Fall 2026: Sámi and Finno-Ugric focus

This autumn, Kumu Art Museum opens two parallel exhibitions focusing on Sámi activist art and the role of Finno-Ugric ethnography in Estonian nation-building. Developed through three years of dialogue, they share a concern with the close connections between power, images, and knowledge production. Sámi art started to become politicized in the 1970s, when many artists joined the struggle for Indigenous rights. By comparison, the opportunities for the small Finno-Ugric nations living in Russia to stand up for their rights have been radically more constrained, especially since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

no beginning, no end: Decolonial Gestures in Sámi Worldbuilding
September 11, 2026–March 14, 2027

Artists: Carola Grahn, Snowchange: Pauliina Feodoroff & Kaisu Mustonen, Marja Helander, Kalli Kalde, Ketlin Kuusing, Jenni Laiti & Invisible Flock, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Alo Paistik, Outi Pieski, Suohpanterror, Lada Suomenrinne

This international exhibition traces the Sámi people’s ongoing pursuit of Indigenous justice and self-determination through decolonial worldbuilding. The politicization of Sámi art that began in the 1960s and 1970s, developing alongside the Sámi self-determination movement, has drawn wide attention over the past decade: Sámi art is now among the most visible and dynamic strands of the Nordic contemporary art scene and increasingly prominent in the global arena.

Ann Mirjam Vaikla, curator: “One of the cornerstones of the exhibition is Jenni Laiti’s essay On Creating Indigenous Worlds And Other Kinds of Futures, which raises a range of questions: What does the notion of Indigenous worldbuilding, specifically Sámi worldbuilding, entail? How should we understand worldbuilding in an era when the environmental and climate crisis coincides with the rise of authoritarian leaders whose imperialist and colonialist world views have destabilized entire regions and led to a level of militarization not seen since the Cold War?”

Expedition: Finno-Ugrians and the Power of Images
October 2, 2026–February 21, 2027

This exhibition brings the Finno-Ugric collections held at Estonian museums into dialogue with examples of art, film, and design inspired by Finno-Ugric heritage. Although the sense of belonging to the Finno-Ugric world seems a self-evident part of Estonian identity today, this understanding only became widespread in the 1970s and 1980s. The Finno-Ugric “turn” was also significant more generally, as interest in Indigenous cultures was growing around the world at that time.

Linda Kaljundi, curator: “Finno-Ugric identity has become integral to Estonians’ self-image thanks to the interplay of art and scholarly research, and encouraged by the expeditions researchers, artists, filmmakers, and others undertook to Finno-Ugric peoples. The exhibition asks: Why did Estonians have to travel so far to find themselves? And why did the ethnographic study of Indigenous peoples become so crucial in their quest for identity?” 

The exhibitions are accompanied by two publications: the Expedition / no beginning, no end catalogue and a reader entitled Collected Relationships: The Sámi-Finno-Ugric-Estonian Nexus. An international conference, Giving Voice to Museum Collections: Finno-Ugric and Sámi Heritage Today, will be held in Tallinn and Tartu from 1 to 3 October 2026.