Finland

Born in 1991 in Mänttä, Finland
Anna is studying for her Master's Degree at the University of Eastern Finland: European Law and Administration of Integration and English Language, and Culture and German Language and Translation. She is also working as a journalist for  Karjalainen, a daily newspaper published in the province of North-Karelia (last updated 2013).

"Coexistence of art and industry" (2010)

This group project focuses on the historical background of the small city of Mänttä located in the province of Western Finland by following its industrial and artistic development. It seems that the welfare of the community has been always depending on the local paper factory founded by Gustav Adolf Serlachius in 1868. Because they had the money and the right connections, the Serlachius family had a decisive influence on the everyday life of Mänttä. They commissioned the construction of a church and many apartment houses, were in charge of the healthcare of the inhabitants, as well as supported many Finnish artists. In 1933 an art foundation bearing the Serlachius name was established and with it an art museum in Mänttä containing most of the family collection. Since 1987 when the paper factory merged with a bigger company the management of the city was no longer in the hands of the Serlachius family. That meant that art and industry were no longer developing at the same pace. Today the artistic component of the city is more prominent, although the people feel they still owe a lot to the factory and the Serlachius family, without which Mänttä would have not existed.