Konstfest 2025 and exhibitions

It is time for Kin’s second Konstfest, celebrating art at one of the world’s northern-most art museums. More than twenty artists, curators, and researchers will introduce and discuss their work, which will appear at Kin in one way or another in the next few years. Their work deals with some of the urgent questions of our time; extractivism, indigenous rights, climate change, collectivity, and digital solidarity.

Two exhibitions will open during Konstfest, featuring work by Glicéria Tupinambá and her kin from Bahia, as well as Katarina Spik Skum from Jokkmokk. In the Footsteps of the Stars—The Embroidered World of Britta Marakatt-Labba will be on view, and the artist will introduce the retrospective exhibition.

Guests and participants: Amol Patil, Andjeas Ejiksson, Anja Örn, Arne Müller, Benjamin Seroussi, Bettina Pehrsson, Britta Marakatt-Labba, d harding, Daniel Fjällborg, eeefff, Emma Pettersson Juntti, Fanny Carinasdotter, Fernanda Mendonça Pitta, Fredrik Prost, Geir Tore Holm, Glicéria Tupinambá, Jan-Erik Länta, Katarina Spik Skum, Koncentrat,Kultivator, Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen, Lena Ylipää, Luca Frei, Maria Lind, Mats Wikström, Michael Barrett, Mikhail Tolmachev, Mårten Snickare, Natasha Shapkina, Niclas Östlind, Nils Johanas Allas, Norra kollektivet, Salad Hilowle, Salman Nawati, Tomas Örn, Åsa Simma

The Living Room
An installation by Katarina Spik Skum
February 13—December 31, 2025

Reindeer-hide beanbags, cotton drapes decorated with traditional Sámi patterns, wooden tables that have retained the organic forms of branches, and rákkas—mosquito tents made of thin materials. These are all Sámi alternatives to typical modern interior design decorations, created by the artist and duojár (Sámi craftsperson) Katarina Spik Skum, who is introducing duodji (Sámi craft) to new spaces, weaving together arts and crafts that have roots in the Lule Sámi region. Spik Skum is based in Jåhkåmåhkke/Jokkmokk.

Glicéria Tupinambá: The Traveling Cloak
February 13—May 11, 2025

A cloak made of bird feathers takes center stage in the exhibition The Traveling Cloak. The artist and activist Glicéria Tupinambá delves into the history surrounding the cloaks that have been worn and crafted by her people—the Tupinamba of Brazilian Bahia—since ancient times. Tupinambá is an artist, researcher, teacher, farmer, and activist. She is one of the female leaders of the village Serro do Padeiro (Bahia, Brazil). Her research examines the process of accessing museums and listening to artifacts from the Tupinambá people.

Komtemåtta: A Safe Space for Women
April 10–August 31, 2025

The Fogelstad Women’s Citizens School serves as inspiration for the work of contemporary artists Olivia Plender, Åsa Elzén, Åsa Sonjasdotter, and Petra Bauer. The school operated from 1925 to 1954 at the Fogelstad Estate south of Stockholm and was a self-organized, one-of-a-kind educational experiment created by women, for women. It gathered women from all walks of life to offer training in citizenship rights, combining courses in history, philosophy, and psychology with consciousness raising activities and role play, the latter taking the form of a fictional municipality–“Komtemåtta.” Several of the founders had been active in the struggle for women’s voting rights, and two of them were among the first five women elected to the Swedish parliament in 1921.

Beyond the artworks, the exhibition includes archival materials from the school, such as photographs, films, documentation, and books about and written by the school’s founders and students. The artist Siri Derkert (1888–1973) was an enthusiastic course participant, and a selection of drawings and sculptures made during her time there will be on display. Around the same time, the Sámi activists Elsa Laula Renberg and Karin Stenberg were active. Their efforts are highlighted in work by Anders Sunna and Susanne Ewerlöf. The exhibition, realized in collaboration with Norrbotten Museum, sheds light on women from the region of Norrbotten who participated in courses at Fogelstad. The exhibition’s graphic design was created by Maryam Fanni. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with KvinnSam, Gothenburg University Library, Norrbotten Museum, and Liljevalchs konsthall in Stockholm where a version of the exhibition will be on view June 13–August 10.

Kin’s artists-in-residence from February–June: d harding, Amol Patil, eeefff, Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan.