The Viapori dockyard boasts almost three centuries of uninterrupted activity. Where warships were once built, ships with historical significance are now restored.
Every winter the dockyard shelters a fleet of traditional wooden sailing ships built in the aftermath of WWII for the coastal trade.
They ensured the supply of building materials for the reconstruction of Helsinki, were meant to work hard and live short.
Thanks to two generations of people who sailed and lovingly preserved them, a few of these ships survive.

Jacopo Brancati is a maritime photographer and author who works for diverse European museums and for the specialised press.
In 2011 he started the "Viapori project" to arouse interest in the dockyard, the ships and so help preserve this precious but fragile part of Finland's heritage.
His pictures lead the visitor to discover life and work at the dockyard, where the mature and the young work side by side, sharing experiences, fatigue and laughter, freezing temperatures and warm sunny days, until the ships are ready to slip out of their winter cocoons and set sails again.

The exhibition soundtrack, by the kantele player and composer Arja Kastinen, is an evocative journey into the world of images through music, voices and sounds.