New residency invites Indigenous artists to northern Sweden

A culture centre in Sweden is inviting Indigenous artists from northern Canada to participate in a new art residency program.

Aejlies, located in the village of Tärnaby in northern Sweden – a community of roughly 500 people – aims to strengthen cultural bonds between Sámi and other Arctic Indigenous communities.

The program is called the Aejlies Indigenous Arctic Art Residency, or AIAAR.

Sámi are Indigenous people who live in Sápmi, a region that spans northern areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

The program, financed by Canada’s Global Arctic Leadership Initiative, offers a stay of two to four weeks in Tärnaby during 2026. Participants will receive an honorarium of roughly $5,000 plus travel support, accommodation and access to workspaces.

“We want to create a sustainable platform for cultural exchange – a space where Indigenous artists can work on their own terms while engaging with the people and community here,” Oskar Östergren Njajta, director of Aejlies, was quoted as saying.

“This is a space for artistic development. We want to offer a safe and supportive environment where Indigenous artists can take the time they need – whether that means finalizing a piece or seeking inspiration and knowledge at the beginning of a creative process.”

Indigenous artists from the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, Quebec and Labrador can apply for the residency by September 5. The first participants are expected to arrive in Tärnaby next February.

Application details are available on the https://aejlies.se/aiaar Aejlies website.

Related stories from around the North: 

Canada: Connecting with the past—Artist Abraham Anghik Ruben reflects on art & ancestry, Eye on the Arctic

Finland: Sami joik, symphonic music fusion from Finland makes int’l debut in Ottawa, Eye on the Arctic

United States: How Inuit culture helped unlock power of classical score for Inupiaq violinist, Eye on the Arctic