Dolgan writer Kseniia Bolsakova will present her novel All the Frost Melts, based on her childhood in a reindeer-herding family in the Russian Arctic.

Through the book, we will discuss tundra, reindeer herding, Indigenous relationships with land, and the ongoing effects of colonization and assimilation. The talk will also explore how Indigenous literature can transmit traditional knowledge and lived experiences between Indigenous peoples and from an Arctic region to another.

The talk will be introduced by her Sámi Publisher Kirsi Paltto from ABC-Company E-skuvla AS, which will publish the book in Sami in the end of the year. The book will be later translated also to Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. The main language of the event is English.

Admission to the event is free, and everyone is welcome to join the discussion.

 

Date: 15.9.2026

Time: at 16.30

Place: Siida’s auditorium

From 3 to 5 September 2026, the Sámi Museum Siida hosted SIIDA GAME JAM for the first time. Held both at the museum in Inari and online via Discord, the event brought together game creators from around the world to develop games inspired by Sámi culture, history and perspectives.

A game jam is an internationally recognised event format in which participants design and create a game or game concept within a set period of time. No previous game development experience was required to take part in SIIDA GAME JAM. The event was open to anyone interested in games and Sámi culture. Its aim was to provide an opportunity to explore game-based expression and discover new ways of approaching and communicating cultural stories, perspectives and experiences.

The idea for the event grew out of the Diginativvat? – Sámi Games Now! exhibition at Siida, curated by Outi Laiti. The exhibition presented games that had been showcased at the first Sámi Game Jam, held in Utsjoki in 2018, and visitors also had the opportunity to try them out.

“We started thinking about what kind of event we could organise alongside the exhibition, and the idea of organising a new Game Jam emerged quite naturally. This time, the event was organised by the Sámi Museum Siida, and participants could draw inspiration from the museum’s exhibitions. Siida also provides information about Sámi culture and its diverse perspectives,” says Reetta Tornensis, Exhibition Curator at the Sámi Museum Siida.

The theme of the event was Layers. The theme was explored from a variety of perspectives, including time, people, livelihoods, history and the future. Participants were encouraged to interpret the theme freely and approach it with an open mind – also by thinking beyond conventional approaches to game development and storytelling. The museum environment, exhibitions and discussions held during the event provided starting points for participants to create their own game-based interpretations.

The goal was achieved in many ways. Participants had the opportunity to experiment with new forms of expression and explore Sámi culture through games together with museum professionals and mentors. Games provided a way to approach the culture from new and sometimes unexpected perspectives.

SIIDA GAME JAM attracted participants both from the Sámi and beyond. Participants joined the event from countries including China and New Zealand. This strengthened the international dimension of the event and made SIIDA GAME JAM a truly international meeting place.

The first SIIDA GAME JAM also laid the groundwork for new collaboration opportunities and future events at the intersection of games and cultural heritage. The event demonstrated that games can offer an engaging and creative way to explore Sámi culture and discover new forms of storytelling. The games developed during SIIDA GAME JAM may even become part of an exhibition at Siida in the future!

Diginativvat? – Sámi Games Now! exhibition still on display.

The Diginativvat? – Sámi Games Now! exhibition at the Sámi Museum Siida is on display until 20 September 2026. Exhibition offers an introduction to Sámi-themed games and game culture. Visitors can also try out the games featured in the exhibition.

Now is a great time to visit the exhibition and discover how games can communicate stories and perspectives related to Sámi culture.

 

The Sámi Museum Siida in Finland, the Nordiska museet in Sweden, and the Giellagas Institute at the University of Oulu in Finland are launching a collaboration focused on Sámi cultural heritage. The project will research the background information of old Sámi objects collected from the area of Finland in collaboration with Sámi communities. The collaboration is part of the Sámi Museum Siida’s Ellos min árbi – Long Live Our Cultural Heritage project (2025–2028), which is funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

The aim of this collaboration is to study and document the provenance, including the specific origin, collection history and scope, of Sámi artefacts in the Nordiska museet’s collections. The collection includes a total of nearly 700 objects.

