The museum opened its doors in the Seefeld 20 years ago. In the opening exhibition, the sea goddess Sedna also made her first appearance at NONAM. Now she is back – as the main character of the anniversary exhibition about art, culture and climate change in the Arctic. In cooperation with the Cerny Museum as lender, NONAM celebrates 20 years in the Seefeld and 60 years of museum history.
Sedna is one of the most significant figures in the pantheon of the Inuit and other polar cultures. As the mother of the sea creatures, she decides whether people go hungry or get full. Her myths and legends are as diverse as the people who tell them. In art, she sometimes appears as a hunting ruler, at other times caught in a fishing net. She stands for mythical times as well as for the great challenges of the present.
Indigenous artists in urban settings, whalers in the Arctic, bison hunters on the Great Plains or mask carvers on the Northwest Coast. The collection exhibition invites you on a little journey across the vast North America. The museum highlights the diversity of the Indigenous Nations, past and present, and offers insights into the art forms and cultures of First Nations, Inuit, Native Americans and Native Alaskans.