Art and Truth-Telling at Bildmuseet
4.10.2025 07:00:00 CEST | Umeå University | Press Release
What counts as truth? In what ways can art expand the language of truth and the process of truth-telling? Art and Truth-Telling marks the process of the Truth Commission for the Sámi people on the Swedish side of Sábmie. Through vuöllie [joik], duöjjie [Sámi crafts], drawing, installation, architecture and glasswork, the exhibition highlights the role of art in the expression of personal and collective truths.
Opening on Art Friday, 17 October.
Press previews by appointment from 13 October.
Art and Truth-Telling — Sádniesvuadah dájdán tjarra — presents new artworks by artists from diverse generations with connections to southern Sábmie. The themes that traverse their artworks are by no means a prescribed response to the Truth Commission. Rather, they speak to a continuum of engagement by the artists, an ongoing reckoning with histories that have shaped Sámi life and culture.
Participating are Avant Joik (Matti Aikio, Katarina Barruk and Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje), Sissel M Bergh, Niklas Blindh, Monica L Edmondson, Mats Jonsson, Johanna Minde, Per Elof Nilsson Ricklund, Lisa Nyberg, Julia Rensberg, Birgitta Ricklund, Risfjells Sameslöjd (Doris Risfjell and Sven-Åke Risfjell), and Elme Ämting.
The exhibition gives shape to a living cosmos of Sámi experiences, where testimonies, dreams and resistance meet. While the works bear witness to cultural loss and the invisibility of Sámi presence in official narratives, they also evoke acts of resistance and resilience rooted in land and ancestry. Present-day exploitation and control of natural resources, echoing colonial dynamics, bring forth the question posed by the pan-Sámi and Nordic ensemble Avant Joik: Can we reconcile?
The exhibition at Bildmuseet is the first chapter of a year-long collaboration with Gaaltije Saemien Museume in Staare [Östersund], grounded in the South and Ume Sámi language areas within Sábmie. In Bildmuseet’s translations, we are using Ume Sámi, a critically endangered language spoken by around 60 individuals in the region.
Art and Truth-Telling is produced by Bildmuseet and Gaaltije Saemien Museume. The exhibition runs at Bildmuseet from October 17, 2025, to April 5, 2026, followed by Gaaltije Saemien Museume. It is accompanied by a series of events. Activations grounded in the contexts of the participating artists, connect art and inquiries to the places that have shaped them.
Curators: Anneli Bäckman and Anca Rujoiu.
With thanks to the Aejlies Sámi Centre in Deärnná [Tärnaby], Arctic Arts Summit 2026, Norrlandsoperan, Såhkie—Umeå Sámi Association, Umeå Film Festival, Várdduo—Centre for Sámi Research, Umeå Academy of Fine Arts and UmArts at Umeå University, and Accelerator at Stockholm University.
Exhibition opening
The exhibition opens on Art Friday, 17 October, 17:00–24:00, with talks and presentations, a performance by Avant Joik, workshops, guided tours, DJ, bar, and more. The same evening also marks the opening of Sara Granér’s solo exhibition Räls oss ifrån ondo [Derail Us from Evil]
Press preview and press images
The exhibition is available for press previews by appointment. Kindly email us with your request.
Press images: https://www.bildmuseet.umu.se/en/press/press-images/
Keywords
Contacts
Helena VejbrinkCommunication officerBildmuseet
Tel:+46 90 786 9073helena.vejbrink@bildmuseet.umu.seLinks
About Bildmuseet
Bildmuseet is one of Sweden’s foremost venues for international contemporary art and part of Umeå University. Here, art and research meet to explore the urgent questions of our time. Exhibitions are produced in collaboration with artists, museums and universities worldwide. Visitors are invited to guided tours, creative workshops, artist talks, debates, lectures, film screenings, concerts, and other events.
Bildmuseet is situated in an acclaimed building on the Umeå Arts Campus by the Umeälven river, alongside the Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Architecture, the Institute of Design, and UmArts. Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest universities, with more than 41,500 students and 4,600 employees. It is a multifaceted university where education and research in the creative realm are vital elements.
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