Lauttasaari, 1946: The drying operation of clothes was done by 40 volunteers from UNRRA
Source: UNICEF/ HQ46-0021/Photographer Unknown
Lifeline - Elämänlanka
Kaisu Koivisto´s community art work Lifeline on is part of LARU15 Nordic environmental art exhibition. It takes place in Lauttasaari, Helsinki in the Särkiniemi area from the 30th of August till the 4th of October 2015. Lifeline will be made in a workshop which is open to everybody in the Särkiniemi Park in Lauttasaari, an area close to the center of Helsinki. The workshop will take place from the 27th till the 30th of August 2015.
After the second World War there was a shortage of many things such as medicines and clothes in Finland, too. There were 48 000 orphans to care for. In 1946 the aid ship SS Lord Delaware was on its way to Finland, carrying 80 tonnes of clothes for Finnish children. Unluckily the ship hit a mine in the Danish straits. The ship and its cargo was rescued and towed to Helsinki. The clothes proved to be in good condition. Therefore, the wet clothes were dried in Lauttasaari on a 10 km long clothesline. This was at the time an unofficial world record for the longest clothesline.
The drying operation was done by 40 volunteers from UNRRA(The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) , which was later formed into UNICEF. UNICEF helped Finnish children for five years.
Sources: https://www.unicef.fi/koulut/globaalikasvatusmateriaalit/aamunavauksia/lapsen-oikeuksien-paivana/
http://suvaitsevaisuuskasvatus.blogspot.fi/2012/02/lapsen-oikeuksien-paiva-2011_20.html
Kaisu
Koivisto tells that her aim is to commemorate this extraordinary event in the history of Lauttasaari
and Helsinki, and to remind of the importance of helping people in need, both
near and far.
Lifeline
will be made in a workshop which is open to everybody ain the Särkiniemi Park in Lauttasaari, an area close to the center of Helsinki. The idea is to involve
people to make something of the rope - knots, macrame, nets, and learn about the heistory of Lauttasaari. People can work on the rope as they wish. Kaisu
Koivisto will be
on site working on the clothesline, too. Eventually, as the work proceeds the
sections from the trees will attached to each other.
The workshop will take place from the 27th till the 30th of August 2015. To get to the site please follow the pedestrian path which begins at the end of Itälahdenkatu. Follow the signs embellished with white clothesline. The schedule of the workshop:
The workshop will take place from the 27th till the 30th of August 2015. To get to the site please follow the pedestrian path which begins at the end of Itälahdenkatu. Follow the signs embellished with white clothesline. The schedule of the workshop:
Thursday 27th of August: 3 - 7 p.m.
Friday 28 th of August: 3 - 7 p.m.
Saturday 29 th of August: 12 - 4 pm
Sunday 30 th of August: 12 - 4 pm
Other times possible by request.
The opening ceremony of LARU15 Nordic environmental art exhibition will take place on the 29th of August 2015, beginning at 2 p.m. http://www.laruart.com/
For information, please contact Kaisu Koivisto kaisukk@yahoo.com (phone +358 40-705 1908).
http://kaisukoivisto.com/
The opening ceremony of LARU15 Nordic environmental art exhibition will take place on the 29th of August 2015, beginning at 2 p.m. http://www.laruart.com/
For information, please contact Kaisu Koivisto kaisukk@yahoo.com (phone +358 40-705 1908).
http://kaisukoivisto.com/
The clothesline needed for making the work is kindly donated by Piippo Oyj.
