Architecture of Aroha is a collaboration between Gunvor Guttorm, Berit Kristine Andersen Guvsám, Inga Ravne Eira, Tanya White, and Jasmine Te Hira, curated by Zoe Black.

The project unfolds a dialogue between two objects that hold important cultural significance, the wahakura and the gietkka, baby sleeping vessels from Māori and Sámi communities respectively. Within these Indigenous groups, the making of the sleeping vessel and its materiality is more than a craft, it's a school of ancestral wisdom about care and love and the interconnected world that brings nature, the land, makers, family, ancestors, and the extended community together. These sleeping vessels are presented in the exhibition as examples of architectural knowledge and the connections between how Indigenous spaces are constructed, across the world.

The wahakura is a baby sleeping vessel from te ao Māori, the world view of the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, woven from harakeke - a plant with long sword-like fronds, similar to flax.

The gietkka is the baby sleeping vessel of the Indigenous Sámi people of regions across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Russia. The gietkka is crafted using found natural materials, with the form carved from timber that is then covered with hides, often reindeer, and embellished to reflect family connections and ancestral knowledge.

The design of both the wahakura and the gietkka reflect a deep understanding of the natural world. For each, materials are sourced locally to echo the rhythms of the environment and show the connection between all aspects of life and land for Indigenous peoples.

The sleeping vessel’s innovation does not only lie in their complex technology and design but in the thoughtful consideration of the baby's well-being within the context of community life as a whole. Respectively, the wahakura and the gietkka embody the essence and resilience of Sámi and Māori thinking and the continuous relationships to the past, present, and future. 

Architecture of Aroha is an installation composed of two gietkka and two wahakura, alongside films showcasing the process of making. The exhibition space is imagined as an intimate meeting ground where both communities share understanding and pass down knowledge. A series of workshops and talks will be hosted during the biennial's closing week, bringing together Māori and Sámi practitioners and knowledge holders.

This project includes contributions from Berit Kristine Andersen Guvsám, Inga Ravne Eira, Tanya White, and Jasmine Te Hira alongside films by Emily Parr and Karl-Oskar Gustafsson. It is curated by Zoe Black, Deputy Director of Objectspace.

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On view at Konsthallen Kulturens Hus  as part of Luleåbiennalen in Norrbotten, northern Sweden, with support from Nordic Culture Fund, Norwegian Crafts, Sámi allaskuvla / Sámi University of Applied Sciences and Objectspace.

This exhibition will travel to Objectspace in the second half of 2024.