Tampere, Finland - 16-19 June 2010

A welcoming address by Tapio Suominen started the congress in Tampere. He gave a short explanation to why Tampere is hosting the congress. A question raised in Colorado Springs opened the dialogue and possibility of hosting the congress with a fine result.

The address was followed by a Finnish music performance by parts of the group Zoomie – Sound System. Deep Finnish and folk music gave a feeling for the country itself and its people. The Moomins and other Finnish forest creatures came to live in the Tampere Small Auditorium room. A welcome very different from so many others, so very heart warming.

Mr Tapio Suominen

Mr Perttu Pesä, Deputy Mayor

The XXXI FIDEM congress was officially opened by the Deputy Mayor of the city of Tampere, Mr Perttu Pesä. FIDEM's President, Mr Ilkka Voionmaa, made a trilingual opening speech speaking about FIDEM's history, presenting the FIDEM archives (Lisbon, Portugal) and the website. Encouraging members to make a good use of this medium.

Mrs Gunnel Sievers, President of the Guild of Medallic Art in Finland, spoke about the Guild's co-operation with the Tampere Art Museum. The two institutions shared the work of putting together this congress and exhibition. She also made some PR for the parallel exhibitions (small sculpture, Finnish medals and medals over writers) that are being held in Tampere. Mrs Sievers took the opportunity of thanking the President of Finland, Mrs Tarja Halonen, for her work and support as patron of this congress.

A plenary lecture held by the Finnish sculptor Dr Jyrki Siukonen, professor at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi raised the subject Medal and Its Negative and ended the official part of the opening of the congress.

Lectures at the Tampere Hall and workshops at the Mältinranta Art Centre followed during the afternoon.

Later in the evening the XXXI FIDEM Exhibition was inaugurated Art Medal in a Global World and Talking Substance - Nearby Sculpture was inaugurated.

ASTONISHING AND REMARQUABLE EXHIBITION OF MODERN ART MEDALS

An important and impressive exhibition of medallic art in Tampere Art Museum was opened for the public. The WOW effect is immense. The objects - almost 1000 pieces - are shown in countless display cabinets over three (!) floors of the building. It is the most important exhibition of modern art medals since 2007, when the previous FIDEM congress was held in Colorado Springs (USA).

The medals are displayed per country and countless different subjects are depicted in not only bronze, but also glass, ceramics and many other materials. The design of the medals has a big variation. That is no wonder as there are hundreds of artists participating from 27 countries. Some of the objects have a conservative design, others are daring and show the new roads medallic art is developing to. Every single medal invites the visitor to explore the message and beauty of it. It is a joy for the eyes to see so much craftsmanship brought together. One simply doesn't know where to start and where to end. The architect of the exhibition, Ms Elina Rantasaari, has played with the old Renaissance definition of a medal: a sculpture in miniature. Therefore the museum has incorporated Finnish modern sculpture of a bigger scale. The medal has found its place in the big world of Art.

The exhibition can be viewed until the 29 August at the Tampere Art Museum.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with over 300 pages where all the illustrations are in colour. One medal per artist is illustrated. For the more passionate medallic enthusiast there is a CD included with all the medals on display being depicted. This remarkable catalogue is a perfect tool to re-enjoy the exhibition many, many years to come.

THE OFFICIAL MEDAL OF THE XXXI FIDEM CONGRESS

The Tango Congress medal is made by the Finnish artist Assi Madekivi. She describes the medal as follows: " The figure on the obverse is dancing with the medal - or with a 'star' to which the partner is elevated, at least from the perspective of FIDEM. The choreography is not without its amusing features. (...) Tampere has recently created a profile for itself as the tango city by staging the annual World Tango Festival (...). I wanted to express the passionate attitutde of friends of medal art to their subject of interest, and it seemed that this could be done with reference to dancing, without undue solemnity." On the reverse is the city of Tampere with the Tammerkoski Rapids, with the bridge crossing it serving as a symbol of medal art and the FIDEM congress.

