Call for proposals: Relate North 2026 – Show and Tell

Collaborating with Arctic Arts Summit 2026

The Arctic Arts Summit (AAS) brings together representatives of Arctic countries and Indigenous Nations of the Circumpolar region to strengthen arts and culture in the North and to foster collaboration in the creative industries. The ASAD networks collaborate with the event and will host the annual Relate North 2026 as part of the AAS in Umeå, Sweden, in June 2026.

Call for Proposals

We invite artist–researchers and designer-researchers to present their processes, productions and research posters in a pop-up exhibition format. The network event follows the theme of the Arctic Arts Summit “Land, power, art” and focuses on microchanges initiated by participatory and community-driven art and design research and art and design education research. Rather than a traditional gallery setting, the session unfolds in an open, interactive space for informal encounters, dialogue, and shared reflection. Artist–researchers and designer-researchers will be present alongside their works, offering participants the opportunity to engage directly with the creative processes, inquiries, and knowledge embedded in the artworks. This event highlights how artistic research can generate situated, embodied, and relational understandings of the North. By bringing diverse art and design practices into a shared, conversational environment, the session foregrounds the role of art and design in exploring northern experiences, cultures, and Land. The pop-up format encourages spontaneous discussion, and new connections between makers and viewers. This session celebrates artistic creation as a mode of knowing that is open, processual, and rooted in relationships. Artists and designers participating in this network event will be selected based on a call through the network. The session is organised by the Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design network and part of the program of the Actic Arts Summit. Presenters must registate in to the Arctic Arts Summit.

The organising commitee of the Relate North – Show and Tell consist of  Lotta Lundstedt, Natarsha Bates and Maria Huhmarniemi.

Submit your proposal to the Relate North event.

Registration for the AAS 2026

Reflecting the Summit’s principle of being for the North, from the North, participation will prioritize delegates who live and work within the Arctic, sub-Arctic regions and Arctic Indigenous nations, as well as those whose professional, political, artistic, or cultural practices are connected to Northern contexts. The aim is to ensure that Northern voices, perspectives, and priorities remain central to the dialogue and outcomes of the Summit. 

Registrate here

Please note: Early Bird registration 1 March

More information about the Event

Maria Huhmarniemi, UArctic Chair in Arctic Art and Design, maria.huhmarniemi@ulapland.fi

Read more about AAS: https://arcticartssummit.com/

Information for Presenters

• Poster frames are 1065 x 2010mm – we can hang things other than posters from them as well – so could be unframed drawings or paintings or textiles up to 1065mm wide
• There are four sizes of the black podiums and they can custom make if we need and give enough notice – the smallest are 50 x 50cm (20 available); 50 x 80cm (25); 58 x 100cm (20); and  65 x 100cm (3). The legs come in two heights: 80 and 103cm. 
• The tables are standard classroom size: 70 x 140 x 72cm
• There are 5 x 85″ video screens that have their own computers for playing media and are free standing and mobile. They are not connected to wifi so cannot stream from the internet.
• There are also several freestanding pin boards 1020 x 2000mm for lightweight 2D display
• We can use the walls for hanging or installing shelves for objects.