Sisters win the Cultural Heritage-makers competition with a story of the family sewing machine
First place in the third national Cultural Heritage-makers competition went to Hilla and Linnea Sarviaho from Siuntio. In their entry, the sisters told the story of a Singer sewing machine that was originally brought across the border from Karelia and that has been with the family ever since. This year, the competition focused on the stories and life spans of various industrial products, as well as on industrial production in our immediate environments.
The panel of judges was impressed with the elegant and story-like narrative of the sisters’ piece and the approach that highlighted cultural heritage.
“Our mother Mari Sarviaho says we build on our identity each day. It is important for us to acknowledge and understand the ways of our generation and past ones and see our own actions as a continuation and development of those ways. To us, the story of the Singer sewing machine is part of our family’s living history.”
The international audience of the competition was taken into account by writing some of the texts in English. The photos included in the piece will be displayed in December at the Kontupiste exhibition in the Mellunkylä district of Helsinki.
The creators of the work, Hilla and Linnea Sarviaho, will be rewarded with a stipend of €500. The sisters were guided in their creative endeavour by their mother, Mari Sarviaho, who is a visual arts teacher.
Honourable mentions to Vantaa and Kaustinen
The panel of judges also awarded three honourable mentions. In addition to this, all groups that took part in the competition received a diploma.
Tuomela School in Vantaa was granted two honourable mentions. In their video piece, pupils of class 6B recounted the history of chocolate spanning from the Central American Olmec civilisation to the manufacturing processes of Fazer, the Finnish producer of confectionary. The entertaining video examines the phases of chocolate in a comprehensive and illustrative manner with just the right amount of humour.
The pupils of class 6A of Tuomela School, in turn, produced a video depicting the history of the camera and how it developed over time. The panel appreciated the partially dramatised narrative and found the piece highly enjoyable and informative.
The fifth graders of Köyhäjoki School in Kaustinen described the production of roof trusses at a local factory. The pupils visited the factory and learned a lot about the machinery and day-to-day activities at the facility, and about various roof trusses. The panel of judges particularly appreciated the work for highlighting local industrial production.
Panel thrilled with the diversity of the entries
Entries from all over Finland were sent in for the competition. The age of the participants ranged from 10 to 18 years. Groups with two or more members born in or after 1997 were eligible to enter the competition.
The panel of judges was thrilled with the wide variety of entries on industrial products. For example, the entries told the stories of telephones, violins, food products and clothing. A total of three entries were on chocolate and its production.
The panel of judges included representatives from the Ministry of the Environment, the National Board of Antiquities, the Finnish National Board of Education, the Finnish Local Heritage Federation and the Association of Cultural Heritage Education in Finland, who all also form the European Heritage Days working group.
A competition based on the European Heritage Days
The competition is part of the joint European Heritage Days of the Council of Europe and the European Commission – an event which is overseen by the Ministry of the Environment in Finland.
The European Heritage Days is an annual event that encourages people to take action to benefit their own cultural environment and heritage. It is held on the second weekend of September and is aimed at sparking discussion and promoting awareness and appreciation of the cultural environment.
The theme for next year’s European Heritage Days and the competition will be community places and shared environments. The competition will be opened in February 2016.
- The competition entries can be browsed at the international website www.europeanheritagedays.com under “Cultural Heritage-makers 2015” (find Finland on the map and click the stars)
- Winning entry, Story of a Singer, no. 45596544
- European Heritage Days (rakennusperinto.fi)
- European Heritage Days blog (blogspot.fi)
More information on the competition
Hanna Lämsä, Executive Director, Association of Cultural Heritage Education in Finland, tel. +358 (0)40 128 0818, [email protected]
More information on the European Heritage Days
Jonina Vaahtolammi, Coordinator, Finnish Local Heritage Federation, tel. +358 (0)9 612 63229, [email protected]
Hanna Hämäläinen, Planning Officer, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 (0)295 250 095, [email protected]