Laila Susanna Kuhmunen, b. 1978, is an artisan who lives in an area with two Sámi cultures: the Lule Sámi culture and the North Sámi culture. Laila Susanna’s family was forced to resettle from the north to Jokkmokk in Sweden almost one hundred years ago. This historic event is reflected in her artistic handicraft. The two-year program in Duodji at the Sámi Education Centre in Jokkmokk and a Master’s degree from the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Kauto­keino, Norway, gave her the formal background to practice her art and craftsmanship.

Laila Susanna’s creativity emanates from the traditional duodji, Sámi handicraft, but at the same time it also expresses itself through methods that are a symbiosis of both the traditional and the modern.

She has exhibited her work at the Sámi Center for Contemporary Art in Karasjok, Norway, and at the Sámi Duodji Center in Jokkmokk, Sweden, as well as the Silver Museum in Arjeplog, Sweden, and the TRAFO Art Gallery in Asker, Norway.

When Two Become One
Installation with kolt traditional clothing, 2019

Steingiisá (Stone chest)
Installation, stone, 2016

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Laila Susanna Kuhmunen
Photo: Carl Johan Utsi

When Two Become One
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson

Steingiisá (Stone chest)
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson