Beskrivning
In the late 19th century, Finland became an active participant in international fairs to create awareness of the country’s struggle for independence from Russia. At the same time, the forestry industry grew, and the Finnish export of prefabricated wooden houses was often featured during the many international fairs arranged in the Baltic Sea region. After the Finnish independence in 1917, the same avenues for cultural diplomacy were continuously developed into the post-war decades. The early exhibitions of prefabricated houses have often been overlooked in research. However, they helped Finland create a network of international friendships with the other states in the Baltic Sea region.The aim of the paper is to analyze how Finland used exhibitions and export deals of prefabricated wooden houses as a means for cultural diplomacy and national positioning between 1880 and 1960. Main questions investigate the history of the activities, how the exhibitions were related to Finnish nation building, and why was the Baltic sphere important? The material consists of texts related to the exhibitions and trade deals, published in pamphlets, governmental texts and newspapers which are subjected to close reading and interpreted through perspectives on cultural diplomacy and nationalism.
The results show that Finland actively participated in exhibitions in the Baltic region to profile the emerging nation as independent from Russia, later the Soviet Union, and to establish an international export trade. By trading in industries that gained less political attention from the Soviet Union and with positively connotated objects, Finland could build connections around the Baltic Sea without interference. The prefabricated houses as objects are often overlooked in research as mainly products, but their cultural history as part of the cultural diplomacy and as tools for the branding of Finnishness to regular people shows the importance of understanding the trade with prefabricated houses in a political context.
| Period | 28 apr. 2025 |
|---|---|
| Evenemangstitel | Power relations and historical turning points in the Baltic sea region: Critical vocabularies for understanding art, material culture and environment |
| Typ av evenemang | Konferens |
| Plats | Stockholm, SverigeVisa på karta |
| Omfattning | Internationell |