LECTURES AT TAMPERE HALL

A great range of lectures (31 to be precise) were presented over three days during this FIDEM congress. The Honorary President, Mr Lars O. Lagerqvist started this series with a lecture intitled Queen Joséphine of Sweden-Norway and her medals. All the lectures will be published in the magazine Médailles (publishing date not yet established).

MEDAL FAIR

The traditional Medal Fair took place at the Tampere Hall on 19 June. More than 20 artists and sellers presented medals and books for sale.

The General Assembly of FIDEM was held in the Small Auditorium in Tampere Hall. It was opened by the president. After the honoring of deceased members, the financial report was presented by the treasurer. Thereafter, the auditor gave his report and he approved the finances. The general secretary read her moral report for the last three years. The webmaster gave a short status of the website and presented her future plans for it. Then the new FIDEM delegates were officially appointed. Glasgow was presented as an potential organizer for the XXXII congress. There are ongoing discussions with the city about the possibilities. The next issue of Médailles will be edited by Marie-Astrid Pelsdonk. Before the closing of the meeting, the Aimo N K Viitala prize for the outstanding young medalist under the age of 35 was awarded to Ms Natasha Ratcliffe (Great Britain).

SOCIAL EVENTS

On Thursday 17 June, a city tour of Tampere by bus made the participants discover the city of Tampere and its surroundings. This was followed by the visit of a medal exhibition on Finnish writers at the Main Library Metso. In the evening, a reception at the Tampere City Hall was held by courtesy of the City of Tampere. The Mayor of the city welcomed everyone. The President of FIDEM presented the Mayor with the official congress medal.

During the evening, the President of the Chiquita Order, Mr James MaloneBeach, dubbed a new knight to the order. He was assisted by the first knight to this order, "Sir" Ron Dutton, who was dubbed a couple of years ago during a BAMS congress. The new knight is "Sir" Philip Attwood, Keeper of the Coins and Medal Department of the British Museum.

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On Friday 18 June an excursion by bus took the participants to Purnu. The Finnish sculptor Aimo Tukiainen (1917-1996) is considered to be one of Finland's most important sculptors. He has a diverse production of monumental works, portraits and medals. They were able to visit his atelier, foundry and workshop.

Later that evening a boat trip to the island of Viikinsaari was organized. In a wonderful wooden pavilion a delicious buffet stood ready for everyone to enjoy. The talks around the tables were mainly about medals, art and sometimes football.

(Photo: Christian Wirsén)

A banquet in Vapriikki, which is a museum centre, ended the congress. The museum centre is housed in what used to be the engineering works of Tampella Ltd. This company which had a wide range of production including locomotives, turbines and damask cloths of linen started its business in the late 19th century. The textile production ended in the 1970s, and industrial use of the last buildings by the rapids ceased in the 1990s. The ex-factory was now used for the big banquet were the participants of the XXXI congress could enjoy good food, music and exchange the last ideas, thoughts and impressions.

During the banquet, the FIDEM at 70 medal was awarded to three persons for their outstanding work for the art of the medal: Mr Tapio Suominen for his work of organizing the congress, Mr Bogomil Nikolov for his work with students and young artists to promote the art of the medal in Bulgaria and Mr João Duarte for his work with the FIDEM archives as well as his work with students and young artists to promote the art of the medal in in Lisbon.

The FIDEM Grand Prix winner was also revealed during this diner by one member of the jury, Ron Dutton. It was instituted to promote and reward the best medal in the exhibition. How to choose which one is the best?

The jury (Ron Dutton, Tapio Suominen and Marie-Astrid Pelsdonk) did not have an easy task. After four deliberations and following a certain number of criterias, the jury decided unanimously that the prize should be awarded to the Dutch medal artist Elly Baltus. She was not present at the time but received the Grand Prix from Ilkka Voionmaa a week later in Helsinki. (Go to Grand Prix for more information)

(Photo: Mirjam Mieras)

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