A Celebration of Sámi Culture & Arts:

Sarakka Gaup is from the Sámi village Guovdageaidnui (also known as Kautokeino) in Norway. She works with theater and Sámi culture as a stage performer. Gaup is the recipient of several art scholarships from the Norwegian Culture Council and the Sámi Parliament. She has also worked as an actress for the Sámi National Theatre – Beaivváš. Gaup is currently studying Sámi language and literature.

Elle Sofe Henriksen is from Guovdageaidnui, Norway. Henriksen works with dance, choreography and films. She engages her work to impart Sámi expression to a wider audience through dance and film. Henriksen holds a Master’s degree in Choreography from The Norwegian National Academy of the Arts and a Bachelor’s degree in Dance from The Laban School in London. Her films and performances have been shown in China, Greenland, Russia, Canada, Hungary, Finland, and Sweden.

Kenneth Hætta is a photographer and playwright. His first play is being produced this year at the Sámi Theater in Sweden. He has also been working as a musician, collaborating with other Sámi artists. Thematically, he often works with tradition in conjunction with modernity. He will be documenting the festival and its programs at Scandinavia House.

Ada Einmo Jürgensen is a choreographer and stage director and served as the former theater manager and co-founder of the South Sámi Theater for 20 years. She creates works of contemporary dance and performances, fusing traditional Sámi yoik, languages, and other traditional expressions into contemporary/avant-garde stage performances and outdoor theater. She is also the Holder of the Norwegian Art Councils Grant for Dance Artist until her retirement and is the Chairman of Sámi Teáhter Searvi. Jürgensen is also the host of the festival at Scandinavia House.

Matyas Le Brun is a Breizh (a minority people from western France) film-maker, photographer, author, and translator. He has worked in feature films in France and abroad, writes poetry and novels, and directs movies and projects from an indigenous point of view. Le Brun also translates essays, poetry, and books in English, French and Brezhoneg (the Breizh people’s Celtic-based, endangered language). He continues to contribute toward the development of his culture’s artistic and literary field.

Harriet Nordlund is from Jokkmokk, Sweden. She is an actress, playwright, and director and has worked in theater and music since she was 17-years-old. Nordlund is currently directing a family performance of Faust and acting in the performance The Daughter of the Sun about the Sámi creation story.

Sara Margrethe Oskal is an actress, performance artist, writer, and filmmaker. She received her Doctoral degree in Performing Arts from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Oskal has performed in multiple theater and film projects and is also an established writer having written scripts for television and theater and published several books of poetry. She has also directed theater performances and recently released her first short film.