Vivica Sophia Jansson (born 1962 in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
) is the daughter of cartoonist
Lars Jansson and the niece of the famous
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
writer and painter
Tove Jansson
Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki and ...
. Jansson has worked as a
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in th ...
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
,
creative/artistic director, chairman, and majority
shareholder of Oy Moomin Characters, Ltd,
and provided direct oversight together with her father for the
1990 ''Moomin'' animated series.
Moomin Characters Oy Ltd
Growing up in the center of the collaboration of efforts between her aunt and father, Jansson gained an intimate window into the creative processes behind the
''Moomin'' comic strip series. As Tove's efforts became directed more at writing and the strip's production became more the effort of her father, Jansson became an active help in management of the visual aspects of ''
Moomin
The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white ...
'' as an intellectual property.
In 1979, Lars Jansson founded the
limited liability company
A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...
, Moomin Characters Oy Ltd, now headed by Roleff Kråkström. According to a 2004 article in the Finnish business magazine ''Talouselämä'', Oy Moomin Characters, Ltd is
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
's most cost-effective business, with some 80 Moomin
licences in Finland and almost 300 abroad. It has been listed as among the top
Creative Export Companies of Finland in 2007.
Since 1993, Jansson, together with her father, has managed the production of a new series of Moomin strips which Jansson now manages solely.
In 2006 Jansson took the role of director in the release of the
CD, ''Muumipeikko ja Pyrstötähti''.
In 2008, the rediscovery by Jansson of the
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
for "The King in Moominland" (a TV script written by Tove and Lars in the late 60s) made news as the resulting
musical performed at the
Åbo Svenska Teater represented the first performance of this "lost episode" in decades.
Sophia Jansson in film and print
Lars Jansson produced both ''Moomin'' strips as well as others including a short strip called ''Sophia'' which he produced for a publication called ''Jaana'' in 1965.
In May 2003,
The Finnish Embassy in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
arranged for events to surround the recent translation of Tove Jansson's 1972 ''
Sommarboken'', a novel which featured the fictionalized life of the young Sophia on an island. During this event, publishers presented works by Sophia Jansson and
Johanna Sinisalo
Aila Johanna Sinisalo is a Finnish science fiction and fantasy writer. She studied comparative literature and drama, amongst other subjects, at the University of Tampere. Professionally she worked in the advertising business, rising to the leve ...
. Jansson was later interviewed in June 2003 by ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' where she explained the details surrounding the story presented in ''
Sommarboken'' and the relationship shared between Jansson and her aunt,
Tove Jansson
Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki and ...
. She would write in more detail about this topic in 2006 in the Scandinavian Review, and again in 2010 for ''The Guardian'', when she explained the nature of her relationship with the rest of the family including her grandmother
Signe and Tove's partner,
Tuulikki.
[
Jansson has been credited in such books as Tove Jansson's 1989 ''Rent Spel'' and Kate McLoughlin's and Malin Lidström Brock's 2007 ''Tove Jansson Rediscovered'' among others.
Jansson has appeared as the host of 1998's ]short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, ''Haru: The Island of the Solitary, Introduced by Sophia Jansson''. She has also featured in Paul Gravett
Paul Gravett is a London-based journalist, curator, writer, and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing since 1981.
He is the founder of ''Escape Magazine'', and for many years wrote a monthly article on comics appearing in the UK magaz ...
's 2006 documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
, ''Moomin's Memoirs,'' presented at the March 2007 Tove Jansson Conference in Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
Honors and awards
In 2001, following the death of her aunt, Jansson went to the UK to help Sort of Books
Sort of Books is an independent British publishing house started in 1999 by Mark Ellingham and Natania Jansz, founders of the Rough Guides travel series. The company publishes both original and classic fiction and non-fiction titles: "The sort of ...
promote the re-release
In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions.
Reasons for reissue
New audio formats
Rec ...
of a Moomin picture book.
In June 2004, Jansson was invited by the Consulate General of Finland to the 31st "Dreams & Visions" Annual Children's Literature Conference in California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The Consulate sponsored her trip. Here, Jansson represented Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
during an engaging lecture
A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical infor ...
and presentation.
In August 2004, Jansson launched the silver Tove Jansson and Children's Culture collector's coin, receiving the first pressing from Raimo Makkonen, CEO of the Mint of Finland
The Mint of Finland ( fi, Suomen Rahapaja, sv, Myntverket i Finland) is the national mint of Finland. It was established by Alexander II of Russia in 1860 as the markka became the official currency of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The mint was first ...
. She served as a judge in the selection of the coin's images, as well as the series of medals that were also issued.
In 2006 Jansson was invited as a notable speaker for one of the Monthly Luncheons hosted by IWC Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
.
In February 2007 Jansson was invited to speak at the Scandinavia House
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swede ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
In September 2008 Jansson participated as a member of the Committee of Honor in the renowned IBBY World Congress.
Jansson participated in the Helsinki Design Week 2008.Helsinki Design Week 2008
2008.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jansson, Sophia
1962 births
Living people
Finnish businesspeople
Moomins
Finnish women in business
Finnish people of Swedish descent