For those who are blind to the experiences close to home, it can be difficult to assign a value to a nearby place that has intrinsic beauty, quality and taste. We asked some of the world’s foremost creatives in food, design, art and architecture to explain their relationship with Sweden’s arctic destination, Swedish Lapland.
Håkan Stenlund
Two of Sweden's best museums for those interested in Sami history and Arctic cultural life are Ájtte in Jokkmokk and the Silver Museum in Arjeplog. Both these institutions have a similar history. But what stories would they tell us if they were able to?
Håkan Stenlund
Helicopter rides over mountain peaks, dog sledding across sparkling snow and fluttering tulle under the midnight sun. This is what the wildly varying working days of wedding photographer Rebecca Lundh look like.
Emma Graméus
Telling a great story has always been important. In fact, some claim that homo sapiens thrived as species due to their skills in gossiping. From jojk to Airijoki, from stories to songs, this place is known for a good vibe.
Maria Broberg
Sauna, or bastu in Swedish, is something as natural to people in the north as the midnight sun and the northern lights. It used to be something of a prerequisite for life in the Arctic, and now it is a rich part of the culture itself. Sauna is the essence of life up here.
Håkan Stenlund
Simply put, painter and craft artist Leila Nutti is a jack of all trades. But what she does is perhaps more aptly described by the Sámi word árbediehtu.
Håkan Stenlund
She celebrates her 40th anniversary as an artist, Sámi narrator Britta Marakatt-Labba. This is also how long it has taken Swedes to discover her art. The breakthrough was international for this resistance artist who tells her story with the needle as a brush.
Håkan Stenlund
Our home, Swedish Lapland, has been formed by the Ice Age, the seasons and the reindeer. And we, too, have lived our lives in the shadow of the forces of nature.
Håkan Stenlund
The Sámi culture is traditionally strong, and since the Sámi have lived and worked in northern Sweden for millennia, the culture is a big part of our Arctic lifestyle in Swedish Lapland.
Linnea Eriksson
When the sun never sets, and the kids are on summer holiday. When holidays are waiting around the corner and meadows explode with wood cranesbill. That's when long lines of cars queue up to get out of the cities. It's time to go find tranquillity with friends and family in summer houses and holidays homes, away from the hustle and bustle. It's time to celebrate the most important holiday of the summer. It's midsummer.
Emma Ebermark
Many towns, mountains, rivers in Swedish Lapland bear the names given to them by the Sámi people, usually describing their characteristics. When reading a map of Swedish Lapland, knowing the meaning of some Sámi words adds another, fascinating dimension to the landscape.
Göran Wallin
On a headland called Viedásnjárgga in Stora Sjöfallet National Park lies Naturum Laponia. It's a place that tells a story of mountains on the other side of the lake and how reindeer find their way here year after year. It tells part of the story why this place was awarded the title World Heritage.
Emma Forsberg
Small-scale, hosting and proximity to nature. Curiosity, knowledge and learning. During her visit to Geunja the Sámi Eco Lodge in the mountain landscape surrounding Ammarnäs, Maria lived in complete harmony with nature. Something happened there, and an inner journey commenced.
Maria Broberg
Just outside Luleå, you'll find the church village Gammelstad. This used to be where Luleå city centre was located right up to the 17th century, with red log cabins in a kind of organised chaos around one of Sweden's most beautiful churches. It's a unique place and something to preserve for future generations.
Håkan Stenlund
In Sweden, we love our coffee, and so-called boiled coffee (coarse ground and brought to the boil in a pan) is in many ways the national drink of Swedish Lapland. Preferably served with all the trimmings: coffee cheese, coffee meat, dried reindeer meat and reindeer tongue.
Håkan Stenlund
On the first weekend in February, every year since 1606, Jokkmokk's market is held. Apart from world-class Sámi art, culture and handicraft, visitors are usually greeted by proper, cold winter weather.
Håkan Stenlund
In Swedish Lapland, nature plays an intrinsic role in our life and work, and the people here are highly sensitive to the small details of the changing seasons. Therefore, it seems only natural that the Sámi people describe eight seasons instead of four.
Ella Jonsson
It is December and the landscape is covered in a white blanket; trees are heavy with snow and the roads are white. The dense mid-winter darkness creates a blue light during a few hours, and windows are lit up by advent stars and candlesticks. Christmas is here.
Emma Ebermark
Sámi design comes in many shapes. From traditional leather hats to a blue dress at the Nobel Banquet. Some of Sweden's coolest designers have taken the Sámi expression further – to put some excitement into everyday life.
Håkan Stenlund
