The touring exhibition Arctic Highways premieres at the House of Sweden in Washington DC on 3 March 2022. Twelve Indigenous artists from Sápmi, Canada and Alaska are beginning a four-year touring exhibition that will conclude as a permanent exhibition in the village of Granö in Västerbotten.
Indigenous peoples around the world existed long before the establishment of nation-state borders. With nation-states, indigenous peoples' natural lands were erased. Despite this, indigenous peoples and their cultures have survived, but not without having to fight for their lives. Britta Marakat Labba is one of the curators and artists behind Arctic Highways:
I shape my stories with needle and thread. Early on, I realised that we Sámi lack stories in form and images. We have been good at preserving oral histories. Indigenous knowledge – the silent and silenced knowledge – should have a place globally. The art map Arctic Highways tells the story of indigenous peoples, based on their experiences, using their own forms of expression.
Arctic Highways is a journey where we get to follow twelve artists on an Arctic highway of culture and life that stretches from the past into the future, without ever crossing a border:
”We are very happy that the art exhibition Arctic Highways is beginning its tour at House of Sweden in Washington, before continuing to Canada, the USA and Europe. Arctic Highways, curated by artists who are themselves from Sápmi, highlights Indigenous peoples' history and culture, and makes us reflect on the significance of national borders," says Helene Larsson Pousette, Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of Sweden in the USA.
The whole Arctic Highways exhibition can be seen at: www.motesplatsgrano.se
For more information:
Yvonne Rock, Project Manager and Senior Advisor
0709-58 71 25
Yvonnerock.stockholm@gmail.com
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