– This collaboration is significant for the Sámi Museum Siida. We want to deepen our understanding of the background of the Sámi collections and strengthen their connection to the Sámi community. The main goal of this work is to reintegrate the knowledge associated with these objects into living Sámi culture. I hope this project can mark the beginning of the objects’ return home, says Taina Máret Pieski, Director of the Sámi Museum Siida

– Nordiska museet is thrilled to be part of this unique collaborative project with the Sámi Museum Siida and the Giellagas Institute. For the first time since the Sámi artefacts entered Nordiska museet’s collections, we have the opportunity to trace their history and origins. I sincerely hope that our collaboration will inspire more museums to follow our example, says Sanne Houby-Nielsen, Director of Nordiska museet.

– We are delighted that this project allows us to advance duodji (Sámi handcraft) research in a way that is socially significant. It is extremely important that the backgrounds of old Sámi objects are studied in collaboration with the Sámi people. The knowledge revealed through these objects deepens our understanding of our ancestors’ lives and ways of thinking. It guides us into the future, says Sigga-Marja Magga, director of the Giellagas Institute

The objects and the results of the provenance research will be presented at public community events, which will begin in late fall 2026. At these events, participants will be able to view objects from the Nordiska museet’s collections via remote connection to Stockholm. The events offer opportunities for dialogue and knowledge sharing and strengthen community-based collection work.

The project also aims to explore the significance of community-based collection work for the Sámi people and to understand the communities’ wishes regarding the return of the collections. When the objects of the ancestors and the knowledge they contain are returned and integrated into the inherited knowledge and skills of the community, they also take on new meanings. Through collective work, the role of the objects extends from emotional archives to conversation starters and sources of inspiration.

As part of this collaboration, Siida and the Nordiska museet, together with Eeva-Kristiina Nylander, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oulu’s Giellagas Institute, are researching issues of particular interest to the Sámi people, such as how, where, and by whom the objects were added to the museum’s collections. The research findings will be made easily accessible to the Sámi community.

The Sámi Museum Siida’s community-based project “Ellos min árbi – Long Live Our Cultural Heritage” explores and examines the nature of Sámi repatriation and community work, and how Sámi objects returned to their homeland can best become part of living Sámi culture. The project systematically strengthens Siida’s national and international repatriation work, which aims to return Sámi collections to the Sámi community in Sápmi.

 

Additional information:

Taina Máret Pieski
Museum Director, CEO
Sámi Museum Siida
tel. +358 (0)50 535 1574
taina.pieski@samimuseum.fi

 

Sanne Houby-Nielsen
Museum Director
Nordiska museet
tel. +46 (0)8 519 546 20
sanne.houby.nielsen@nordiskamuseet.se

 

Eeva-Kristiina Nylander
Postdoctoral researcher
Giellagas Institute for Saami Studies
University of Oulu
tel. +358 (0)40 7045153
eeva-kristiina.nylander@oulu.fi

 

Sámi Museum’s Cultural Environment Services are closed 29.6.–31.7.2026 during which the museum doesn’t give statements. Have a good summer!

Contemporary Sámi art is experiencing a renaissance and attracting great international interest. I am very pleased that Kiasma accepted our proposal for collaboration and hosting a comprehensive jointexhibition of Sámi contemporary art.

This is the first major exhibition of Sámi contemporary art ever held in Helsinki. It is also deeply significant that the exhibition has been curated by Sámi themselves. Curator Petra Laiti’s concept powerfully weaves together our people’s past and present. 

In Sápmi, the lands and waters are the foundation of the living culture, traditional livelyhoods and sámi languages. These lands and waters are the source of all life for us, the wellspring of our strength and continuity. Yet, across Sápmi, our rights are under threat. We continue to stand and to fight for our rights, so that we may still be here tomorrow.

We Who Remain exhibition is our message—brought to life through the voice of Petra Laiti and the powerful work of remarkable artists. It speaks from lived experience, from memory, and from the present moment.

I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all the artists who have chosen to be part of this exhibition. Your work makes this message visible, tangible, and deeply felt.

