Strictly Confidential – Secrets of the Finnbrit Archive

Wednesday, 7 May 2025

18:00 – 20:00

What have Finnish presidents, small-town cellulose factories, murder and Macbeth got to do with the 99 years old Finnish-British Society? Focusing on selected documents from the Finnbrit archive, this talk opens exciting and exotic insights into a history of the relationship between Finland and Britain. The talk is given by Dr Janne Mäkelä, who recently found a number of intriguing documents while re-organising the archive. Books and booze will be mentioned!

Janne Mäkelä has written extensively on history, culture, and music, including John Lennon Imagined: Cultural History of a Rock Star, and he is one of the editors of a forthcoming book on YLE culture programmes from 1926 to 2025. Mäkelä has also worked as archive director and written music and fiction. He is visiting researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki and docent of cultural history at the University of Turku.