December 13: An introduction to the Norwegian art scene

WEBINAR: «Understanding the Norwegian art scene» 

Place: Zoom

Day: Tuesday December 13

Time: 10 AM (Oslo)/11 AM (Bucharest)

Speaker: Steffen Håndlykken

Host: VISP (NO) and Sector 1 Gallery (RO)

In this webinar we will give you an introduction to the Norwegian art scene: How is it organised, what is the role of artists’ unions, what are the main institutions, what are the funding possibilities?

We have invited artist and chair of the artist organisation UKS (Unge kunstneres samfund / Young Artists’ Society), Steffen Håndlykken who in his presentation will give a historical perspective in understanding the Norwegian art scene. He will discuss the pillars of the artist economy, and how the art scene has gradually opened to regional, european and international perspectives.

What opportunities does this leave artists in Norway? And how can Romanian artists work and exhibit in Norway? Håndlykken will offer information about opportunities and possibilities, but will also discuss the income situation and working conditions for artists in Norway and how these can be improved through organising.

Use this link to sign up –  a recording of the webinar will later be available on our Youtube-channel. The webinar is open to art professionals who want to learn more about the arts in Norway.

Steffen Håndlykken is an artist and chair of the artist organisation UKS since 2020. He is educated at the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo, where he was part of the final group of students to graduate from the Institute for Colour. In 2010 he founded the exhibition space 1857 with Stian Eide Kluge, that showed young international artists in a former lumberyard in the Grønland area of Oslo, as well as in various other venues. He was the curator of the 9th Norwegian Sculpture Biennale at the Vigeland Museum in 2017, and has written for kunstkritikk.no, Billedkunst and served as editor for UKS – forum for samtidskunst.

VISP is a resource and a networking organisation for the Visual Arts in Norway, and work to improve and facilitate conditions for the production and dissemination of Visual Arts.

VISP represents all of the creative community within the Visual Arts, including artists, galleries, institutions, producers, curators, critics and suppliers of materials and services. VISP is a membership organisation and membership is free.

Sector 1 Gallery is a contemporary art gallery dedicated to supporting the evolution of Romanian contemporary art by placing emphasis on artistic freedom and experimentation.
From its founding in 2017, the gallery has developed a program centered on exhibiting and representing contemporary artists trained in the artistic community in Cluj as well as a few Post avant-garde Romanian artists. Currently, the gallery focuses on the development of a diverse program that (re)presents emerging talents, as well as established artists, Romanian and international.

EEA Grants
This presentation is part of the project “The enhancement of cultural entrepreneurship and the enlargement of audience through organizing the series of exhibitions About Master and Media, the paradigm of bipolarity in contemporary art.” The project takes place between September 2021 to August 2023, in partnership with VISP Norway. The total budget of the project is 217.146 Euros, of which the value of the non-refundable financial support is 195.431 Euros.
This project is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014 – 2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme.

The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.
There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics.

The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion.
Further information available here: www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro
RO-CULTURE is implemented in Romania by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit. The Programme aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The total budget amounts to almost 34 million EUR. For more details: www.ro-cultura.ro

(Photo: Jan Khur)