Finnish utopian communities have an interesting history reaching back to the 1792 “New Jerusalem” plan in Sierra Leone. While the best-known Finnish utopian ventures are Sointula in Canada (1901-1905) and Colonia Finlandesa (1906-1940) in Argentina there were, however, almost twenty similar Finnish ventures around the world based on nationalism, utopian socialism, cooperative movements, “tropic fevers,” and religious ideas. This exhibit includes photographs, texts and maps.

Presenter Bio: Mr. Teuvo Peltoniemi, Licentiate of Social Sciences, is a Finnish researcher and science journalist specializing in Nordic migration. He has worked in universities, radio, TV, and print media, and published 18 books. In 2007, he was honored with the “State of Finland Award for Life Work on Public Information.”