Johan Turi, Outi Pieski, and Johanna Minde: On the Ugly and the Beautiful

With his pencils and colors and his keen powers of observation, the legendary Sámi artist, writer, and philosopher Johan Turi (1854–1936) left future generations a unique visual record of work, love, and life in Sápmi. This remarkable historical legacy is receiving renewed attention as the Truth Commission for the Sámi People in Sweden submits its final report to the Swedish Ministry of Culture on September 30, 2026.

Kin Museum of Contemporary Art’s major fall exhibition marks the first presentation of Turi’s artistic work in almost a century. Best known as the first Sámi author through his groundbreaking book Muitalus sámiid birra (An Account of the Sámi, 1910), Turi also created a fascinating and richly detailed visual world depicting everyday life in northern Sápmi. His distinctive drawings and objects are presented alongside sculptures, paintings, and photographs by artist Outi Pieski (Ohcejohka/Utsjoki), as well as a sculpture by Johanna Minde (Julevu/Luleå), a duojár (practitioner of Sámi craft, duodji) and architect.

In his book Muitalus sámiid birra (An Account of the Sámi), Johan Turi wrote about Sámi life and society in his mother tongue, North Sámi. The book defies conventional genres, combining elements of historical essay and life writing, and is grounded in Turi’s own experiences as a reindeer herder and hunter in the area around present-day Giron/Kiruna and Duortnosjávri/Lake Torneträsk. Muitalus sámiid birra is a landmark work of Indigenous literature, rooted in Sámi knowledge systems and bringing together anthropology, folklore, history, and literature.

As part of the exhibition, Kin is organizing, together with Várdduo—Centre for Sámi Research at Umeå University, Tjállegoáhte Sámi Writers’ Centre, Stockholm University of the Arts, and HDK-Valand—Academy of Art and Design, a series of seminars and webinars in English highlighting the history and cultural history of Sápmi, as well as contemporary Sámi experiences, conditions, and forms of expression. Harald Gaski, associate professor of Sámi literature at the University of Tromsø, has served as the advisor for the exhibition as well as the series of seminars.

Online lecture programme: September 2026–April 2027
The exhibition coincides with the submission of the final report of the Truth Commission for the Sámi People in Sweden to the Swedish Ministry of Culture on September 30, 2026. Presented by Sámi scholars and cultural practitioners, the series is intended for cultural professionals, researchers, and anyone wishing to deepen their knowledge of Europe’s only recognized Indigenous people. The focus is the history and cultural history of Sápmi, as well as contemporary Sámi experiences, conditions, and forms of expression. The seminars will take place at the partner institutions across Sweden, as well as at Hägerstensåsen Community Centre in Stockholm, and will be livestreamed. Find the link here. See the full program here.

Seminar 1
September 1, 2026
“The Wolf Hunter Who Became a Sámi Classic: Johan Turi’s Art Viewed and Assessed from an Indigenous Aesthetic Perspective”

Presented by Harald Gaski.

Seminar 2
October 22, 2026
“Bound to the Land: Connection to the Land and the Loss of It in Sámi Communities”

Presented by Åsa Össbo, Kristina Sehlin MacNeil, and Gudrun Norstedt.

Seminar 3
November 30, 2026
“The History of Duodji and the Forces at Work in a Duddjon Process”

Presented by Gunvor Guttorm.

Seminar 4
January 27, 2027
“Art and Life”

Presented by artist Britta Marakatt-Labba.

Seminar 5
February 4, 2027
“Johan Turi’s Account of Sámi Schooling: Towards a Sámi Epistemology”

Presented by Asta Mitkija Balto.

Seminar 6
March 18, 2027
“Six Years After the Girjas Case: Where Do We Stand Today?”
Presented by Matti Blind Berg.

Seminar 7
April 22, 2027
“Six Months After the Truth Commission’s Final Report: What Happens Next?”

Presented by Krister Stoor.

The seminar and webinar series form part of Kin’s long-term thematic strands “The Critical Zone and The Hand, the Heart, and the Brain.”