The Rievdan – Change exhibition opens at the Sámi Cultural Centre Sajos in Inari, bringing together the process of community-based art workshops held in Sápmi and the artworks created during those workshops. The exhibition opening will take place on September 8 at 11:00 am, and the exhibition will be open to the public until September 17, 2026.

The works in the Rievdan – Change exhibition are created as a part of a two-year Rievdan project by the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland. The project has developed methods for community-based art education in Sápmi, particularly in Vuotso in Finnish Lapland and Karasjok in Norway. The central theme of the community art workshops organised within the project has been to collectively reflect on change in northern environments.

The works in the exhibition explore the significance of the environment and culture, as well as the thoughts of workshop participants on the changing North. In the art workshops for schoolchildren held in both locations, participants created, among other things, light and sound art, street paintings, and animations, and explored local stories and cultural heritage.

A light artwork in a snowy forest.
The collaborative “Forest of Light” light art event organized by the Vuotso school and village community in December 2025 featured a light and sound art trail. Photo: Ville Koski.

The community artwork Luovvi, which was created in Vuotso in May 2026 through the joint efforts of the school and the village community, has also been brought to the courtyard of Sajos as a part of the exhibition. The artwork was built during an art workshop open to locals. Together, they selected photographs to be displayed on the construction, depicting the daily lives of Vuotso’s past and present residents, as well as the things and places that are important to them. This connection across generations provides strength to embrace change and reinforces adaptation to the future.

Three persons setting up birch logs for a luovvi, a storage construction.
Building a Luovvi construction in the schoolyard at Vuotso school in May 2026. A luovvi (Northern Sámi) is a storage construction built from birch logs. Photo: Mirja Hiltunen.

In addition to speeches and other performances, the exhibition opening will feature a soundscape by Elmiinná and Ante Jalvela, composed of singing, joik, and percussive guitar – a piece in which, according to the artists, both the past and the future coexist.

Rievdan – Change Exhibition

September 8–17, 2026
Opening: September 8, 2026, at 11:00 am
Sámi Cultural Centre Sajos, address: Menesjärventie 2A, Inari
Open Mon–Fri, 9:00 am–5:00 pm
Free admission.

The Rievdan – Change project promotes innovative art education in the Arctic

Over the past two years, the Rievdan – Change project has developed methods for community-based art education in Sápmi, particularly in Vuotso in Finnish Lapland and in Karasjok in Norway. Workshops have explored the locals’ own opportunities to positively influence the direction of change. Workshops and events have brought together families, seniors, young people, and schoolchildren to discuss the theme of change.

In Finland, the project partners are the Sámi Children’s Cultural Center Mánnu, and in Karasjok the Sámi Center for Contemporary Art Sámi Dáiddaguovddáš (SDG). The project is funded by the Kone Foundation and led by Mirja Hiltunen, Professor of Art Education at the Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland. Korinna Korsström-Magga works as Project Researcher and Coordinator, and Ante Jalvela as Research Assistant. The project also aims to develop innovative Arctic art education at the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland.

For more information:

Mirja Hiltunen, Professor of Art Education, Project Director
mirja.hiltunen (at) ulapland.fi
Tel. +358 40 484 4373

Korinna Korsström-Magga, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher and Project Coordinator
kkorsstr (at) ulapland.fi
P. +358 40 574 98 75