Tiina Elina Nurminen’s art is being spread across the Baltic Sea area from Viking Line’s vessels – “We want to promote diversity in art”

Works representing the joys of taking a cruise by the artist Tiina Elina Nurminen are gaining a wide audience with their appearance on the reusable carrier bags in Viking Line’s tax-free shops. This outsider artist, who loves cruises, has immortalized the company’s new vessel Viking Glory and the ship’s cat Ville Viking in commissioned works of art. The original works will be on display in the artist’s exhibition at the Turku museum Aboa Vetus Ars Nova starting June 16.

Viking Line commissioned four works of art by the artist Tiina Elina Nurminen. Two of them were printed on the reusable carrier bags on sale on all the company’s vessels. The works depict the new vessel Viking Glory, which provides scheduled cruise service from Turku to Stockholm, and the ship’s cat, Ville Viking.

Tiina Elina Nurminen works in the Taide-Pompo art studio, part of the network of studios organized by the Turku-based European Outsider Art Association’s arts centre Into, located in Ravattula. Through the art association, artists with special needs get professional support from art mentors. Nurminen worked a whole year with the works of art commissioned by Viking Line.

“The artist Tiina Elina Nurminen’s fantastic, vibrantly coloured and detailed works of art had already made an impression on us. We also know that she loves cruises and the Viking Line vessels in her home town. So it was a natural choice to commission her in particular for the prints on our new reusable carrier bags. Passengers carry her bags from our vessels all across Finland and out into the world, providing enormous exposure for her works, which sparkle with the joy of life,” says Dani Lindberg, Sustainability Manager at Viking Line.

Nurminen’s works will be on display at Galleria Into at Turku’s museum of archaeology and contemporary art Aboa Vetus Ars Nova in a private exhibition that will open on June 16.

“This project with Viking Line is an incredibly wonderful thing for art activities for people with special needs. Combining art with reusable carrier bags in itself is a fantastic idea. It is also encouraging for other artists with special needs that Viking Line commissioned works from Tiina Elina Nurminen, and it gives them faith in their own work. People with special needs rarely have their voice heard in society. Art is a vital channel of expression for them, and the importance of the art studios in this context is irreplaceable,” says Sirpa Taulu, who is Executive Director of the Kettuki European Outsider Art Association, which runs a network of art studios for people with special needs.

“A world of art with many voices enriches society. It is encouraging that great progress is being made on equality issues. In many ways, being different has now become the new normal, and we older people can learn from younger generations. I hope there will be more corporate partnerships since together with companies we can carry on a discussion about values and highlight different perspectives.”

Art in various forms is an important part of the cruise experience on all five Viking Line vessels. For example, on Viking Glory, pieces from Stefan Lindfors’ series of sculptures Under ytan/Under the Surface have been placed in public spaces, while cabin walls are decorated with works by the Åland-based artist Jonas Wilén. Photography exhibitions have been held in the company’s port terminals. The reusable carrier bags are a brand-new way for Viking Line to delight passengers with art. 

“Everyone is welcome on our vessels so we also want to highlight diversity in art and culture. For people with special needs, art is a really important way to express themselves and achieve self-fulfilment. By working in partnership with Nurminen, the Into art centre and Aboa Vetus, we want to help bring greater attention to art activities for people with special needs,” says Dani Lindberg.

The artist Tiina Elina Nurminen

Tiina Elina Nurminen (born 1960), who is from Turku, has taken part in a number of group exhibitions in Finland such as the Into art centre’s 10-year anniversary exhibition at Brinkala Galleri (Turku, 2019), the exhibition Viidakossa tarkkaillaan at Galleria Kaarisilta (Helsinki, 2018) and the exhibition Outoja lintuja, kummia kaloja – art by groups with special needs from the Nordic countries – at Galleria ARX (Tavastehus, 2008).

Her works were exhibited in Melbourne, Australia in 2009 (Revealing the Human, Arts Project Australia). She has also been involved in the creation of a number of public works of art. In 2014, Tiina Elina Nurminen was named artist of the year at Kettuki European Outsider Art Association.

Tiina Elina Nurminen’s art register entry: www.kettukintaiteilijamatrikkeli.fi/en/taiteilijat/tiina-elina-nurminen/