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 carrying out research on this collection and experimenting with new ways of re-appropriating cultural heritage. The space has been open to the public since 15 August 2024, allowing visitors to get a sense of the initial outcomes of this process.

In a research project funded by the German Lost Art Foundation since the end of 2022, 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 has given the researchers and artisans from Sápmi easier and more direct access to the objects that would otherwise be locked away in storage. In this secure workspace, they were able to engage intensively with the collection and were inspired to create their own works. These works – in dialogue with the historical collection – have been on display in Áimmuin since 15 August 2024. 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.