"Nälkä! – The Great Finnish Famine” exhibition, curated by Dr. Andrew G. Newby, originally developed from an Academy of Finland project which explored similarities and differences between the great famines which devastated Ireland and Finland in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was also intended to demonstrate the universality of themes which are often perceived as national, and to highlight that different political and historical contexts can lead to huge differences in how these calamities are remembered.
"Nälkä! – The Great Finnish Famine” exhibition has been displayed at three different venues in Ireland, reaching more than 75,000 visitors. In addition, the exhibition has previously been shown in Finland, in Oulu and Tampere.
Hunger and famine are a phenomenon that has haunted almost every community, and later almost every nation, throughout human history. The Finnish Red Cross’s Hunger Day – which began in Pälkäne in 1980 – was initially a response to hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. In 2026, the Red Cross Hunger Day fundraising campaign will take place from 24 to 26 September.
The exhibition will be on display from 14 September to 1 November 2026 in the ground-floor lobby of the Lähde building.
Lähde opening hours:
- Mon-Fri: 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM
- Sat: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Sun: 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
