In its meeting on 18 March 2020, the Board of the Sámi Museum Foundation has decided to temporarily lay off personnel at the Sámi Museum Siida. Layoff affects seven employees of the Museum. The personnel of the Museum totals 16 persons. The layoff is carried out on grounds of the temporary close of the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida due to the coronavirus epidemy.
Further information:
Sari Valkonen, Museum Director, +358 (40) 767 1052, sari.valkonen@samimuseum.fi
The Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida is closed for the public for the time being at least until 13.5.2020 to slow down the spread of the coronavirus epidemy and to protect risk groups. Restaurant Sarrit will also be closed for the time being at least until 31.5.2020.
We are following the advice of the Council of State. We will follow the development of the situation and keep Siida closed for a longer period if necessary.
We will be updating the situation on our website at www.siida.fi and on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
The personnel of the Sámi Museum Siida have switched to remote working and will answer enquiries by e-mail and telephone. The contact information for the Museum is available on our website at www.siida.fi/en/the-sami-museum/contact-information-of-the-sami-museum/.
The Nature Centre Siida will provide its information services by telephone and e-mail. The Tourist Information of the municipality of Inari is also available by telephone and e-mail. Customers can contact the Nature Centre by using the normal telephone numbers and e-mail addresses listed in the Contact Information at www.siida.fi/en/nature-centre/contact-information-of-nature-centre/. Please note the exceptional opening hours of the Nature Centre’s customer service (https://siida.fi/en/nature-centre/nature-centre-siidas-customer-service/).
Further information:
Sari Valkonen, Museum Director, sari.valkonen@samimuseum.fi, tel. +358 40 767 1052
National Park Superintendent Pirjo Seurujärvi, pirjo.seurujarvi@metsa.fi, tel. +358 400 125 782
Updated 31.3.2020: until 13.4.2020 –> until 13.5.2020
Updated 31.3.2020: Restaurant Sarrit will also be closed. –> Restaurant Sarrit will also be closed for the time being at least until 31.5.2020.
Updated 27.4.2020: Siida will be closed –> Siida is closed
Updated 5.5.2020: for the time being at least until 13.5.2020 –> until 31.5.2020
Updated 5.5.2020: for the time being at least until 31.5.2020. –> until 31.5.2020.
The Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida had a record of 63,935 visitors in its exhibitions and events in 2019. For the first time in its history, Siida had over 63,000 exhibition visitors. The personnel of Siida are pleased that an extension and renovation project and the renewal of Siida’s permanent exhibitions in near future will enable Siida to serve an increasing number of customers better and better.
The public were eager to use Siida’s services last year. The total number of visits for 2019 was 121,000, which is the second highest in Siida ever. This visitor number includes, in addition to the the exhibition and event visitors, also the customers of Siida Shop, Metsähallitus’s Service Point, the Tourist Information and Restaurant Sarrit.
Of all those visiting Siida, approximately 50 per cent – 64,000 – were exhibition and event customers, which means that Siida’s exhibitions have never been visited by a higher number of guests during the 21-year-long history of the house. The figure has increased from the previous year by a whopping 8%.
Traditionally, the flow of visitors to Siida’s exhibitions from June to August has clearly surpassed that of the winter months. The 2019 increase in the exhibition visitor figures was especially prominent during the winter months. The numbers increased the most in December, with altogether 25% compared to 2018. The exhibition visitor figure of January grew by 16% compared to 2018.
Of Siida’s exhibition visitors, 39% were domestic and 61% foreigners in 2019. The proportion of international exhibition visitors has increased every year. For example in 2014, foreign visitors accounted for 55%. The number of domestic exhibition visitors to Siida has also increased, by 4.7% compared to 2018.
Siida is an extremely international meeting place. In 2019, our visitors came from altogether 87 countries. Germans were the biggest group of foreigners (8.4% of all exhibition visitors) with the French right after them (7.7%). These two nationalities have topped Siida’s exhibition visitor statistics for years. The other top countries on the list were China and Hongkong (4.7%), Italy (4.6%), the USA (4.5%) and the Netherlands (4%).
The new trend of tourism could also be noticed in Siida. Instead of group trips, travellers follow their individual travel plans. Last year, individual foreign adults were the largest customer group buying tickets to Siida, with foreign adults travelling in groups as the second largest visitor group.
The Museum Pass – extremely popular in Finland – also brought an increasing number of visitors to Siida. The number of visitors entering Siida with a Museum Pass in 2019 was 2,707, which means an increase of 38% compared to 2018.
