John Savio – Hásttuheaddjin / Voice of Resistance

MUNCH presents an innovative interpretation of John Savio’s artistic practice, rooted in Sámi perspectives, knowledge traditions, aesthetic practices and lived experiences.

On 4 December 2026, MUNCH opens John Savio – Hásttuheaddjin / Voice of Resistance, a major exhibition exploring the artistic practice of John Savio (1902–1938). It examines how his integration of Sámi traditions, experiences and visual forms of knowledge into modern art helped lay the foundations for what is today understood as Sámi art, or dáidda. Through woodcuts, paintings and drawings, Savio is presented as a key Sámi artist and an important figure in Nordic Modernism.

John Savio (1902–1938) was one of the first Sámi artists to achieve widespread recognition in the Norwegian art world. Nevertheless, he was referred to as ‘the Sámi artist’ and viewed through art-historical and ethnographic categories developed outside Sámi knowledge traditions. His artistic innovation and significance for Modernism, however, have received less attention. The exhibition challenges previous interpretations of Savio’s work, instead highlighting his artistic innovation and how he challenged contemporary perceptions of the Sámi people and Sápmi.

An artistic voice of resistance

The title Hásttuheaddjin comes from Northern Sámi and describes someone who resists, or encourages others to resist. The term invites us to understand Savio as an artistic voice of resistance and one of the most important Sámi storytellers of the twentieth century. Through his images, he conveyed stories of Sámi life and belonging, relationships with the land, and experiences of colonial intervention.

‘Savio’s art is not just about what the images depict, but about what they do. His works make Sámi presence and continuity visible in a period shaped by policies of Norwegianisation and colonial structures. At the same time, they challenge assumptions about who can be modern and how art history should be understood. By reading Savio as a hásttuheaddjin, it becomes clear that the questions he explored remain highly relevant today,’ says the exhibition’s curator, Liisa-Rávná Finbog.

Towards a Sámi art history

Through key works such as Sárvát(Struggle), Ganda and Grense (Border), the exhibition shows how Savio challenged stereotypical perceptions of Sámi identity and culture. In his woodcuts in particular, the structures and qualities of the wood become an active part of the artistic process.

‘Describing Savio as a hásttuheaddjinis not just about looking back at an artist who resisted the conventions of his time. It is also about recognising how his art continues to encourage new ways of seeing, thinking and creating. Savio’s stories live on through artists working today with questions of land, identity, language and self-determination,’ says Finbog.

John Savio – Hásttuheaddjin / Voice of Resistance is therefore both a fresh interpretation of a historical artistic practice and an exploration of how Sámi histories, knowledge and artistic practices continue to shape the present.

Exhibition background

The exhibition is a collaboration with Saviomusea/Savio Museum in Kirkenes. It marks the first major presentation of Savio’s artistic practice from a Sámi perspective at a Norwegian national institution, bringing together almost 100 works in one place.

Publication and talks programme

The publication Voice of Resistance is the first to explore John Savio’s artistic practice through the lens of Sámi knowledge systems and ways of life. It highlights how his art both renews Modernism and offers a subtle critique of colonial structures. The book brings together texts by Liisa-Rávná Finbog, Harald Gaski, Elin Anna Labba Magga, Liv Astrid Svaleng, Wanda Nanibush, Kathrine Nedrejord and Sigbjørn Skåden, as well as an interview with visual artist Outi Pieski. Together, these contributions place Savio within a new, more multi-voiced art history and demonstrate why his work remains highly relevant today.

In connection with the exhibition, MUNCH invites audiences to three talks exploring some of the key questions raised by the exhibition. Through conversations with, among others, author Sigbjørn Skåden, joiker Viktor Bomstad, artist and activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, artist Ida Helene Benonisen, as well as researchers and cultural practitioners, the programme explores Sámi art as a space for knowledge, reflection and new ways of understanding the world.