Venue to celebrate 80th anniversary of Moomins

Tove Jansson (middle) created the Moomin characters during World War Two

A Gloucester venue will host a new public artwork in celebration of the first Moomin book's 80th anniversary.

Gloucester Guildhall is one of four UK venues that will commemorate The Moomins and the Great Flood's 1945 publication date next year.

The book was written by Finnish artist Tove Jansson, with the characters gaining popularity through novels, picture-books, films, and television series in the decades that have followed.

The artworks will appear in May and June 2025 in conjunction with Refugee Week due to its theme of refuge.

Moomin Characters Ltd is collaborating with Counterpoints Arts and Refugee Week to commission four artists to create four public artworks inspired by The Moomins and the Great Flood, commissioned by artist Dana Olărescu.

Refugee Week is the world's arts and culture festival "celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience" of refugees and people seeking sanctuary, which is run by Counterpoints Arts.

The other three artworks will appear in London, Gateshead, and Bradford.

'A story of refuge'

Roleff Kråkström, managing director of Moomin Characters Ltd, said Tove's first Moomin book was written after she "lost her joy with painting" during World War Two.

"The story is about a family where the father's gone missing in The Great Flood," he said.

"It's a story of refuge, it's a displaced family and an allegory for Europe in 1945. Every family had lost someone and there were millions of people without a home.

"Unfortunately, today, Europe resembles the Europe of 1945 more than ever in our lifetime and we wanted to highlight this.

"We also wanted to bring out Tove's extraordinary capacity to stay topical and portray catastrophe, hope, belonging, comradery, and courage in a way that stands time."

The characters promote a message of "inclusiveness, kindness and belonging"

Red Isaac, senior producer at Gloucester Guildhall, said the story of the Moomins "chimes perfectly" with the venue and the city's values.

"As a dock city, welcoming people seeking sanctuary is built into our story," she said.

"There is huge pride in this heritage, and the theme of welcoming people features prominently in the work of communities and arts organisations across the city, recognising the transformative and rich contributions of all the cultures that make up Gloucester."