The Savio Museum

Deanu ja Várjjat Museasiida/Tana and Varanger Museumssiida/Teän da Va’rjjel Mu’zeisiida (DVM/TVM) have planned several seminars and lectures on topics related to the border demarcation in 1826. The plan is to shed light on the history before, around, and after the border demarcation.

The four museums in the museum siida are each planning various lectures and seminars related to this topic, and there will also be joint events. A seminar is planned for the end of May, more info to come, as well as a conference in November/December 2026.

In 2026, the Savio Museum will focus on John Savio’s family and genealogy. You will be introduced to some of his predecessors who lived in Sør-Varanger before 1826. There will be a gallery of people that can be seen in the exhibition at the Grenseland Museum. The Savio Museum also offers lectures on John Andreas Savio (1902-1938) that take as their starting point the life and work of the Northern Sami artist, and through that illuminate the history of Sør-Varanger from a Sami perspective. We take a journey back in time through written sources, historical milestones and events that are worth noting. In what context did John Andreas Savio live, and how can his art tell us something about our society today?

This lecture will be available at the Barents spectacle in February 2026, and can also be booked by contacting the museum director at the Savio Museum.

Plans are underway for a new exhibition of John Savio’s artworks at the Munch Museum in Oslo. Jođus – Savio in Motion (working title) is a project that will exhibit just under 100 known and unknown works by the Northern Sami artist John Savio (1902–1938); through various themes, the story of Savio and his art historical influence will be explored and elevated on Sami terms and with a Sami horizon of understanding as the curatorial starting point. In this way, the exhibition shows how Savio was a groundbreaking artist who today must be considered a distinctive voice within Nordic modernism and a lasting inspiration for contemporary Sami artists. The approximately 100 artworks that have been selected are intended to touch on relevant themes from different perspectives. There will be works in different techniques and with different motifs. The exhibition will also be accompanied by new Sami architecture and a soundscape, which together with the images will bring out new dimensions of the art.

The artworks have now been transported to Oslo for processing, conservation and treatment before the exhibition can be launched.

The exhibition opening is at MUNCH on December 4, 2026. Read more about the project on MUNCH’s website, https://www.munch.no/en/exhibitions/john-savio/

Opening hours:
Monday-Sunday 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Closed:
Christmas Eve 24 December
Christmas Day 25 December
Christmas Day 26 December
New Year’s Eve 31 December
New Year’s Day 1 January

The Savio Museum is located at
Grenselandmuseet
Førstevannslia, 9900 Kirkenes