Description The Stories We Keep, The Knowledge We Share. The event series "Arctic Voices" is a cross-disciplinary cultural festival taking place in Bern. It brings Indigenous voices, perspectives, and stories from Arctic regions to Bern, making them audible and visible in a variety of formats. With exhibitions, workshops, discussions, film screenings, and other formats, the festival creates an intergenerational space for encounter, exchange, and shared learning.

Date 23 April - 14 May 2026

Link www.acrcticvoices.ch

Exhibition The MCCA Collection, Revisited

Description The MCCA Collection, Revisited is an evolving exhibition conceived and developed by Isabelle Uyaralaaq Avingaq Choquette of the Avataq Cultural Institute during her residency. Through her research and curatorial practice, Choquette re-engages the collection with fresh eyes, foregrounding new narratives, relationships, and cultural contexts that invite visitors to reconsider familiar works. Central to the project is an emphasis on dialogue—between past and present, artworks and audiences, and institutional collections and living knowledge systems. Through guided tours and informal discussions, the curator will share insights into her process, the questions shaping her approach, and the perspectives that inform her interpretation of the collection. Throughout the month of May, the exhibition space will also serve as a platform for exchange. Visitors are invited to take part in conversations, encounters, and networking opportunities designed to foster connection, reflection, and community engagement around the works on view.

Place Museum of Contemporary Circumpolar Art, Stadtbachstrasse 8a, 3012 Bern

Date 1 May 2026 - 3 October 2026

Family Workshop Stories, Music and Creativity from the Far North

Description An interactive family afternoon with music, stories, and creative activities that immerses young and old in the soundscapes and narratives of the far north. Sámi artist Jo Morten Kåven and Norwegian-Danish author Kim Leine will jointly present the afternoon – with readings, music, and personal insights. Jo Morten Kåven will begin the event with a playful introduction to the world of Sámi drumming. Participants will learn about aspects of the indigenous Sápmi culture – a region spanning northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. In the creative segment, children will create their own artwork on a drum template. Kim Leine will read from his children's book "Pigen der kunne tale med hunde" (English: The Girl Who Could Talk to Dogs). His stories tell of life in the Greenlandic wilderness – rugged, adventurous, and fascinating. The reading will be accompanied by German.

Place Museum of Contemporary Circumpolar Art, Stadtbachstrasse 8a, 3012 Bern

Date Wednesday, 13 May 2026 There are two overlapping groups: Group 1: 14:00 – 16:00 Workshop with Jo Morten Kåven → Reading with Kim Leine Group 2: 15:00 – 17:00 Reading with Kim Leine → Workshop with Jo Morten Kåven

Cost CHF10.-/ Child

Registration Group 1: 14:00-16:00 https://forms.gle/dge39afCVBJ47pE37 Group 2: 15:00-17:00 https://forms.gle/wmKnjq9DAD359Cab6

Event Arctic Clothing and Design: Tradition, Innovation and Knowledge in Motion

Description Dr. Krista Ulujuk Zawadski and Alissa Csonka explore the past, present and future of Arctic clothing through the lenses of Inuit knowledge, design and material culture. The talk highlights how traditional sewing, beading and garment-making practices inform contemporary design, foster intergenerational learning and inspire innovative approaches to Arctic clothing in both community and research contexts.

Place Museum of Contemporary Circumpolar Art, Stadtbachstrasse 8a, 3012 Bern

Date Thursday, 14 May 2026, 18:00