Johanna Lecklin: Lost Images, Hidden Stories 22.3. – 4.5.2025

Book a 45-minute private guided tour for lower secondary and upper secondary school groups (general upper secondary schools, vocational schools).

Johanna Lecklin’s exhibition, Lost Images, Hidden Stories, sheds light on the Finnish Civil War and the untold narratives of history. Her works particularly explore the fates of women and children caught in the turmoil of war.

The guided tour for school groups approaches the exhibition through themes of interpretation, memory, and imagination. In addition to the exhibition’s subject matter, the tour considers the materials, methods, and site-specific aspects of the artworks. What can art teach us? Is it possible to rediscover lost time? How do materials and locations carry memories, helping us perceive the past through the lens of the present?

The tour also addresses the events of the Civil War, focusing particularly on the perspective of women and children. What connections can be drawn between the events of 1918 and today’s polarised society and its attitudes?

Designed to be conversational, accessible, and educational, the tour does not present a chronological account of the Civil War. Instead, it centres on Lecklin’s artistic approach, working methods, and the discussions sparked by the group’s questions.

The tour is best suited to groups that have already studied the Civil War as part of their history curriculum. It applies contemporary theories to explore one of the darkest periods in Finnish history. During the visit, the group will also take part in an interactive discussion exercise in pairs.

The tour is ideal for phenomenon-based learning and integrates well with subjects such as visual arts, history, social studies, philosophy, and Finnish language and literature.

Keywords: Finnish Civil War, empathy, perception, memory, imagination and recollection, women’s roles, children’s perspectives, site-specificity, new materialism, intersectional feminism, sensitivity

INFO:

Guided tours can be booked via Kunsthalle Helsinki’s website: https://taidehalli.fi/en/tours/

Tours are available during Kunsthalle Helsinki’s opening hours:

Tue, Thu, Fri: 11 am – 6 pm, Wed: 11 am – 8 pm, Sat–Sun: 11 am – 5 pm

Prices: Weekdays €60, Sundays: €80

Languages available: Finnish, Swedish, English.

Recommended group size: 25 students per teacher and guide.

Instructions for school group visits (Click on “When visiting with children”): https://taidehalli.fi/en/visit/

Further information about the exhibition: https://taidehalli.fi/en/events/johanna-lecklin-lost-images-hidden-stories/