KIRUNA.- The 2026 program at Kin Museum of Contemporary Art in Giron/Kiruna takes as its starting point the release of the report of the Truth Commission for the Smi People in Sweden. The report maps and examines policies implemented toward the Smi from a historical perspective and analyzes their consequences for the Smi people. In addition, the project will highlight thirty years of artistic practice by Bernd Krau, while Kins third Konstfest will function as both a celebration of and a platform for discussion on contemporary art.
Tenskasven (IKEApayback): Bernd Krau in Full Figure
February 19April 5, 2026
In this repro-spective, the Brussels-based artist Bernd Krau looks back at thirty years of artistic practice. The exhibition is an experimental field for the creative process itself, including among other things a recipe book of around fifty existing works by Bernd Krau invites visitors to recreate selected artworks.
Borg Mesch, Hans-Olof Utsi, and Mikhail Tolmachev: The Use of Photography
April 18October 18, 2026
Sixty photographs by Borg Mesch (18691956), depicting Giron/Kirunas first decades, the construction of the railway to the Atlantic coast, the magnificent northern landscape, and the Indigenous Smi population, form the core of the exhibition. The Giron-based Smi photographer Hans-Olof Utsi has, in turn, documented how Meschs images have been used to depict the town. Artist Mikhail Tolmachev has engaged with Meschs studio photography, focusing on how such practices stage both people and nature for a particular gaze. The selection is made by Niclas stlind, professor of photography at HDK Valand at the University of Gothenburg, and Hans-Olof Utsi. Borg Mesch: A Photographer in Spmi in the Age of Colonialism is part of Kins multi-year inquiry The Critical Zone.
Spmi Triennial
June 4September 13, 2026
The inaugural Spmi Triennial includes a large and varied selection of contemporary Smi art and duodji (traditional Smi crafts) by twenty-eight artists. Based on an open call, the Spmi Triennial was initiated by Smi Diddaguovdd, the Smi Center for Contemporary Art in Krjohka/Karasjok, and is the result of a collaboration between seven different organizations operating within and outside Spmi. Participating artists include Anna-Stina Svakko, Charlotte Nilsen, Christin Lkke, Eiril Linge, Elina Waage Mikalsen, Eva Kitok, Geir Tore Holm & Sssa Jrgensen, Gjert Rognli, Gunvor Guttorm, Hanne Grieg Hermansen, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Helena Lagerqvist Kuoljok, Helmi Aletta Hagelin & Nuura Naboulsi, Inga-Wiktoria Pve, Inger Blix Kvammen, Jorunn Lkvold, Jouni S. Laiti, Kirsi Paltto, Katarina Spik Skum, Maarit Magga, Matti Aikio, Monica L. Edmondson, Odd Marakatt Sivertsen, Reetta Tornensis, Susanne Ewerlf, and Tilde-Ristin Kuoljok
Johan Turi, Outi Pieski, and Johanna Minde: On the Ugly and the Beautiful
September 5, 2026April 17, 2027
This exhibition marks the first presentation of drawings by the multidisciplinary artist Johan Turi (18541936) in over a century. Along with Turis detailed and vivid depictions of Northern Smi traditions from the book Muitalus smiid birra(A book about the life of the Smis) from 1910, sculpture, painting, and photography by the artist Outi Pieski are presented. In addition, architect and duojr Johanna Mindes reinterpretation of a clever wooden stool that Turi created will be shown. Harald Gaski, Smi literary scholar, professor and author based in Deatnu/Tana, is an advisor to the exhibition.
Nils-Johan Labba: It Happened in Orusjohka
November 14, 2026April 5, 2027
Duojr Nils-Johan Labba is based in Giron/Kiruna and Orusjohka/rosjokk where the surrounding landscape becomes his Smi craft. Around fifty of his works are displayed in an installation that also features works from his studio. The author Elin Anna Labba, his sister, contributes interviews and newly written text.
Artists in residence 2026
Bernd Krau, Mikhail Tolmachev, Rehaf Al Batniji, Simon Ferner, Eleonora Edreva, Oyjon Khayrullaeva