Through images of the Arctic (ca. 1750-1930), the exhibition will tell and examine the traces of indigenous peoples' biographies, culture and experiences in the face of colonial actors.
The images are linked to indigenous peoples, landscapes and animals in Sápmi, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Inuit Nunangat (Northern Canada) and Alaska during a period of increased colonial pressure and contact. The images are bound together by the fact that they arose in encounters between people from different cultures, and with different agendas and understandings of relationships with people, animals, nature and culture. The exhibition explores how historical images can be reclaimed and possibly enrich the history and culture of Arctic indigenous peoples today.
The exhibition features works by Sámi artists Outi Pieski, Anders Sunna, Raisa Porsanger, Áillohaš/Nils Aslak Valkeapää (1943-2001) and Aage Gaup (1943-2021), as well as Greenlandic artist Bolatta Silis-Høegh and Sugpiat anthropologist, curator and artist Sven Haakanson. Their contributions to the exhibition invite conversations about repatriation, revitalisation and ways of decolonising history.
Visualizing Arctic Voices is a collaboration between the Arctic Voices project, Riddu Riđđu Festivála, the Centre for Northern Peoples and RiddoDuottarMuseat, as well as contributions from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute.
The exhibition has received funding from the Research Council of Norway, the Nordic Culture Fund, Fritt Ord, NAPA - Nordic Institute in Greenland and the Equality and Diversity Committee at UiT.
Welcome to a journey through images from the Arctic that tell forgotten and under-recognised stories to the audience! We hope the exhibition will contribute to good conversations about revitalisation, repatriation and ways to decolonise history.
Exhibition catalogue: https://www.arcticvoices.space/exhibtion
About the exhibition, written by Inger Elin Utsi, UiT Unique exhibition about hidden Arctic history | UiT