A research group from Norway is participating in the NORDIK 2025 conference in Helsinki. The research group’s abstract Unfolding Kven Craft, A Collective journey through archives is a part of Crafting the Nordic, Mapping, Archiving, and Disseminating discussion on 22 October at 13.45–15.15.
The research group consists of Åsne Kummeneje Mellem, Gyrid Øyen, and Tarja Salmela. Their work focuses on the intersection of craft, archives, and ways to do research, each member representing one of these fields.
Åsne Kummeneje Mellem (Tromsø-based artist and photographer, Norway)
Åsne Kummeneje Mellem (b. 1995) is a Kven artist based in Tromsø with a MFA from Tromsø Academy of Contemporary Arts. In her practice she investigates the intangible cultural heritage of the Kven culture where she mainly focuses on told or forgotten knowledge about techniques and materials related to Kven crafts, käsityö. Kummeneje Mellem is one of the founders of Kväänitaitheiliijat – Association of Kven Artists and she actively contributes in the revitalization and common understanding of the Kven contexts of today.
Gyrid Øyen (researcher at Varanger museum, Norway)
Gyrid Øyen is a researcher, currently working in Varanger museum, Norway. In her work she is interested in questions that center around museum practices, culture politics, representation of minority cultures and archives, and knowledge production. Her PhD takes a closer look at how the production of culture and heritage processes, in connection with the national minority Kven/Norwegian-Finnish, plays out in a Norwegian museum. She is also curious about the creation of exhibitions and exhibitions as tools for interactions, as well as an interest in the methodological aspects of collaborative research practices.
Tarja Salmela (writer and postdoctoral research fellow at UiT The arctic university of Norway)
Tarja Salmela is a writer-researcher, currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Arctic University of Norway, School of Business and Economics. Her feminist research focuses on storytelling and collective processes of knowledge production with(in) more-than-human, mobile worlds. In recent years, she has been developing decolonizing storytelling practices with(in) landscapes that have been overshadowed by tourism and, especially, touring narratives. Salmela has published in cross-disciplinary journals, including Qualitative Inquiry, Culture and Organization, Gender, Work & Organization, Tourism Geographies and Metode.
In addition to attending the conference, the group will meet with local organisations and cultural practitioners to gain insight into the local arts scene and build networks.
The Nordic Association for Art Historians NORDIK brings together individual scholars and organizations with an interest in Nordic art history. The association and conference raise questions such as who do we include in this community today? How do we look at the Nordic in art and its history? What does it mean to ‘do Nordic art history’?
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The Finnish-Norwegian Cultural Institute supports the research group’s participation in the conference.