Piteå is awarded as Cultural Municipality of the Year 2026 – and celebrates 10 years as a sanctuary

Piteå Municipality has been named Cultural Municipality of the Year 2026 by the Vision trade union. The award was presented on Friday, January 30 at Kaleido in Piteå, where City Councilor Kata Nilsson and Elisabeth Lindberg, Chair of the Culture and Leisure Committee, accepted the award.

“This is every single Pitebo award,” says Kata Nilsson. It is proof that our long-term work for accessible culture throughout the municipality is making a difference.

The award is presented for the 37th year and is based on nominations from Vision members and elected officials. Of the three finalists – Gävle, Piteå and Västervik – the jury chose Piteå. Vision highlights, among other things, the municipality's free cultural school, strong support for associations, work with children and young people's cultural creation, and a rich selection of festivals, art and music.

– Piteå impresses with how culture permeates the entire society, says Vision's union chairwoman Veronica Magnusson in a previous statement.

Piteå became a haven for Zimbabwean artist Cris Gera, who was forced to leave his homeland after his socially critical song "Chema Zimbabwe".

At the same time, Piteå celebrates 10 years as a member of the ICORN network and as a refuge for persecuted writers and artists. The anniversary will be commemorated for a whole week later in March, but already on Friday the photo exhibition Piteå – a refuge for culture was inaugurated in Södra hamn.

The exhibition celebrates courage, freedom of expression and artistic freedom through a series of portraits of the three sanctuary musicians who have been active in Piteå since 2016.

Luleå Municipality has also been a member of ICORN since 2016 and has welcomed two sanctuary artists. Since November last year, Region Norrbotten has also been a member of the network, with the mission to support the county's sanctuary municipalities through expertise, contacts and opportunities for larger events and tours.

Text: Mariana Vnuk