We Who Remain exhibition is both a call and a testimony. It calls for recognition, for understanding, and for justice. I sincerely hope that this message will be seen, heard, and carried forward.

I wish all the success for the exhibition!

Ellos sámi dáidda! Ellos Sápmi! 

Jointly presented by Kiasma and the Sámi Museum Siida, We Who Remain brings together contemporary artworks by Sámi artists and works engaging with Sámi life across Sápmi, spanning Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The exhibition opens at Kiasma on March 27, 2026, with selected works on view at Siida in Inari beginning in October.

In recent years, the Arctic has drawn growing international political attention – not only for its strategic importance, but also for its abundant natural resources. As global interest in the region intensifies, the voices of its Indigenous peoples have been sidelined – echoing earlier history, when the Sámi homeland was divided by imposed nation-state borders that continue to shape the region today.

DIVIDED SÁPMI

The Sámi are the Indigenous people of northern Europe. Their homeland, Sápmi, long predates the emergence of Nordic nation-states and their national ideologies, spanning present-day Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Sámi are part of the broader family of Arctic Indigenous peoples, and their traditional culture is grounded in fishing, hunting, reindeer herding, gathering, and Sámi handicrafts (duodji).

We Who Remain presents contemporary art that explores Sámi identity from within the community. Featuring more than twenty artists, the exhibition focuses primarily on works from the 2000s to the 2020s, while also including a small selection of earlier pieces, the oldest dating to the 1970s. Across these decades, the Sámi community has fought for recognition under Nordic law and for greater awareness internationally.

“Contrasts are ever-present in Sámi contemporary art. The works convey the sensitivity and emotional depth of Sámi life, while also revealing the forces that have hardened us and shaped us into survivors. For Sámi visitors, they reflect our community’s self-respect, joys, and sorrows. For Finnish audiences, they offer distinctly Sámi perspectives on Sámi life,” says curator Petra Laiti.

TOWARD RECONCILIATION

The exhibition is especially timely following the release of the final report of Finland’s Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission, submitted in December 2025 to the Finnish Government, the Sámi Parliament, and the Skolt Village Assembly. Containing 68 recommendations to improve the status of the Sámi people, the report underscores Finland’s responsibility as a country founded on the homelands of two peoples. Attention now turns to translating these recommendations into meaningful action.

“This joint exhibition represents a new form of cooperation that could be further expanded between Finns and Sámi,” says Laiti.

As Kiasma Museum Director Kiira Miesmaa notes, contemporary art creates space for multiple narratives and amplifies voices too often left unheard.
“This exhibition is one way of making space for Sámi voices. I am delighted that we are able to present it in collaboration with the Sámi Museum Siida and curator Petra Laiti,” says Miesmaa.

Taina Máret Pieski, Director of the Sámi Museum Siida, emphasises the significance of Helsinki hosting a comprehensive exhibition of Sámi contemporary art.

“Contemporary Sámi art and duodji (traditional Sámi crafts) are experiencing a renaissance and attracting great international interest. I am very pleased that Kiasma accepted our proposal for collaboration, enabling us to present a curated selection of works at Siida, in Sápmi,” says Pieski.

Laiti further highlights the broader context shaping the exhibition: “Although the Arctic is receiving unprecedented global attention, the status of the peoples who live there is not necessarily improving. Critical issues – including land rights and the exploitation of natural resources – risk being overshadowed by NATO-related debate. These challenges affect Arctic Indigenous peoples such as the Sámi and Inuit alike, making it all the more essential that our stories are told and our voices heard.”

