Sápmi (Finland)
Áillohas
LEGACY ARTIST
Anniina Turunen describes Áillohaš (Nils-Aslak Valkeapää) (1943–2001), as a significant artist “that has always been there,” recalling fondly seeing his books on her grandparents’ bookshelves as a kid. Áillohaš was a philosopher, poet, painter, joiker (traditional Sámi singer), composer and actor in films—as she says, “a rockstar” of Sámi art, who has opened many doors for Sámi artists today. Áillohaš is well known for his poetry collection, Beaivi, áhčáčan (1988), meaning “The Sun, My Father,” for which he received the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1991, but Turunen also points to his 1971 pamphlet, Terveisiä Lapista, meaning “Greetings from Sápmi,”—which championed Sámi rights in the face of cultural erasure and articulated a philosophy of life that rejects separations between different forms of art—as an influential work. Áillohaš’s impact on Sámi art has been immense: from participating in the revitalization of joik,to contributing to Indigenous philosophy, to acting as an ambassador and advocate for Sámi culture through establishing artist and writers’ unions and festivals.
Reflecting on Áillohaš’s legacy, and the impact of the generation of Sámi artists who rose to prominence in the 1970s, Turunen notes a major lesson: “Be more playful with the materials,” because then, “You can be creative, open. There isn’t a certain way where, when you work like this, then you’re a Sámi artist.”
Áillohaš was also known as a mentor, teacher and advocate for young Sámi artists—and his influence persists. His rejection of artistic categories and embrace of experimental work that traverses art and politics has also influenced the advice Turunen gives to her students: “You’re never ready. You don’t have to be ready. You can experiment as much as you want and develop your skills.” Áillohaš’s legacy of reviving Sámi culture both influences new work and brings back older traditions to be celebrated and honoured.
Anniina Turunen
NOMINATOR
Multidisciplinary artist Anniina Turunen embraces natural and human-made materials in her wide-ranging textile practice, which integrates traditional Sámi craft techniques, weaving, silkscreen printing, museum research, poetry and political activism. Also a lecturer in duodji at the Sámi Education Institute in Inari, Sápmi (Finland), Turunen identifies herself as a duojár, explaining that duodji encompasses “not just art, and not just handmade items to be in use. It’s everything.” She emphasizes the expansiveness of duodji, saying, “It’s your mind, and your hands, and ancestors, and what you’re doing and the future. Everything is related. It’s also about the material—how you work with it.”
Much of Turunen’s work, which often reflects on issues like climate change and rights to the Sámi homeland, builds on the work of earlier generations of textile artists, duojárs and activists. In 2022, Turunen participated in The Vuogas Way: Sániidkeahtta hállát, a project launched by the Lassagammi Foundation that premiered at the Markomeannu Festival and which reflected on Áillohaš’s legacy and design philosophy.