Sápmi and its cultural history 2026–27

Join us for a seminar and webinar series on Sámi history and culture, focusing on Sápmi, Sámi traditions and contemporary Sámi social and political struggles. The series is organised by Kin Museum of Contemporary Art in collaboration with, amongst others, Várdduo – Centre for Sámi Research at Umeå University, Tjállegoáhte Writers’ Centre Sápmi, SKH and HDK-Valand. The series is curated by Maria Lind and Harald Gaski.

A close-up of a tree trunk — Photo: Gunvor Guttorm

This autumn, Kin Museum of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with Várdduo – the Centre for Sámi Research at Umeå University, Tjállegoáhte Sápmi Writers’ Centre in Jokkmokk, SKH and HDK-Valand, is organising a seminar and webinar series on Sámi history and culture. The series is aimed at cultural practitioners, researchers and others who wish to deepen their knowledge of Europe’s indigenous peoples. The focus is on the history and cultural history of Sápmi, as well as contemporary Sámi experiences, conditions and forms of expression. The author and literary scholar Harald Gaski is an advisor to the series.

Each thematical seminar features a lecture by a researcher, artist, writer, activist or other invited guest, followed by questions and discussion. The seminars take place on-site at the various partner organisations across Sweden and will be streamed simultaneously via YouTube.

The series begins in September 2026, to coincide with Kin opening its first exhibition in over a hundred years featuring Johan Turi’s drawings. The exhibition On the Ugly and the Beautiful: Johan Turi, Outi Pieski and Johanna Minde also features works by Outi Pieski and Johanna Minde. The series then continues until April 2027, hosting a total of seven seminars.
A significant background to both the exhibition at Kin and the seminar series is that the final report of the Sámi Truth Commission in Sweden is scheduled to be handed over to the Ministry of Culture on 30 September 2026.

SKH and HDK-Valand provide financial support and will each host a seminar. The series is also hosted by Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus, who, in addition to hosting a seminar, will stream some of the webinar series to an audience in Stockholm in collaboration with SKH.

Preparatory reading circle
As a way of reading together and preparing for the webinars, SKH also organises an online reading circle. The reading group is not expert-led, and its aim is not to replace the speakers’ expertise. Rather, it is a shared space where we read together, prepare for the seminars, and formulate questions and reflections collectively. If interested, SKH doctoral students can take an individual reading course linked to the reading group and the webinar series. You are also very welcome to participate in single sessions.

If interested, please send an email to Hanna Husberg and Petra Bauer latest 15 September. You will receive information about the readings in return. We also strongly recommend you attend the first webinar on 1 September.

More detailed information about the webinar series can be found here:
https://kinmuseum.se/en/events/sapmi-och-dess-kulturhistoria

Everyone is warmly welcome!

The seminar series will be held in English.

Seminars

The Wolf Hunter Who Became a Sámi Classic: Johan Turi’s Art Viewed and Assessed from an Indigenous Aesthetic Perspective
1 September, 16.30-19.00
Guest: Harald Gaski
Venue: streamed via YouTube

Preparatory reading circle (On relationship to the lands)
20 October, 16.00-17.30
Host: Petra Bauer, Hanna Husberg
Venue: On Zoom

Bound to the Land: Connection to the Land and the Loss of It in Sámi Communities
22 October, 13.00-15.30
Guest: Gudrun Norstedt, Åsa Össbo, Kristina Sehlin MacNeil
Venue: Várdduo - Centre for Sámi Research at Umeå University; streamed via YouTube

Preparatory reading circle (On duodji)
23 November, 16.00-17.30
Host: Petra Bauer, Hanna Husberg
Venue: On Zoom

The History of Duodji and the Forces at Work in a Duddjon Process
30 November, 16.00-17.30
Guest: Gunvor Guttorm
Host: Petra Bauer, Hanna Husberg
Venue: G, Brinellvägen 58 alt. Bion, Valhallavägen 189 (tbc), Stockholm University of the Arts; streamed via YouTube

Art and Life
27 January, 17.00
Guest: Britta Marakatt-Labba
Venue: HDK Valand, Gothenburg; streamed via YouTube and at Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus, Riksdalervägen 2, 129 32 Hägersten

Preparatory reading circle (On education)
26 January, 16.00-17.30
Host: Petra Bauer, Hanna Husberg
Venue: On Zoom

Johan Turi’s Account of Sámi Schooling: Towards a Sámi Epistemology
4 February, 17.00
Host: Asta Mitkija Balto
Venue: Tjállegoahte Writers’ Centre Sápmi in Jokkmokk; streamed via YouTube

Preparatory reading circle (On the Girjas case and challenges of today)
15 March, 16.00-17.30
Host: Petra Bauer, Hanna Husberg
Venue: On Zoom

Six Years After the Girjas Judgment: Where Do We Stand Today?
18 March, 18.00
Guest: Matti Blind Berg
Venue: Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus, Riksdalervägen 2, 129 32 Hägersten; streamed via YouTube

Preparatory reading circle (What happens now?)
19 April, 16.00-17.30
Host: Petra Bauer, Hanna Husberg
Venue: On Zoom

Six Months After the Truth Commission’s Final Report: What Happens Next?
22 April, 17.30
Guest: Krister Stoor
Venue: Kin Museum of Contemporary Art; streamed via YouTube and at
Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus, Riksdalervägen 2, 129 32 Hägersten