Baltic Sea with concrete measures that reduce the nutrient load and environmental risks faced by the sea. The Clean Baltic Sea projects are funded with private donations and public funding. www.johnnurmisensaatio.fi