Midsummer Preparty celebration at the Design Museum 12th June

Free admission to exhibitions and all events at Design Museum 
from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday 12 June

Design Museum brings Finnish Midsummer traditions into the urban setting and invites everyone to a Midsummer Preparty celebration with designers Aamu Song and Johan Olin who have created the Secret Universe exhibition. On Helsinki Day, 12 June,  Design Museum will celebrate Finnish craft traditions together with local master craftsmen.

The high point of the event will be the decoration and raising of the Midsummer pole, also known as the maypole in some countries, followed by traditional songs and round dances. Flowers are attached to the Midsummer pole, and participants can also bring their own flowers. All flowers are welcome!

The programme also features demonstrations of chainsaw sculpture in the front yard area of the museum by wood sculptors Leo Löppönen and Pertti Karhunen. In honour of the celebration with free admission to all visitors, Design Museum will stage the Mask workshop and the Service Counter of the Secret Universe exhibition will be open from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The finishing touch to the floral splendour of Midsummer is provided by a flower-themed colouring workshop in Design Museum’s Studio.

The Midsummer Preparty celebration is one the Secret Universe exhibition’s Holy Day events, honouring and celebrating the cultures and crafts traditions of different countries. The series of Holy Days will continue in August with the Russian Holy Day on 15 August, followed by the Mexican Holy Day on 21 September.

Midsummer Preparty Programme
Wednesday 12 June, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

11 a.m. – 6 p.m.  Demonstration of work by master craftsmen in front of the museum: wood sculptors Leo Löppönen and Pertti Karhunen
11 a.m. –1:30 p.m.  Midsummer pole decoration workshop
2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. The raising ceremony of the Midsummer pole, dancing and singing
2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Mask workshop in the Secret Universe exhibition
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.  Service Counter open in the Secret Universe exhibition
12 a.m. – 3 p.m.  Flower-themed workshop in the Studio

Participants of the Mask workshop will take part in assembling an installation work
Open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Midsummer Preparty celebration on 12 June.

Designers Song and Olin, who have created Secret Universe, have also made for the exhibition a participatory work for the public with encounters and meetings as its main theme. It invites people to make things together, to draw, touch and engage in conversation. It will change during the exhibition from the touch of people as the empty masks of the piece acquire distinct personalities. An open workshop will be held once a month where people can take part in creating the pieces. The participants leave their own works on show as part of the installation.

No bookings: Participation in the nonstop workshops on a first come first served basis as seats become available. Maximum 60 participants per workshop session.

The nonstop workshops are meant for everyone and do not require any special skills. The pieces prepared by the participants will remain part of the exhibition installation.

Visitors to the Service Counter study objects by looking at them, touching them and testing and trying them out
The Service Counter will be open from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Midsummer Preparty event.

The exhibition includes the Service Counter in the Collections Room. Behind the counter are over 200 products that were designed and made in the Secret Universe projects. The counter is an experiential and participatory work where visitors to the exhibition can personally study some of the pieces.  

When the counter is open, museum visitors can first familiarize themselves with the selection of available objects after which they can individually ask for a piece to study it and take a closer look. Some of the objects can be studied by looking and touching at leisure after which they are returned to their own places on the shelves.

The artists hope that since only one item can be chosen, the visitor will carefully consider which piece he or she wants to study more closely. In this way, they want to draw attention to the process of considering things as opposed to present-day abundance of goods and endless freedom of choice.