Minna Arve: Opening words

New Visions -seminaari Logomossa 11.10.2018

• New Visions oli Historian museo Turkuun -hankkeen järjestämä kansainvälinen seminaari, jossa käsiteltiin tulevaisuuden museoita kaupunkisuunnittelun, arkkitehtuurin ja sisältöjen esittämisen näkökulmista. Julkaisemme videotallenteet puheenvuoroista YouTubessa ja blogissamme. Videotallenteet eivät ole tekstitettyjä, mutta blogin yhteydestä löytyy puheenvuorot litteroituina.

Good morning, everyone. Hyvää huomenta. God morgon. I'm so glad to see you all here, though I know that some of you are still somewhere between Helsinki and Turku in the train. You know, we have this project called 'One-hour train between Turku and Helsinki'. You know why. It's exactly because of this kind of situations. I'm so, so glad to be here, and I'm so glad that this planning of our future museum is already in this point that we are having great discussions and planning visions, all those things. This is one of the things, it's maybe been one of the most inspiring, concrete things for me for several years already. I was the Chair of City Board during 2011 while Turku was the city of culture, the European Capital of Culture, and during that year I strongly felt that there is need for one more museum in Turku. And why? Because the history of Turku is the strongest part of the history of Finland. And not only Finland but also Sweden. Somehow there is a story to be told, still. Not only the story to be told, but also nowadays when years have passed, and the technology is evolving, and all kind of new possibilities are coming, I actually think that this moment where we are now, is really interesting and really giving a lot of new possibilities how to do the interesting, new museum and what it actually will be. What is the museum of future. I was visiting a couple of weeks ago in Helsinki in Amos Rex, which is the most recent new museum in Finland, and one of the most modern ones, and really inspiring place. I had my kids with me - my other kid is 2 years old and the other one is 9 - and they were thrilled about how they could take part to build the actual art there. There's a possibility that you can go and draw your own butterfly, they will scan it and then you will see it on the screen, or in the wall, and then you can find it and you can go and touch it and then it blows, like this, around. You can imagine how many kids there were running around in that room and trying to find their own creations and so on. So, there is a future to be seen. How to also find new publics to the museum, how to get kids inspired, and how they want to go museum. It's inspiring. It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to Turku, and as you can see, I'm inspired and hope you will be also as inspired and having a great day today.

Turku is the oldest city in Finland and very rich in cultural heritage. Local citizens are quite aware of our long history and they take pride in it. It also shows in number of museums that we have here in Turku, both in city administrated museums and private museums. Museums are a great asset to our city, and there is also a good drive to develop not only this new one but all these existing museums. We are now here to discuss about what will be the new Museum of History, and how it will be taking place, how it will be telling the stories and histories about Turku, and when doing that, it tells the story and history of Finland. We are now in the planning phase, strong strands in new museum's planning are participated process and co-creating with Turku citizens. This is also something of today, to involve people, to share expertise. At this point, the general aims for the museums are quite clear. New museum will be a next generation museum that offers knowledge and learning through interactive hands-on solutions and immersive experiences; a museum that aims to test the boundaries of what the museum can be. The world changes rapidly around us, and this reflects upon how people choose to spend their time and what activities interest them. Expectations. People have to watch museums are now quite different compared to what they were twenty, or even ten, years ago. Museums are now more and more a part of the experience economy, and this is something that has to be taken into account when developing museums. As the world changes, so must museums change. It's not enough to just keep up with, and react to, changes, but also to do pioneer work with new ideas and innovations, and to really think what a museum can be and how museums can be relevant today.

Turku has, in its history, been a very international city - a gateway for commerce and for new ideas and innovations. This is also true nowadays, as one example is also how we are proceeding with planning our new museum. Benchmarking and networking internationally, like today. Turku will celebrate its 800-years Anniversary in 2029, and this is also the year when, at the latest, our new museum is ready and open for public. So, dear friends, I'm sure that today you will have an opportunity to hear wonderful, inspiring speeches by our guest speakers, whom I would also like to especially welcome. Thank you for taking the time and coming to Turku, we are very happy to have you here. So, dear friends, I hope you will have a wonderful, inspiring day and a lot of new ideas, which will eventually end up in our new museum. Thank you.