Anna-Stina Svakko and the Arctic Indigenous Design Project (AIDA)

Anna-Stina Svakko, Sámi Duojár

Anna-Stina Svakko's work has always impressed me for its beauty and preciseness. Born near Kiruna, she has been studying and making duodji and art since the 1980s and is considered one of the foremost artisans or duojárs of "soft handicraft" today. She primarily works with fabric, wool, leather, fishskin, fur, and sometimes Plexiglas to create traditional and  contemporary clothing.

 

Her creativity also manifests itself in poetry and art. Her studio website, Astu Design, showcases her range and also includes a shop where you can browse through work for sale. 

 

Svakko has participated in multiple exhibits and is also a teacher and lecturer on the subject of duodji. In the past few years she became one of the many important duojárs in the Nordic countries to participate in the Arctic Indigenous Design Project (AIDA), a cross-border collaboration in Sápmi between the Sámi Archives of the National Archives of Finland, the Ájtte Swedish Mountain and Sami Museum in Sweden, and Sámi allaskuvla in Kautokeino, Norway. 

 

AIDA "aims to establish archives for Sámi duojár and artists and to ensure the preservation and continuity of Sámi design-thinking for future generations."

 

In the digital lead-up to the Arctic Arts Summit that took place in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in 2022, three women involved in AIDA and duodji participated in a filmed conversation about the AIDA archives. They include Gunvor Guttorm (professor in duodji at Sámi allaskuvla), Inker-Anni Linkola-Aikio (senior research officer at the Sámi Archives) and Anna Westman Kuhmunen (curator at Ájtte museum).