My first work experience at the Gallen-Kallela Museum was a summer job in 1991. Ever since then the museum and Akseli Gallen-Kallela have formed a core part of my professional identity – first alongside my studies, later as a full-time job. Being centred on the life’s work of a single person might sound limited. But the world of Gallen-Kallela is a rich environment and a fertile field to work in.

In 2012 we began to assemble an exhibition with a bohemian theme. Our focus was Akseli Gallen-Kallela's studies in Paris 1884–89. This period had already been the subject of numerous papers and exhibitions. But this time our interest lay in his previously neglected friendship with the Norwegian artist Carl Dørnberger. A true bohemian, party animal, and brawler, Dørnberger was a near-tragic figure, who had also been marginalised in the art history of his native country. But now the time was ripe for a closer reading of this friendship, and working with Kuvataiteen keskusarkisto, the central archive of the Finnish National Gallery, we resolved jointly to produce a publication on the correspondence between the two artists held in the collections of our two institutions.

There are times I feel very privileged to be able to work at a museum. The absolute high point of my job is the wide range of experiences it offers. My work has taken me to many fascinating corners of the world. Akseli Gallen-Kallela is most often linked to France…

I began my studies at the University of Helsinki in the Autumn of 1988. It was a wonderful time, art history was an immensely exciting subject and student life was lots of fun. Our fresher class grew into an effective and efficient team and an active bunch. Our first Christmas…