Siida’s basic exhibitions that highlight Sámi culture and the natural conditions of the North contain a great deal of information that visitors find interesting. In 2019, the most popular temporary exhibitions were the exhibitions “Inari Sámi Handicraft of the Past and the Present” and “Changing Winter”. Siida’s high visitor figures are also based on our diverse services: the visitor will find information, unforgettable experiences, advice, presents and restaurant services under the same roof.
Furthermore, 2,585 visitors were registered at the Skolt Sámi Heritage House – the regional unit of the Sámi Museum Siida – in Sevettijärvi. The Skolt Sámi Heritage House is open from June to September, and its visitor numbers increased by a good 400 visitors from the year 2018. The Skolt Sámi Heritage House is mostly visited by domestic visitors (82%). July and September are the peak visitor months at the Heritage House.
Siida will launch its extension and development project in earnest in the spring of 2020. The extension project will be realised in stages. During the initial phase – starting on 1 May 2020 – a collection unit and a restaurant wing will be built. After they have been completed, the Siida Building will be closed for a year in April 2021 for the renovation phase. The Sámi Museum and Nature Centre and the restaurant will continue serving customers throughout the renovation stage, using the new wings as their facilities. During the period of change, Siida will use the legendary Open-Air Museum as its exhibition venue. Siida with its new facilities and permanent exhibitions will be opened on 1 April 2022.
More information:
Visitors: Head of Sales and marketing Minna Väisänen, +358 40 58164 34, minna.vaisanen(at)samimuseum.fi
Siida renewal: Museum Director Sari Valkonen, +358 40 767 1052, sari.valkonen(at)samimuseum.fi
The Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida will be renovated and extended in 2020–2022. As the owner of the Siida Building, Senate Properties has, through a decision by its Board of Directors, made an investment decision on the extension project on 18 December 2019. The Sámi Museum Foundation is the main tenant of the Siida Building, and the Foundation sublets parts of the house to the Nature Centre and Restaurant Sarrit.
The Siida Building – inaugurated in 1998 – will now be renewed to meet the needs of an increased number of operations and higher visitor figures. In the project, Siida will get museum and nature centre premises that will fulfil modern demands both technically and operationally. The project will cover approximately 3000 m2, this will also increase the area of the building by 50 % .
At its front, the extension project will have new, proper collection facilities for the Sámi Museum. With an extension of the Collections Unit, the new facilities will provide the Sámi Museum with the capacity for continuing as a national museum responsible for its special field. After the project, the Sámi Museum will receive a repatriation of the Sámi Collection of the National Museum of Finland (more than 2000 items). A repatriation of this size is noteworthy even internationally.
Siida’s extension project will be realised in stages. During the initial phase – starting on 1 May 2020 – a collection unit and a restaurant wing will be built. After they have been completed, the Siida Building will be closed for a year for the renovation phase in April 2021. The Sámi Museum and Nature Centre and the restaurant will continue serving customers throughout the renovation stage, using the new wings as their facilities. During the change, Siida will use the legendary Open-Air Museum as its exhibition venue. Siida with its new facilities and permanent exhibitions will be opened on 1 April 2022.
The architectural design of Siida’s extension has been entrusted to Architects Soini & Horto Ltd from Helsinki. The Construction Manager will be Miikka Teppo from Senate Properties.
The renewal of Siida’s permanent exhibitions will have the same schedule as the extension. Friends of Industry Ltd / Harri Koskinen will be the Exhibition Architect.
The Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida is pleased to realise a development project that will enable Siida to renew and expand its operations. Customers will also in future find Siida’s diverse services and operations in one building.
There will be an information meeting – open for the public – on the project on 9 January 2020 at 5 p.m. at the Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida.
Further information:
Sámi Museum Siida: Sari Valkonen, Museum Director, sari.valkonen@samimuseum.fi, tel. +358 40 767 1052
Senate Properties: Tuomas Pusa, Division Director tuomas.pusa@senaatti.fi, +358 (0)50 390 2143
Illustrative drawings for media use: https://www.flickr.com/gp/siidainari/921165
Updated 18.2.2021: (2600 items) –> (more than 2000 items)
The permanent exhibitions of the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida will be renewed. The Sámi Museum Foundation has received a 400,000 euro grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation for renewing the cultural part of the exhibitions. In the project, the Museum will create an exhibition manuscript for the permanent exhibitions and the Open-Air Museum that will be based on atmospheres and the intepretations of Sámi artists. Through creating consciously atmospheres and a dramatic curve in the exhibitions, the information offered by the Museum will be better conveyed to the visitor.
