Double Act. 1917

 

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Double Act. 1917 project takes up a form of a speculative pamphlet containing a script in which two historical events of 1917 linked by their close temporal proximity, the first Sámi Conference held in Trondheim and the February Revolution in Russia are explored by two women protagonists. The ensuing exchange between them is based on the figures of Elsa Laula Renberg, a Sámi writer and Alexandra Kollontai, a Russian activist. As their conversation shifts from questions of education, protest, social awareness and self-organisation, we are exposed through images and footnotes to different time perspectives, historical speculation and fiction. The role of the newspapers and the imminent introduction of radio are being discussed as the conversation itself anticipates broadcasting at a moment when the two events, the Sámi quest for self-determination and the Bolshevik revolution coincide in the same year. Both gather momentum through social descent and both in different degrees affected the political foundations of the world we inhabit now.

Double Act. 1917 investigates the ‘unproductive’ moments of historical narrative searching for their relevance in the current debates around education and language, property rights, resources and a wider representation of people in Sámi communities and elsewhere.

The publication is designed by Stefan Andersson and printed in 500 copies.