Máhcaheapmi (Responses) #4: Björnfesten Jam Session

Björnfesten Jam Session is a series of events taking place on Saturday 24 May, at Liljevalchs in Stockholm. The programme runs throughout the day and includes several performances and a joik workshop for children.

More details, including exact times and locations within Liljevalchs, will be announced closer to the event.

Björnfesten Jam Session is based on experiments and improvisation through joik, music, and oral storytelling. It brings together artist Carola Grahn, composer and percussionist Jakop Janssønn, joikers Simon Issát Marainen and Jörgen Stenberg, and actor Sarakka Gaup to explore how the Sámi bear rite might be reimagined and practiced today.

Björnfesten, or the Bear Ceremony, is an ancient Sami ritual. The origin of the rite stems from a myth that transcends Sámi and northern polar Indigenous peoples. The bear holds a sacred place in the Sámi worldview, believed to possess more-than-human powers and supernatural abilities. Historically, the rite included multiple parts and a feast that could last for several days. Archaeological sites across Sápmi reveal bear graves with the bones, usually from a single bear carefully arranged.

The stories of Björnfesten are still vivid through ancient jojks and oral storytellings but the rite itself is no longer practiced.

Liljevalchs is Stockholm’s largest and oldest institution for Swedish and international contemporary art. This performance takes place in Carola Grahn’s solo exhibition Drick Drick at Liljevalchs+. The exhibition runs from March 28th to August 10th 2025. Read more about the exhibition here.

Björnfesten Jam Session takes place in the context of Máhcaheapmi (Responses), a two-year public programme of Indigenous-led gatherings that use art to foster critical reflection, resistance, and knowledge-sharing. Initiated by Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) in partnership with Sámiráđđi / The Saami Council in the wake of the 2023 report by Norway’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the project addresses the enduring impact of forced assimilation policies targeting Sámi, Kven, and Forest Finn communities.

The Truth Commission for the Sámi People report from Sweden is underway and their findings will be published by December 1st of 2025. It is a government inquiry established after the petition from the Sámi Parliament.

Participants 
Carola Grahn
Jakop Janssønn
Sarakka Gaup / Ellána Bireha Áillu Sarakka
Simon Issát Marainen
Jörgen Stenberg