The total budget for the renewal of the joint permanent exhibitions of the Sámi Museum and the Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida is approximately 2.5 million euros. The Sámi Museum has been granted funding for the cultural part of the exhibitions from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Kone Foundation and the Wihuri Foundation, altogether 750,000 euros. The Museum’s share of the exhibition budget is fifty percent. The Nature Centre has got funding for its part from the Ministry of the Environment. The project is connected with Siida’s extension and renovation project. The project will be carried out in 2020–22.
The personnel of the Sámi Museum is happy about the grant
More information: Museum Director Sari Valkonen, sari.valkonen@samimuseum.fi, tel. +358 40 767 1052
https://skr.fi/ajankohtaista/miljoonien-tuki-suomalaisten-museoiden-uudistumiseen
The joint permanent exhibitions of the Sámi Museum and the Northern Lapland Nature Centre will be renewed. The Sámi Museum has received a grant of 300 000 euros from the Kone Foundation for a project on the modernisation of the cultural part of Siida’s basic exhibitions.
https://koneensaatio.fi/en/kone-foundation-awarded-more-than-eur-30-million-for-art-and-research/
The Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida is heading for great changes: an extension, renovations, the renewal of exhibitions and transfers of collections. Before this, we will shake off the dust from Siida’s website. We have now improved the website www.siida.fi: with a fresh look, the website is now mobile optimised and available in five languages. Furthermore, tickets for our exhibitions can now be bought online.
Siida’s new website works in five languages. In addition to the earlier Finnish, English and North Sámi languages, we now offer the website also in Inari and Skolt Sámi. We use all the three Sámi languages spoken in Finland every day at Siida, for example in activities dealing with museum and nature education, exhibitions and projects. Therefore, we also want to spotlight the Sámi languages on our website and to promote their use.
With the renewed website, Siida will board the new train of tourism sales by starting to sell tickets online too. Here, we are among the first ones amid Finnish museum and nature centres. You can now buy tickets to Siida in advance at our online shop at www.siida.fi. As means of payment, you can use Finnish Internet banking and most credit cards. When you arrive at Siida, you will still be met by our customer service representatives, who will provide you with information on the exhibitions and the services available at Siida.
To celebrate the Sámi Language Week, the new website of the Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida and Restaurant Sarrit will be launched on Thursday 24 October 2019. The website has been created by Advertising Kioski.
Further information:
Sales and Marketing Minna Väisänen
tel. +358 40 581 6434, minna.vaisanen@samimuseum.fi
Edited October 29th 2020: Siida’s online-ticket sales system is changing. Online sale of tickets is now closed, and will reopen for summer 2021.
Designer Harri Koskinen has been selected as the architectural designer for the new permanent exhibition at Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida. The existing exhibition will be renewed in conjunction with the expansion and renovation of Siida and will be completed in April 2022.
Harri Koskinen and his Friends of Industry company will be responsible for architecture and graphic design related to the permanent exhibition and supervision of its construction and implementation. Koskinen’s long-term partners include Iittala and Genelec. He created the architecture for the latest Tapio Wirkkala and Oiva Toikka exhibitions. Koskinen has had many international clients – mostly from Japan and Italy – during his career. A hotel concept that he designed is set to open in Kyoto at the end of this year.
The Siida exhibition renewal is an integral part of the renovation and expansion of the museum and nature centre building. The exhibition is more than 20 years old and Sámi Museum Director Sari Valkonen is very happy to see it being renewed and to have Koskinen involved in the work.
National Park Superintendent Pirjo Seurujärvi from Metsähallitus is delighted to have a renowned designer like Harri Koskinen join the team.
The selection of the architectural designer was carried out via a public procurement procedure. This was a two-stage process in which the tenderers who advanced to the second phase were asked to provide a sample of their work.
Further information:
Museum Director Sari Valkonen +358 (0)40 767 1052 sari.valkonen@samimuseum.fi
National Park Superintendent Pirjo Seurujärvi +358 (0)40 767 1052 pirjo.seurujarvi@metsa.fi
Designer Harri Koskinen +358 (0)40 5518160 harri@harrikoskinen.com
For more information about Harri Koskinen:
Located in Inari, Siida houses the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre as well as Restaurant Sarrit. The Sámi Museum Foundation is responsible for operations at the Sámi Museum. The Northern Lapland Nature Centre is part of Metsähallitus’ national network of nature centres.
The Siida building that opened in 1998 will be renovated and expanded, with the new parts housing the Sámi Museum Collections Unit and the restaurant. The joint permanent exhibition of the Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre will be renewed. Things are changing, but we will remain open throughout the renovation and exhibition renewal. The larger, renovated Siida and the new exhibition will open in April 2022.