The Office for Contemporary Art in Norway (OCA) has the main responsibility for the exhibitions in the Nordic pavilion during the Venice Art Biennale 2022.
- It is a historic moment, as it is the first time that the Nordic pavilion during the Venice Art Biennale will only be represented by Sami artists and the first time that the Sami people are recognized as a nation in the international art world, says Katya García-Antón, director for the Office for Contemporary Art in Norway (OCA).
"Have a fighting spirit"
The Sami artists who will represent Sápmi are Pauliina Feodoroff from Keväjärvi in northern Finland, Máret Ánne Sara from Kautokeino in northern Norway and Anders Sunna from Kieksiäisvaara outside Pajala in Norrbotten.
Sunna believes that it is an important and great artistic event to be a part of.
- It is important that Sápmi becomes more visible and that the Sami are strengthened as an indigenous people and that the outside world also knows more about us.
All three of us have this fighting spirit, not to back down, but to really give everything you have and stand up for your opinions, says Anders Sunna.
Symbolic turn
By appointing these Sami artists for the Nordic pavilion, they want to focus on the Sami right to self-determination and emphasize the artists' relationship to Sápmi.
The director of the OCA, Katya García-Antón, believes that it is a symbolic reversal of colonial policy that has for a long time tried to erase the Sami and other indigenous peoples' right to their culture, land rights and self-determination.
- During these challenging times, it is important to highlight the indigenous peoples' way of relating to the environment and each other, says Katya García-Antón.
OCA - Office for Contemporary Art in Norway is a non-profit foundation created in 2001 by the Norwegian Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs.
The aim is to promote dialogue between artists in Norway, including Sápmi, and the international art scene and to support artists in Norway in their activities around the world.