Sámi (re)presentation in a differentiating museumscape: Revisiting the art-culture system

Abstract

The article addresses how Sámi culture is presented by museums in Oslo. One of the findings is that the old binary of “art” and “ethnographica” is still common in this museumscape. This reflects the historical divide between the art museum showing “European” and “Norwegian” art, and the ethnographic museum showing the arts of “the rest”. It is argued that Sámi artists, works, themes, and practices have had difficulties entering the reservoir of Norwegian “national imagery” and that such predicaments reflect persistent investments in the narrative of Norway as a monocultural nation.