The workforce in Hertonäs manor Museum consists of a caretaker working part time with the buildings and the cultural environment, and of a curator that takes care of the collections, the archives, marketing, co-operation and pedagogical issues ca 8 h/week. We also have ten freelance guides that take care of the visitors and keep the museum open on Sundays from may to September. The museum is run by a society, Svenska Odlingens Vänner i Helsinge r.f., and mainly its board.
Due to the fact that we are a small museum with few resources we are in a constant need of possibilities to cooperate with other institutions. In the spring of 2021 we had an unique opportunity to enable the museum as a laboratory for a “Museum Course” at the University of Helsinki and thus the students built an excellent exhibition, Summer and Gamesthat is now on display at our museum. The project also got attention in the media.
Knusbacka farmstead is a part of Hertonäs Manor Museum. The area offers plenty of work outdoors to maintain the museum's yard and flowerbeds. Picture: SOV.
We realized that Svenska kulturfonden also gives scholarships for students to work at local museums and thus we got a contribution to our workforce this summer. The students Ida Karlgren and Karl Heikkilä now work to digitize our collections. Simultaneously they get valuable experience in the field.
The covid-19 pandemic has also made it more difficult for young pupils to practice working life. Due to the fact that Hertonäs Manor Museum could offer work outdoors at Knusbacka farmstead three pupils from Helsinki’s Rudolf Steiner School were introduced with timetravel pedagogy and the museum’s environment for a week at the end of May.
In 2021 the museum has thus been able to contribute to the local community. We warmly thank our main contributors, Stiftelsen Tre Smeder and Svenska Kulturfonden, for this opportunity.