Anneli Bäckman

is a South Sámi/Swedish curator based in Staare (Östersund), Saepmie/Sweden. She grew up in Stockholm and in close relation to northern Vualtjere (Vilhelmina), where her family has deep roots. She holds a BA in Philosophy and Critical Theory from the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University) and studied Curating Art at master’s level at Stockholm University. Her academic background also includes South Sámi language and Indigenous Studies. 

Bäckman works at Gaaltije Saemien Museume in Staare, where she leads the development of the museum as a platform and meeting place for Sámi art, cultural heritage, knowledge and community. Her work explores how museums and cultural institutions can build reciprocal relationships with Sámi communities and create space for Sámi perspectives, histories and ways of knowing. 

Her curatorial practice has recently focused on how contemporary Sámi art can engage with processes of truth-telling and the work of the Truth Commission for the Sámi People on the Swedish side of Saepmie. This includes Saetniesvoeth tjeahpoen tjïrrh / Art & Truth-Telling, a multi-year collaboration between Gaaltije and Bildmuseet, and Aerpiemaahtoe, developed with Accelerator. She also writes on contemporary art, cultural heritage and Sámi cultural self-determination. 

Previously, Bäckman was a curator at Botkyrka konsthall in the Stockholm region, where she developed exhibitions, public programmes and long-term collaborations with artists and the local community, and ran its international residency programme for over a decade. 

She has served on several arts and cultural boards and is currently a board member of the Swedish Curators’ Association.