A Tom of Finland duvet cover (IT26:1). Photo: Johnny Korkman/Finnish Heritage Agency.

The independence era collection

We record the phenomena of the independence era.

The independence era collection was founded in 2017 for the purpose of recording and documenting 20th and 21st century phenomena. Before, items from Finland’s recent history were divided between the historical and ethnographic collections.

The cut-off year is 1918. Items older than that – accessions supplementing old collections – continue to be placed in either the historical or ethnographic collection.

The independence era collection also records material related to the spheres of other collections like the Coin Cabinet, the Maritime Museum of Finland and the ethnographic collection of the National Museum of Finland, such as items related to multiculturalism.

In many museums, the focus of collections accessioning has begun to shift increasingly towards phenomena-based recording. What this means is that the museums’ materials are no longer composed only of items, but include interviews, documents, photographs or digital material as well.

The preservation responsibility of museums also extends to the documentation of contemporary phenomena. In recording the present, museums also make use of futurology methods where possible, meaning the analysis of contemporary signs, signals and phenomena from the perspective of the future, with the aim of determining how they will persist in the future. What will be left over from this period for future generations?

For more information, please contact:

Sanna Teittinen, tel. +358 (0)295 33 6394, sanna.teittinen@kansallismuseo.fi