Through our Eyes: Sámi Art and Culture

This winter, Somerset House presents the Through our Eyes: Sámi Art and Culture exhibition, the very first group exhibition in the UK to celebrate the art and culture of the Sámi people. The exhibition will include work by 19 contemporary Sámi artists across the Sápmi region. The Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland is a key supporter of the exhibition in bringing contemporary Sámi art to the attention of the British public.

Through our Eyes offers British audiences the opportunity to discover contemporary Sámi art and Sámi culture through the artists’ own perspectives. The exhibition opens on 6 November 2026 at Somerset House, a multidisciplinary cultural centre in central London. The exhibition has been curated by the Sámi visual artist Matti Aikio and Dr Cliff Lauson, Director of Exhibitions at Somerset House.

For centuries, the traditional Sámi way of life has depended on nature and reindeer herding. Today, these traditions face growing pressures, from environmental change to threats to Indigenous rights. The works in the Through Our Eyes exhibition explore these themes, amongst others.

Through our Eyes: Sámi Art and Culture brings a comprehensive overview of contemporary Sámi art to British audiences for the first time, in collaboration with one of the country’s best-known art and cultural institutions. The exhibition features works by, amongst others, pioneers of contemporary Sámi art such as Iver Jåks, Britta Marakatt-Labb and Nils-Aslak Valkeapää.

In addition, the exhibition features a new commissioned work by Outi Pieski, which continues her series of works in which she constructs striking installations from the fringes of the silk scarves used by the Sámi people. The exhibition also features works by Marja Helander, Jenni Laiti and Ritni Ráste Pieski, as well as Lada Suomenrinne, all of whom are Sámi from the Finnish side.

"It’s a great honour for me to have been invited to co-curate a Sámi exhibition at Somerset House, London. Through Our Eyes offers a cross section of contemporary Sámi art and the aesthetics from our traditional craft, duodji.

The challenge has been how to present a selection of indigenous art from a culture which is contemporary and ancient and timeless at the same time, which is flourishing, yet struggling for its existence. Fighting to protect the lands and waters during the neo-colonial era that coincides with global warming and ecocide. We have tried to find a balance between the political and the poetic, and to tell the right story. I’m looking forward to audiences experiencing this exhibition at Somerset House.”
- Matti Aikio, the artist and the curator of the exhibition

“It is a privilege to be hosting the first group exhibition in the UK to showcase Sámi art and culture. Through Our Eyes introduce a new generation of the most important Sámi artists working today alongside key precursors for contemporary practice. It provides a unique indigenous perspective on how to live harmoniously with the natural world, a holistic way of being that we can all learn from.
- Dr Cliff Lauson, Director of Exhibitions, Somerset House

Artists featured in the exhibition:
Iver Jåks, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Tomas Colbengtson, Carola Grahn, Marja Helander, Olof Marsja, Elina Waage Mikalsen, Joar Nango & Katarina Spik Skum, Outi Pieski, Ritni Ráste Pieski & Lotta Hagelin, Lada Suomenrinne, Anders Sunna, Carl-Johan Utsi & Jenni Laiti and Liselotte Wajstedt.

Through our Eyes – Sámi Art and Culture will move from Somerset House to Kunstsilo in Kristiansand, Norway, where it will open to the public in spring 2027.