Featured artists: Siri Baggerman, Tomas Colbengtson, Gabriel Engberg, Marja Helander, Rose-Marie Huuva, Berit Marit Hætta, Johdet x Pirak, Márjá Karlsen, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Joar Nango, Outi Pieski, Katarina Pirak Sikku, Raisa Porsanger, Jorma Puranen, Máret Ánne Sara, Eveliina Sarapää, Hilde Skancke Pedersen, Katarina Spik Skum, Lena Stenberg, Lada Suomenrinne, Arvid Sveen, Tapio Tapiovaara, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Niillas Holmberg, Pekka Aikio

We Who Remain – Sámi Art in Focus
27.3.-6.9.2026, Kiasma

More information for media:

Siida
Taina Máret Pieski, Director of the Sámi Museum Siida, tainamaret.pieski(at)samimuseum.fi

Kiasma
Kiira Koskela, Communications Officer, 050 4786 861, kiira.koskela(at)kiasma.fi
Piia Laita, Head of Communications, 0294 500 507, piia.laita(at)kiasma.fi

The Sámi Museum Siida is national museum responsible for its special field, Sámi culture, and regional museum responsible for tasks concerning cultural environments in the Sámi Area. Siida’s main purpose is to support the identity and the cultural self-esteem of the Sámi. Siida is also a member of the world’s indigenous people’s museum network.

The Finnish National Gallery is the national museum of fine arts. It operates three of Finland’s best-known museums: the Ateneum Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Sinebrychoff Art Museum. It also manages the national art collection and its archives, develops Finnish cultural heritage and promotes art to the wider public.

In 2025, a total of 83,506 exhibition and event visitors visited the Sámi Museum Siida, marking the highest annual visitor number in the museum’s history. Compared to the previous record year, visitor numbers increased by 1.5 percent, indicating that attendance has stabilized at a new, higher level than before.

The year 2025 was also structurally significant for Siida. On 1 July 2025, following the closure of Metsähallitus’ Upper Lapland Nature Centre, all exhibition activities at Siida were transferred to the administration of the Sámi Museum. This change did not weaken visitor numbers; instead, the museum’s appeal remained strong throughout the year.

The growth of tourism in Lapland is clearly reflected in Siida’s visitor numbers. The European Museum of the Year Award and the Finnish Museum of the Year recognition received in 2024 have further strengthened the museum’s international visibility. In recent years, growth has no longer been explosive; rather, visitor numbers are leveling off, indicating more sustainable development.

The share of international visitors continues to grow

In 2025, international visitors accounted for 63.6 percent of all exhibition visitors at Siida. The proportion of international visitors has increased steadily in recent years, and international audiences now form a clear majority of the museum’s visitors.

The share of group travelers among all ticket purchasers rose to 34 percent, compared to approximately 30 percent in previous years.

In 2025, the Sámi Museum Siida organized 445 guided tours. Tours were offered in seven different languages, reflecting the museum’s strong international visitor base.

“Siida’s new visitor record is a great joy for us and a shared achievement. It is wonderful to see that Sámi culture, Arctic nature, and the work of the museum are experienced as meaningful. Warm thanks to all visitors, staff, and partners who make Siida a vibrant place of encounter,” says Museum Director Taina Máret Pieski.

For further information:
Audience Manager Taija Aikio, taija.aikio(at)samimuseum.fi, +358 40 484 7329.

Pielpajärvi Church is one of the oldest built heritage sites in northern Finland and an internationally significant monument of wooden architecture. On Tuesday, 2 December 2025, the Sámi Museum Siida will publish the first extensive, trilingual research publication dedicated to Pielpajärvi Church. The book is edited by Professor Panu Savolainen, Chair of Architectural History at Aalto University, and authored by several experts in architectural history, cultural heritage studies and art history. The publication brings together the latest research findings and previously unpublished visual material.

Pielpajärvi Church was built in the late 1750s in a Sámi winter village as the parish church of Inari. It was abandoned in the 1890s when the parish centre was relocated to the mouth of Juutua River. Today, it is a popular site for weddings and a well-known historical attraction, reflecting both Sámi and Christian traditions.

The new publication released by the Sámi Museum Siida presents the history, architecture and cultural significance of the church in a scope and depth not previously compiled in a single volume. The trilingual work (Finnish–English–Inari Sámi) serves both as an accessible guide for general readers and as a scholarly resource for professionals in the field of built heritage. The book is based on a research project funded by the Lapland Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation and Kone Foundation (2021–2022), which examined archival sources on the church’s construction history and carried out extensive building-archaeological documentation. Since 2023, the architectural firm Livady has carried out additional research commissioned by the Parish of Inari.

