Sámi Museum Siida Nominated for European Museum of the Year Award

Sámi Museum Siida is among the finalists for the European Museum of the Year Award 2024. The selection will be made at the European Museum of the Year Award conference in Portimão, Portugal, on May 4th. The five-day conference brings together experts and organizations in the museum sector from across Europe to discuss current challenges, societal significance, and impact.

“We are very pleased that Siida’s renovation and our diverse national work for Sámi cultural heritage have been recognized on a European scale,” says museum director Taina Pieski.

Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida has become the most significant tourist destination in Northern Lapland. We broke all previous visitor records last year. Siida was visited by 138 000 people, of which 68 000 visited our exhibitions. This winter has also been exceptionally busy.

In Siida’s new main exhibition, the Sámi people themselves tell their own story. Over 300 members of the Sámi community participated in the preparation of the exhibition on Sámi culture from 2021 to 2022.

“This is reflected in the diversity of expression and storytelling in the exhibition. All three Sámi languages spoken in Finland are represented. Thanks for the successful work of the Sámi Museum Siida belongs to the entire Sámi community,” says Pieski.

Fifty museums from 24 countries are competing for the title of European Museum of the Year. This award has been given for 47 years.

The joint main exhibition of the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Center, “Enâmeh láá mii párnááh – These Lands Are Our Children,” opens and interprets the layers of the landscape through the concept of Sámi cultural environment. According to it, nature and culture are closely interconnected. In Sámi cultural environment, the connection to the land and the environment is built through oral storytelling and traditions. The story of Sámi culture reveals how the past lives within us.

The exhibition’s title comes from a poem written by Inari Sámi poet Matti Morottaja. The script for the exhibition on Sámi culture is provided by emeritus professor Veli-Pekka Lehtola.

Link to our EMYA video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-QgA7pk6k&t=1s

Link to the conference website:
https://emya2024portimao.com

Additional information: Museum Director Taina Pieski, tel. +358 50 535 1574