Performance Studies in Sápmi is a festival for politically engaged performance art, initiated in 2024 as part of Marija Griniuk's postdoctoral research on the curation of politically charged performance art. The 2026 edition focuses on meetings between different generations of performance artists and researchers working on political performance and Sámi contexts. Participants include both Sámi and international non-indigenous artists and researchers, united by a common interest in performance as a form of activism.
The festival is organized by Bodø City Museum in 2026 and explores historical narratives and cultural heritage through performance. As part of Bodø The Biennale invites the audience to experience a seminar and performance program at the festival edition on September 5th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Bodø City Museum. The program examines performance as a method for communicating cultural heritage, while also Bodø is being explored as a place for experimental live art and performance.
Contributing artists to Performance Studies in Sápmi include Marija Griniuk, Annette Arlander, Greta Balčiūnaitė and Marit Bringedal Anti, together with independent performance artists from Nordland.
Ticket prices:
Adult NOK 150
Student or hens NOK 130
Students from Nord University: first 20 free.
Reserve your ticket by pressing the button above.
Photo: Dan Mariner
Performance program
11:00–11:30, Indoors – Conference Hall, Bodø City Museum
Marija Griniuk in collaboration with young performers from Bodø : Daphne Hanssen, Marie Agate Støver and Oskar Zhang. Performance Art Techno Youth is a performance work where the artists explore the relationship between history, tradition and technology. Supported by SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge.
11:45–12:15, Outdoors
Annette Arlander – Birch to Birch
Birch to Birch is a performance that combines a pre-recorded video of a birch tree in Lappviken Park in Helsinki, accessible via QR code, with a live event in Bodø . The artist breathes through a harmonica next to the birch, creating sounds that highlight breathing and the exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide and other compounds shared between humans and trees. By first doing this with the birch in Helsinki and then with the birches in Bodø , she acts as a messenger between the trees, transmitting breath from birch to birch.
12:15–1:00 PM, Break
1:00 PM–1:30 PM, Indoors – Conference Hall, Bodø City Museum
Reflection circle: Bodø as a venue for Performance Studies in Sápmi
A conversation circle with Annette Arlander, Marit Bringedal Anti, Greta Balčiūnaitė, Therese Thuv and Marija Griniuk, together with performance artists from Bodø .
1:30 PM–2:00 PM, Indoors – Conference Hall, Bodø City Museum
Conversation between artists and the audience. What is the future of Bodø as a venue for performance art? What type of performance festival would be most exciting for the audience in Bodø ?
14:00–14:05
Introduction to Marija Griniuk's book “Posthumanist Performance Pedagogy in Northern Norway”, Orkana Press
14:05–14:10, Closing and recommendations for the rest of the program
14:10–14:15, Break / outdoor movement
2:15 PM–2:45 PM, Outdoors
Marit Bringedal Anti and Greta Balčiūnaitė
A collaborative performance where artists from Sápmi and Lithuania dress as mythological beings inspired by their respective cultures, exploring how cultural differences shape the understanding of the mythical.