Exhibit Review: Tove Jansson and the Moomins: The Door Is Always Open

Reviewed by Carli Spina

Tove Jansson and the Moomins: The Door Is Always Open. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Public Library. June 28 - September 30, 2025. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/exhibitions/tove-jansson-and-the-moomins

 

For the summer of 2025, Brooklyn Public Library hosted Tove Jansson and the Moomins: The Door Is Always Open, in honor of the 80th anniversary of the publication of the first Moomin book, The Moomins and the Great Flood. Covering both Jansson’s life and the Moomins’ place in international popular culture, this exhibit was claimed to be the first U.S. exhibit to focus on the Moomins and their creator, Jansson.^[1] The exhibition was spread throughout, and even outside, the Central Library space. When approaching the library, visitors were immediately drawn in by Moomin characters decorating the windows of the Children’s Room and, at night, projected on the outside of the building on either side of the main entrance.

 

Once inside, the exhibit was divided across multiple areas of the Central Library. In the lobby just inside the main entrance, two large displays featured Jansson’s book, with one to the left focused on her Moomin books and one to the right highlighting her adult fiction. These displays featured multiple editions of the books in multiple languages to show the international impact Jansson’s writing and illustrations have had.

 

Beyond these displays, as visitors walked further into the lobby, there were large structures decorated in the style of Jansson’s illustrations and with reproduced illustrations and archival images. One of these structures was in the form of a house that visitors could walk around and inside to meet the core Moomin characters, and see reproductions of Jansson’s illustrations of them. The other structure was designed to look like an open copy of The Moomins and the Great Flood, the first book Jansson wrote about these characters. This display discussed that book, but also introduced visitors to Jansson herself with archival photos of her life and work as well as biographical information, including her important place in Finnish art history as a queer female artist. Also in this area, a third structure had a built-in monitor showing a tour of the Moomin Museum in Tampere, Finland, which produced this exhibit and has an extensive collection of Moomin art and other pieces related to the characters, such as the six-foot-tall model of the Moomins’ house that Jansson created in 1979.

 

On the first floor, the exhibit continued in the youth wing of the library. In this section, the Moomins took over, with decorations throughout the space. There were two child-sized Moomin play areas, which were perfect for photos. The space also displayed multiple Moomin posters with Jansson’s art and display cases that ran along one wall with various Moomin books open to engaging examples of her art. This space also had a browsable collection of Moomin books in multiple languages available for in-library use.

 

The exhibit continued on the second floor in display cases that lined the balcony overlooking the lobby. These cases included materials related to both Jansson and the Moomins. On one side of the balcony, two examples of Jansson’s other artistic work were displayed alongside letters she wrote to friend and fellow artist Eva Konikoff during Konikoff’s time in New York City. These letters provided a personal insight into Jansson’s life during the early 1940s and also show a connection to the city hosting the exhibit.

 

To the left side of the balcony, several cases highlighted a selection of the products that have featured the Moomins, showing the impressive range of products that have incorporated these characters. These included ceramics by Arabia, created with designs by Jansson’s partner, Tuulikki Pietilä, collectibles released in partnership with Finnair, licensed clothing and jewelry featuring the characters, and a variety of types of toys. Another case focused specifically on the various media that Moomins have appeared in with plays, LPs, games, and cartoons all represented from around the world. This section of the exhibit impressed upon viewers the global reach the characters have had and also the careful stewardship that Jansson and her family have exerted over their licensing.

 

The exhibit delved fairly deeply into Jansson’s biography to offer context for her work and it was this component of the exhibit that probably interested those who have an existing knowledge of the Moomins the most. While the Moomins may be the most eye-catching element of the exhibition, the archival images of Jansson brought her to life in a way that many readers of the Moomin books may not have experienced in the past. Explanatory text introduced viewers to Jansson’s life as a child and offered context for her decision to start working as a freelance editor at age fifteen to help support her family and lessen the burden on her mother, the family’s primary breadwinner. Though this exhibit focused on the Moomins, it went well beyond these characters to explore Jansson’s larger artistic life, highlighting her work as a painter, illustrator for others’ works, and writing for both children and adults. Painting, in particular, was important to Jansson throughout her life and the exhibit made this clear in multiple locations, including by displaying her palette and examples of her paintings. 

 

The exhibit was complemented by programming, not only at the Central Library, but also at other branches of the Brooklyn Public Library system. These programs included children’s craft programs, and programs for adults. On September 16th, Jansson’s niece, Sophia Jansson, was scheduled to lead a guided tour of the exhibit.^[2] As an exhibition hosted by a library, it is no surprise that Jansson’s works were also available in multiple languages for browsing in the library as part of multiple displays across the library and for checkout. These books included not only the Moomin novels, but also her adult fiction and books about her life. Offering these options for library patrons gave those who visited the exhibit a chance to immediately dive into the Moomins’ world and learn more about Jansson’s life and work, which is sure to lead to more lifelong fans. If you’re already a fan of the characters and their author, this exhibit was a worthy glimpse into the 80-year history of the Moomins and the important and impactful life of their creator.

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^[1] Moomin 80. June 6, 2025. The First Ever Moomin and Tove Jansson Exhibition in the U.S. Opens at Brooklyn Public Library. Available at https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/brooklyn-public-library-moomin/#02ac7e82 . Accessed July 3, 2025. However in 2021, IJOCA ran a review of a Moomin exhibit in Washington, DC that can be found at https://ijoca.blogspot.com/2021/12/exhibit-review-moomin-animations.html

^[2] Brooklyn Public Library. nd. Tour of Tove Jansson & The Moomins. Available at https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/tour-tove-jansson-moomins-central-library-dweck-20250916-0700pm. Accessed July 3, 2025.