Two significant institutions in the field of Finnish performing arts will celebrate their anniversaries this year. The Finnish National Theatre will celebrate its 150th and the Finnish National Ballet its 100th anniversary. “We wanted to celebrate the anniversaries of both institutions with a joint publication. Klaus Welp, who designed the stamps, created a successful and consistent look for the stamps depicting various theater and ballet performances,” says Tommi Kantola, Design Manager at Posti, who is responsible for the selection of the artists and for providing guidance on the artistic work for the stamps.
Klaus Welp enjoyed designing the stamps. “I originally got interested in graphic design and poster art partly through theater posters. It was particularly great to be given the chance to design the stamps to be published in honor of respected cultural institutions. The importance of the performing arts and free artistic expression is emphasized especially in these unstable times.”
The photos selected for the stamps focus on imagery from contemporary theater and ballet productions. “The image archive contained thousands of photos from which the main images for the sheet were selected,” Welp says.
“The challenge in the design process was to combine performances of two different performing arts institutions representing two different forms of art in one sheet. The goal was to create a harmonious and cohesive sheet, while also having variation and movement in the stamps. The graphic banknote-style line elements in the stamps emphasize the centuries-old continuum of theater and ballet and bind the photos into a cohesive whole,” says Welp.
