The 2026 Arctic Arts Summit “Land, Power, Art,” in Ubmeje/Umeå, Sweden from 16-18 June
Arctic Arts Summit brought together 600 leaders, artists, cultural workers, academics and political decision makers of Arctic countries and Indigenous Nations across the Circumpolar North to strengthen arts and culture, stimulate international collaboration and facilitate timely dialogue from a northern perspective.
The event brought together artist-researchers and designer-researchers also from the University of the Arctic’s Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design (ASAD) thematic network. Relate North: Show and Tell was a dynamic, pop-up exhibition and symposium, it served as a featured side-event of the Arctic Arts Summit. Rievdan took part to the exhibiton with a poster by me and Korinna Korsström-Magga, and with the video Min Muorra ja Máinnasiid Vuovdi – Our Tree and the Forest of Stories (artists: Mirja Hiltunen, Korinna Korsström-Magga, Ante Jalvela, Petra Biret Magga- Vars & the participants in Rievdan workshop, Vuotso 2025). The video and the related poster tell the story of the creation of a large, community-based public artwork, and how the community from Vuohčču village transformed the school’s black asphalt yard into a vibrant mural, a forest expressing local ecocultural values.
Inari Symposium on Research Ethics in Nature, Environment and Indigenous InRENEI 2026, June 10–11 at the Sámi Cultural Centre Sajos, Finland
Rievdan had the opportunity to participate in an international research ethics symposium held in Inari, Sápmi, bringing together experts to reflect on current questions surrounding the ethical principles of research on nature, the environment, and Indigenous peoples. The symposium demonstrated how important it is to connect ethical reflection in research with practical collaboration across communities. At the same time, it provided an inspiring space for new ideas, partnerships, and discussions on how we can conduct research responsibly and respectfully in an increasingly diverse world.
The Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) organized the symposium, Sajos offered a unique setting: the building is located amid the striking northern landscape along the Juutua River, creating a strong connection to the themes of the symposium. The symposium, was organized in collaboration with the Sámi Parliament, the University of Lapland, and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
Korinna and I participated in the symposium by presenting a poster titled: “New Genre Arctic Art Education: Creating Spaces for multiple cultural voices in Sápmi” about Rievdan project. An important part of our presentation was to highlight the ethical perspectives involved in designing and implementing art workshops in multicultural and Indigenous community contexts.
The UArctic Congress 2026 May 26 to 29, 2026 in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.
This event was hosted by the University of the Faroe Islands, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Fisheries and the Faroe Marine Research Institute. As a unique feature, the UArctic Congress 2026 also incorporates the Ocean Connectivity Conference, an international ocean conference dedicated to Sub Arctic and High Arctic connectivity.
I was proud to have the opportunity to present our Rievdan project in an oral presentation with Professor Maria Huhmarniemi, titled:: “Voices of the North: Intergenerational dialogue for societal diversity in Arctic future”. As an example I introduced The forest of light event in the village of Vuohčču (Vuotso) in Sápmi (the Sámi homeland).
The 2026 Congress themes were aligned with the Kingdom of Denmark’s priorities for its Arctic Council Chairship program: Sustainable Economic Development and International Cooperation Oceans, Climate Change in the Arctic, Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples and Northern Communities.
Considerable interest and sparked fruitful discussions
Overall, Rievdan posters and presentations have attracted considerable interest and sparked fruitful discussions. These international encounters have opened possibilities also for future collaboration. Such networking is valuable, as it enables the strengthening of international cooperation and the development of shared ethical practices in the field of art and research, in our case, in art based action research and New genre Arctic art education.
In August 2026 Rievdan will take part to ECER European Educational Research Association´s conference in Tampere and in October Sámi and Indigenous Education Conference 2026, at the The Sámi University of Applied Sciences Koutakeino, Norway. Looking forward to share our joint journey and research findings!
Have a nice summer, Mirja and Korinna
29.6.2026 Mirja Hiltunen