The first Sápmi Triennial brings together 28 artists and Northern art and cultural organisations. In Oulu Art Museum the triennial’s works will be integrated into the Eanangiella – Voice of the Land exhibition.
For the first few months of the European Capital of Culture year, the Oulu Art Museum will be transformed into a Sámi art museum. The travelling Sápmi Triennial exhibition, combining contemporary Sámi art and duodji (traditional Sámi handicrafts), will be one of the main attractions. In Oulu, the triennial’s works will be integrated into the Eanangiella – Voice of the Land exhibition, which will occupy all of the Art Museum’s exhibition halls.
Featuring both long-established artists and young talent, the travelling exhibition celebrates the Sámi cultural heritage and its vitality. The works included highlight the traditions and culture of the only indigenous people in the European Union, as well as their history and the challenges they face today.
The inaugural Sápmi Triennial is a collaboration between seven organisations from the Sámi region and beyond across the Nordic countries. An open call for artists and works for the travelling exhibition was launched in autumn 2023. A total of 97 applications with approximately 500 submissions were received. The final selection includes works by 28 artists in the following categories: duodji, dáiddaduodji, video, sound and installation art, photography, visual art, textile art, ceramics and literature.
The artists featured in the exhibition are Anna-Stina Svakko, Charlotte Nilsen, Christin Løkke, Eiril Linge, Elina Waage Mikalsen, Eva Kitok, Geir Tore Holm & Søssa Jørgensen, Gjert Rognli, Gunvor Guttorm, Hanne Grieg Hermansen, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Helena Lagerqvist Kuoljok, Helmi Aletta Hagelin & Nuura Naboulsi, Inga-Wiktoria Påve, Inger Blix Kvammen, Jorunn Løkvold, Jouni S. Laiti, Kirsi Máret Paltto, Katarina Spik Skum, Maarit Magga, Matti Aikio, Monica L. Edmondson, Odd Marakatt Sivertsen, Reetta Tornensis, Susanne Ewerlöf and Tilde-Ristin Kuoljok.
The artist selections were made by three artist members of the board of the Sámi Dáiddaguovddáš SDG (Sámi Contemporary Art Centre), Maria Lind, director of the Kiruna Art Museum, and Ulla Viitanen, curator of the Rovaniemi Art Museum.
The exhibition is organised in collaboration by the Oulu Art Museum, Oulu2026, the Sámi Center for Contemporary Art Sámi Dáiddaguovddáš SDG (Kaarasjoki), Nordlandsmuseet, Bodø2024, the Kin Museum of Contemporary Art (Kiruna) and the Rovaniemi Art Museum. The triennial first opened in Bodø, Norway in August 2024, after which it was exhibited in Kaarasjoki from 6 February to 30 March 2025 and in the Rovaniemi Art Museum from 14 June 2025 to 23 November 2025. From the Oulu Art Museum, the exhibition will continue to Kiruna in summer 2026.
