The church and Chrisitanity in the Arctics
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The voluntary workers of Nanoq have during 2009 built a church on the museum area. Our church is a copy of one of the world’s northernmost churches that was originally built in the village of Uummannaq on Nortwestern Greenland in 1909. Only then Christianity, brought there by reverend Gustav Olsen, reached the Thule-Inuits.
The first contact between Christianity and Greenland was in 1721 when the Danish priest Hans Egede arrived. Later contacts were also taken by the Moravian Church in the 1730s. The original church in Uummannaq stood only for a few decades, after which the hard weather and winds wore it down.
The church of Nanoq was inaugurated on May 21st 2010. At the same time the museum also opened its summer exhibition 'Christianity on Greenland and in the Arctic'. In the church it is possible to hold weddings, christenings and other ceremonies. We chose the name 'Avannaata Ulloriaa' for our church, which means 'North Star' in Greenlandic. This is also for paying homage to the first church/missionary station that Gustav Olsen together with the Intuits built in 1909. Their church was given the name 'Nordstjernen', which in Danish also means 'North Star'.
Goichmans Gallery
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The Russian professor and artist Wladimir Goichman’s art is for display in the Goichman’s Gallery. In total, Nanoq possesses 111 of Goichman’s Arctic paintings. Goichman was born in Russia in 1903 and died in Finland in 2001. He painted his paintings on his many trips to the Arctic areas. Goichman’s daughter Julia Starikova donated 54 paintings to the museum after her father’s death. In 2007, Nanoq received an additional 57 paintings as a deposition from the Fram Museum in Oslo. The paintings are permanently on display at the museum in the Goichman’s Gallery.
More than 20 exhibitions featuring Goichman’s work have been held all over Europe; in Russia, England, Poland, Sweden and Norway. In Finland there have been held more than ten exhibitions containing Goichman’s paintings. The most important ones where at the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum in 1983, the Art Museum of Rauma in 1988 and the Retrospect Exhibition in Vihermaailma 1993. In 1996, Goichman’s paintings where on show in London during the exhibition called “The Arctic”. The event was dedicated to the centenary of Polar research and arranged by the Royal Geographical Society. His Memorial exhibition was held at Galleria Regina in Turku 16.12.2001-28.01.2002.
Special exhibitions
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Every year the Nanoq museum shows one or several special exhibitions. These exhibitions have had various themes over the years and Nanoq has co-operated with several other museums across the world.
Below you'll find a list of our exhibitions between 1989-2009:
Year Theme
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1989 |
A general exhibition of Nanoq's collection. |
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1990 |
The Polar Eskimos; the world’s northernmost hunters. Small exhibition also in Bunde, Germany. |
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1991 |
The official opening of the museum. The Samojeds in Siberia. Prof. W.Goichman's art exhibition with arctic motives. |
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1992 |
Arctic art, Ursula Ekberg The village of Fäboda 400 years, in co-operation with the City museum. |
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1993 |
Seal and polar bear hunting in the Arctic. Trappers Avataq Kernaq, Henry Rudi, Armas Tolsa. |
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1994 |
Arctic living on Greenland, Svalbard and in Siberia. The 4000 year old Sarqaq-culture in Greenland. In co-operation with the National Museum of Greenland. |
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1995 |
100 years of art and handicraft in Greenland, the Tupilaq. The Greenland week in co-operation with Pohjola Norden and Greenland. |
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1996 |
The people of the Tundra and Taiga in Siberia. |
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1997 |
The Andreé expedition of 1897. Memorial exhibiton. Co-operation with the Andreé Museum in Sweden. Art by Ina Almegård, Sweden "I dream of Greenland". |
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1998 |
70 year memorial exhibition of Umberto Nobile's "Italia expedition" in 1928. Co-operation with the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Milan, Italy. Crafts made by Greenlandic Women. Sketches of the Sibirian Coast, Artist unknown. |
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1999 |
The Vikings, in cooperation with the Christianshob Museum of Greenland. |
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2000 |
Goldmining in Lapland and the rest of the world, in co-opertaion with the Tankavaara Gold museum. Photograf exhibition of the Thule Inuit by Tiina Itkonen. |
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2001 |
