The Arctic—While the Ice is Melting: On Driftwood and Other Transnational Exhibition Stories

ABSTRACT The exhibition The Arctic—While the Ice is Melting opened at the Nordic Museum in Stockholm in 2019 and is still on show, describing life in a changing climate and allowing its visitors to encounter several voices and perspectives of the past, present, and future. The three‐year preparation for the exhibition involved collaboration between the Nordic Museum and Stockholm University. The museum was able to present transnational narratives with the help of collections spanning larger areas than just the nation‐states of the Arctic region, by discussing the use of natural resources, such as driftwood, but also imported goods brought to different places in the Arctic as a result of colonial processes. The exhibition raises awareness of climate change by showing historical daily life in the Arctic in dialogue with contemporary stories from climate scientists and people living in the Arctic today. The subject of climate change transcends individual countries and groups and is showcased with the help of museum collections and contemporary stories in a multitemporal and multidisciplinary weaving of differing knowledges and voices.