The book’s extensive illustrations consist largely of previously unpublished material. Among them is a recently discovered 1885 photograph from the collections of the University of Florence – the oldest known image of Pielpajärvi Church – as well as new photogrammetric measurements.

The book opens with a chapter by Panu Savolainen, who contextualises the architectural history of the church and examines archival sources related to its construction. Articles by Marko Huttunen and Pauliina Saarinen discuss the church’s restoration history from the 20th century onwards, documentation, structures and the building process. Suvi Toivanen’s chapter explores the carvings on the interior walls and visitor inscriptions from the perspective of cultural heritage studies. Tuomas Ranta-aho provides an overview of the photogrammetric documentation carried out in 2021. Päivi Magga and Miina Tolonen examine the architectural and cultural heritage values of the church. The book concludes with a personal reflection on Pielpajärvi Church by Tuomo Huusko, vicar of Inari.

Inarin Pielpajärven erämaakirkko – Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church in Inari – Aanaar Piälppáájäävri meccikirkko. Ed. Panu Savolainen. Authors: Marko Huttunen, Tuomo Huusko, Päivi Magga, Tuomas Ranta-aho, Pauliina Saarinen, Panu Savolainen, Suvi Toivanen and Miina Tolonen. Inari Saami translation by Saammâl Morottaja.

Further information: Prof. Panu Savolainen, Aalto University, panu.savolainen@aalto.fi, +358 50 475 6727.

September 10 and 12, 2025, will be historic days for Sámi museums and Sámi culture field: A decorative antler spoon from the Southern Sámi region will be returned from the Sámi Museum Siida in Inari, Finland, to Saemien Sijte – the Southern Sámi museum and cultural center in Snåsa, Norway. This is the first return between two Sámi museums.

The antler spoon, which was a personal item attached to a belt, is engraved with the year 1893. The spoon was originally given to Finnish linguist Eliel Lagercrantz by Malena Torkelsen – also known as Aahka Meele – during his documentation trip in 1925. Malena was a well-known figure in the mountain regions of Snåsa and Lierne and lived in Snåsa during her adult life. Lagercrantz later sold the spoon to the National Museum of Finland in 1931. In 2021, the National Museum of Finland returned its entire collection of Sámi artifacts to the Sámi Museum Siida, and thus Malena’s spoon also ended up in Inari.

On Wednesday, September 10, Birgitta Fossum, director of Saemien Sijte, will travel to Inari to receive the spoon from Taina Máret Pieski, director of the Sámi Museum Siida, in an official handover ceremony at Siida.

– The return of our cultural heritage to its home is of great significance. We are delighted to be able to return the antler spoon to its home region, and we hope that it will convey its significance to current and future generations in the community, says Taina Máret Pieski, director of the Sámi Museum Siida.

On Friday, September 12, Saemien Sijte invites you to an open event in Snåsa, where the antler spoon and photographs from Lagercrantz’s documentation trip will be on display.

– This is an important milestone for the Southern Sámi community and Sámi museums in general. The object has great cultural and historical value, and we are proud to receive it, says Birgitta Fossum, director of Saemien Sijte.

The spoon is not only a personal possession, but also part of the history and identity of the Southern Sámi. Lagercrantz left behind detailed notes from his travels, in which he describes, among other things, 34 huts on a mountain farm in Snåsa and encounters with several Sámi people. This material is also very interesting to study.

The event will be held at Saemien Sijte on September 12 at 2:00 p.m. The press is welcome at 1:00 p.m.

 

Further information

Saemien Sijte

Museum Director Birgitta Fossum
Tel. +47 948 56 586
birgitta.fossum@saemiensijte.no

Curator Lisa Dunfjeld-Aagård
Tel. +47 940 17 021
lisa.dunfjeld-aagard@saemiensijte.no

Sámi Museum Siida

Museum Director Taina Máret Pieski
Tel. 050 5351574
taina.pieski@samimuseum.fi

Chief Curator Anni Guttorm
Tel. 0400 891 860
anni.guttorm@samimuseum.fi