Scientists in the Arctic and the Antarctic. Pentti Kronqvist's and Nanoq's 10 year anniversary exhibition. |
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2002 |
Second World War in the Arctic. |
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2003 |
Finnish research in the Antarctic, Finnarp, the Oboa-station. Co-operation with the Finnish Maritime Research Institution. |
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2004 |
Prof.Wladimir Goichman memorial exhibition, 54 paintings of Arctic motifs. |
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2005 |
Mammoth research on Wrangel Island in Siberia. Gold as a profession and hobby. In co-operation with GTK. Art exhibition by Christian Olsen Ajo, "The Face of Greenland |
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2006 |
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld |
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2007 |
Soldiers in the cold. Finnish Airborne Ranger Club -expedition to the geographic Northpole in 2006. |
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2008 |
Trappers in the Arctic. |
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2009 |
Three long journeys across Greenland. Nansen, Pihkala and Vuorenmaa & Mäkelä |
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2010 |
Christianity in Greenland and in the Arctic’s. Art exhibition: Christianity on Greenland |
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2011 |
Two famous polar explorers. The Nanoq museum 20 years |
Summer exhibition 2011
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Two Famous Polar explorers
The Norwegian Fritjof Nansen (1861-1930) was an explorer, scientist, humanitarian and diplomat. Nansen had made a large number of trips to Arctic areas, among others he skied over the glacier of Greenland and tried to reach the North Pole by letting his ship freeze upon the ice and drift with the ice masses. Nansen was a professor at the University of Oslo. He was also working for humanitarian help when he after the Second World War was working for the United Nations. He initiated the so called Nansen passport for refugees. For his humanitarian work he received Nobel’s Peace Prize in 1922.
Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) was the first man to reach the South Pole. In 2011 we celebrate 100 years since he left his tent and the Norwegian flag at the South Pole, and deep under the ice the remaining of the flag and tent still are to be found. Amundsen was also the first to sail through the Northwest Passage. Amundsen went on a lot of expeditions, both to the South- and North Pole. In June 1928, when Amundsen toke part in the search for the Italia expedition, he disappeared and his body has never been found. The official Norwegian websight for the anniversary of Amundsen and Nansen you can find here.
Nanoq 20 years
Also the Nanoq museum itself is celebrating an anniversary this year. On 9th of June 2011, it is 20 years since the museum first opened. The association that runs the museum was founded in 1988 and the same year they started to build the museum. The museum is build with sponsored money and voluntary work. Three years later the museum opened for business. Since the opening the museum has developed and today it consists of 18 buildings in total and is yearly visited by 8 000– 10 000 of tourists from all over the world.
Permanent exhibition
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The collections comprise of a variety of gear that has been in use during polarexpeditions. The museum has among other items also material from the John Phipps expedition to Svalbard around 1770.
The expedition was accompanied by the young Horatio Nelson. Our visitors can also get aquainted with items from the failed voyage of the Swede Andrée who attempted to cross the North Pole in an hydrogen balloon in 1897. The collections also have various items and documents that refer to the Norwegian explorers Fritjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen.
There is also a lot of hunting equipment and gear from Arctic cultures in our collections. These items come from various locations in Greenland, Canada and Northern Scandinavia.
Nanoq has a large First Nations art collection in soapstone as well as contemporary art of Arctic motif.
Prof. Wladimir Goichmans art is well represented in the museum with 111 individual canvas paintings.
The Library at Nanoq includes a variety of books and documents that all have an Arctic theme as well as a film-archive. The museum has developed in to an Arctic culture research center.
Permanent exhibition
- Equipment from well-known research expeditions to the Arctic.
- Arctic hunting and trapping equipment dating from 17th century (to the present day)
- A significant collection of Arctic literature and films
- A prestigious art collection, in particular soapstone statues made by the Inuit people of Arctic Canada and the Goichman’s Gallery where oil paintings with Artic motives are for display
- A peat house from Northern Greenland, a hunter´s cabin from Spitsbergen and a gold miner’s camp from Lapland, a commander’s bunker, Goichman’s Gallery and a church.
- Nanoq also offers two real Finnish smoke saunas
