Day 9: The Sami

The new art exhibit at the Swedish American Museum is about the Sami, a peaceful indigenous people from northern Scandinavia. The artist is Danish-American photographer Birgitte Aarestrup, who spent a significant amount of time in Sapmi, the Sami region which spans across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Russia. In addition to the photographs, Sami artifacts and handiwork, known as duodji, were on display. I had the privilege of assisting before the opening, both with the art and the Sami artifacts. The descriptions were already printed, I only had to pair them with their object.

The artifact I found most fascinating was a needle case made out of reindeer horn. Needles are apparently very useful in Sami life, so much so that the case hangs from a person's belt. One of the leather pouches had a flap that held needles as well. 

For the photographs, a fellow intern and I measured and numbered them, then used a key to determine their prices. That way the patron only needs to say the number he or she wishes to enquire its price or purchase the piece. We had to be a bit resourceful when describing them, for the artist gave us no information as to their titles. We went through the photo book with her pieces in it and recorded the captions under the photos.