Schedule Overview
The 2026 Arctic Arts Summit will bring together 600 leaders, artists, cultural workers, academics and political decision makers of Arctic countries and Indigenous Nations across the Circumpolar North to strengthen arts and culture, stimulate international collaboration and facilitate timely dialogue from a northern perspective.
Viermie K, Umeå kommun, Region Västerbotten, Swedish Arts Council, Umeå University and Arctic Arts Summit Secretariat will co-host the Summit, themed “Land, Power, Art,” in Ubmeje/Umeå, Sweden from 16-18 June 2026.
The 2026 Summit program will unfold across multiple venues and platforms, combining high-level dialogue with broad public engagement and impactful artistic programming. Central to the Summit are daily plenary sessions, where key voices from arts, Indigenous communities, academia, and politics come together each morning to discuss critical issues facing arts and culture communities in the North. The Summit will also host a wide range of over 60 parallel sessions hosted by partners across the Arctic, which will open space for diverse perspectives and discussions on topics ranging from the role of culture in preparedness and international collaboration, infrastructure, funding structures, decolonization initiatives, sustainability and artistic practices. The Summit also features workshops, live broadcasts and podcasts, ensuring broad accessibility and documentation.
These discursive sessions will be complemented by a full schedule of artistic programming, including newly commissioned works, exhibitions, public artwork, performances, film screenings and more, will activate the Summit’s themes through artists’ voices. In addition, the Off-Summit and Co-organizers programs will activate venues across Ubmeje/Umeå, giving delegates and local audiences an opportunity to experience the richness of local artistic programming.
The full 2026 Summit will be published in April. Please note this overview schedule is preliminary and subject to change.
Tuesday, 16 June
The Summit will open with a welcome by the local Sámi community, followed by a plenary session featuring high-level political leaders from across the Arctic discussing the importance of culture in Arctic communities and international collaboration. Parallel sessions address obstacles to mobility and funding across borders, capacity building for Indigenous artists and cultural leaders, national institutions’ relationships to the Arctic, and much more. After dinner, delegates will experience music, spoken word, dance, performance and visual art from across the Arctic in a curated evening program.
- Sessions include:
- – Circumpolar Cultural Policy, From Development to Action, hosted by the Swedish Arts Council
- – Culture in Total Defense – Strengthening Preparedness in the Arctic, hosted by the Swedish Ministry of Culture
- – Models for Cross-Border Collaboration: What’s Next for Nordic-Canadian Collaboration?, hosted by the Nordic Council of Ministers
- – Co-Existence by Design: Building Cultural Collaborations Across Borders, hosted by Nordic Culture Fund
Wednesday, 17 June
The second day of the Summit opens with a historic plenary session reporting on the findings of Sweden’s Truth Commission, as well as a historic discussion with representatives from the different Truth and Reconciliation Commissions that have taken place across the Arctic. Parallel sessions address the many impacts of these processes and the work still to be done to support Indigenous leadership throughout Arctic arts, as well as changing institutional structures, the future of arts criticism and much more. In the evening, delegates can enjoy a wide variety of performances from across the Circumpolar North.
Sessions Include:
– Art and Truth-Telling, hosted by UmArts and Bildmuseet at Umeå University
– Dáiddáriid Vásáhusat, hosted by Giron Sámi Teáhter
– Decentralizing Arts Funding, hosted by the Canada Council for the Arts
– Indigenous Film Funding Systems in the Arctic: Success Factors and Lessons Learned, hosted by the International Sámi Film Institute
Thursday, 18 June
The final day of the Summit begins with a plenary session on strengthening narrative and cultural sovereignty in the North, even during times of deep uncertainty, with a focus on Kalallit Nunaat. Parallel sessions examine the importance of artist residencies, different ways of understanding Arctic identity, the enduring role of radio networks in the North and more.
Sessions Include:
– Who Tells Arctic Stories? Appropriation Risks hosted by Jillat Sámi Dance Center and NANU Sámi Arts International
– Ice, Land, Art – Drifting Towards the Arctic, hosted by Lókal Performing Arts, Iceland
– Strengthening Residency Opportunities for Craft Across the Arctic, hosted by Nordic Network of Crafts Association
– Art as Geopolitical Changemaker – Real or Hubris?, hosted by Pikene på Broen
Registration is open now – we look forward to seeing you in Ubmeje/Umeå!
