Meet Riddu Riđđu’s new festival director

We are very pleased to announce that Erle Bårdsdatter Sæther has been appointed as our new festival director! Sæther is already a familiar face at the festival. She currently works as a producer for Riddu Riđđu and has previously been both a production assistant and part of the festival’s volunteer staff. 

The position as festival director is a four-year term. The current festival director, Sajje Solbakk, is now entering her fourth and final year in the role, and this year’s festival will therefore be her last as festival director. 

As festival director, Sæther will have overall responsibility for the festival’s artistic work, as well as staff and volunteers. In close collaboration with the rest of the administration, partners, volunteers and Indigenous artists from around the world, she will further develop Riddu Riđđu as a leading Indigenous festival. 

“I am incredibly grateful for the trust placed in me to lead the artistic work of Riddu Riđđu Festivála over the next four years. The festival is an important part of my life, and it is here that I have had some of my strongest concert experiences and witnessed magical encounters between people. I look forward to leaving my mark on the program and the organization, and not least to being the leader of bargi - our fantastic team,” says Sæther. 

Sæther holds a teaching degree and has completed a one-year program in English from the University of Oslo. She has also studied Sámi at beginner level at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway and Giellasiida. 

In addition to her education, she has been active in several Sámi organizations, including Noereh, IDJA – Sámi Club Night, Saemien Studeenth Oslovisnie, and Garmeres. She has previously worked as a regional secretary in Natur og Ungdom, as a festival journalist during Festpillene in Northern Norway, and as a senior executive officer at the Centre for Sámi Studies at UiT. Since September 2023, she has been a producer at Riddu Riđđu. 

Chair of the board of Riddu Riđđu, Bente Ovedie Skogvang, is very pleased with the appointment: 

“I am very happy about the appointment of Erle Bårdsdatter as our new festival director. Erle knows Riddu Riđđu very well through her solid work as a producer. She also holds a master’s degree that is highly relevant to the leadership role at the festival. I look forward to working with her.” 

Erle will begin in the position as assistant festival director on May 1, for a training period before she officially takes over from Solbakk on September 1. 

We are very much looking forward to following Erle over the next four years!