Luleå, Sweden, 2023, ©Zeren Oruc
Curera was a project highlighting the curator’s position in the art scene in North Bothnia and a nomadic residency organized by Konstfrämjandet Norrbotten, where I had a chance to learn about indigenous land relations of Sámi peoples and politics of land use, indigenous plant and food knowledge, and more. The residency consisted of meetings with local artists, artisans, reindeer herders, researchers, chefs, and those with ancestral knowledge of plants & food, as well as archive and museum visits.
Through and through, this residency and Norrbotten has been a great source of knowledge and inspiration, while seeing the exploitation of this land and mistreatment of its people left me with heartache and despair. I collected an incredible amount of notes and insights from this experience, which are waiting to be formulized and cooked into a meaningful project. Yet, this is not a journey I want to take alone, so if you know anyone who might be interested in collaborating with me, please feel free to reach out. In the meantime, you can read my short reflections or Lucie Gottlieb's interview with me.
I'm ever grateful to Maria Ragnestam and Lucie Gottlieb for opening their resources and doors for my thoughts and research, and perpetually thankful to everyone who took their time to sit down and share their knowledge and stories with me. Below you will find a short list of people I had to pleasure to meet.
Luleå
- Karin Tjernström, Archivist at Norrbottens Museum
- Mariangela Mendez Prencke, Director of Havremagasinet
- Jan-Erik Lundström, Curator & Art Historian
- Mats Wikström, Artist
- Anja Örn, Artist & part of Galleri Syster
One of the many lakes at Luleå,, ©Zeren Oruc
Kiruna
- Lena Ylipää, Artist
- Arne Bergh, Artist & Creative Director of IceHotel
- Ingeborg Annie Lindahl, Artist (Norway)
Kiruna Iron Ore view, ©Zeren Oruc
Jokkmokk
- Helena Adolfsson, Artist & Guide
- Eva Gunnare, Tourism Entrepreneur
- Mikael Pirak, Sámi duojár
- Katarina Spik Skum, Sámi duojár & Artist
- Caisa Isaksson, Chef, Forager & Culinary Custodian
- Viktoria Harnesk, Researcher & Communicator
- Helena Länta, Reindeer herder & Culinary Custodian
- Katarina Pirak Sikku, Artist & Writer
Midnight at Jokkmokk, ©Zeren Oruc
