The project space entitled Áimmuin currently houses the Sámi collection. In this space, in collaboration with partner museums and communities from Sápmi, the MEK is currently carrying out research on this collection and experimenting with new ways of re-appropriating cultural heritage. The space will be open to the public from 15 August, allowing visitors to get a sense of the initial outcomes of this process.
Celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2024, this year’s European Cultural Days are dedicated to the northern European region of Sápmi. The programme will take place within the context of an ongoing project that started in late 2022 and is funded by the German Lost Art Foundation. In this project, museum staff are working with researchers and artisans from Sápmi to investigate the provenance of the Sámi collection at the MEK.
The aim is not only to uncover the conditions surrounding the acquisitions but also to connect the objects with their Sámi names and stories, thus contributing to a re-appropriation of Sámi cultural heritage.
Áimmuin, which in Northern Sámi means preserved, in a safe space, within reach, near, still in the air, and not forgetting, is a project space created specifically for this investigation. The Sámi collection was moved to this space from the museum’s storage facilities, which involved the decontamination of more than 800 objects, some of which restored, before they were rearranged according to Sámi categories in dedicated storage units. This provides the researchers and artisans from Sápmi with easier and more direct access to the objects that, otherwise, would be locked away in storage. In this secure workspace, they have been able to engage intensively with the collection and have been inspired to create their own works. From 15 August, these works, which are currently in the making, will be on display alongside the historical collection in Áimmuin. Opening up this workspace provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about the initial outcomes of the provenance research, though this work has only just begun and will require many more years of in-depth analysis.
A project space by the Museum Europäischer Kulturen – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in collaboration with Siida – Sámi Museum (Aanaar/Anár/Inari, Finland), Ájtte-Museum (Jåhkåmåhke/Dálvvadis/Jokkmokk, Sweden) and Dávvirat Duiskkas (the project Sámi collections in German museums from the Norwegian Museums Association)
Source : Museen zu Berlin
