Sámi Museum Siida and Kiasma Present Their Joint Exhibition “We Who Remain – Sámi Art in Focus” at Siida

The joint exhibition The Former Only Ones by the Sámi Museum Siida and Kiasma brings together contemporary art by Sámi artists and art addressing Sámi themes from Sápmi in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The exhibition opens at Siida on 16 October 2026.

Sápmi (Sámi homeland), which today spans the territories of four states, existed long before the emergence of Nordic nation-states and national ideologies. We Who Remain – exhibition presents contemporary art that explores Sápmi and Sámi identity through Sámi perspectives and narratives. The exhibition features 17 artists. Most of the works date from the 2000s to the 2020s, with the earliest dating back to the 1980s. During these decades, Sámi society has struggled to make its way into Nordic legislation and international awareness.

“I consider it important that Siida can present Sámi contemporary art from different parts of Sápmi in its exhibitions. This is also a way of serving our Sámi communities: people should not always have to travel long distances to the capital cities to see our contemporary art,” says Taina Máret Pieski, Director of the Sámi Museum Siida.

“Contemporary art offers ways to examine our own time and to hear voices that do not always receive sufficient attention in public discourse. *The Former Only Ones* is an excellent example of this. We at Kiasma are delighted that the exhibition will find a new context at Siida. The collaboration between Kiasma and Siida demonstrates how museums can work together to create new pathways for contemporary art and meaningful encounters with different audiences.”

“In the Kiasma exhibition, the themes were divided into positive and negative ones. From the outset, however, when preparing for the exhibition at Siida, we felt that we specifically wanted to bring the positive themes home,” says Petra Laiti, curator of the exhibition. “In Helsinki, one of the exhibition’s purposes was to introduce Sámi people and perspectives through contemporary art to audiences unfamiliar with Sámi culture. At Siida, we can instead celebrate the artists in our own community together with our local audience.”

“Our collaboration with Kiasma has been extremely successful and rewarding in every respect. *The Former Only Ones* attracted a large audience in Helsinki, which makes me very happy. I hope the exhibition will be equally successful in reaching our own community and all visitors to Siida over the coming winter,” says Pieski.

We Who Remain – Sámi Art in Focus will be on display at Siida from 16 October 2026 to 3 April 2027.