Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts

We bid a fond and teary-eyed farewell to Vilde Salhus Røed as she leaves BEK to allow more time for her own artistic practice.

Vilde has been with us since 2016 as information manager. With her great capacity for work, sharp wits and broad field of inquiry, she has been central to most of what has been developed at BEK during these years. She has been particularly central to the production of the Latent City event in 2020, where she co-curated, worked with texts and dissemination, as well as commissioning new artworks for Latent City. Even BEKs 20-year anniversary took place in 2020, with Vilde as a captain maneuvering safely and calmly through pandemic waters, handling all sorts of surprises and alterations.

In connection with the anniversary, Vilde devoted herself attentively and meticulously to the crucial work of the BEK archives. Art which employed new technology in the early 2000s poses its own particular challenges with regard to conservation and documentation; terms, tools and concerns have changed enormously through these 20 years. How to pass on the remembered sound of a modem to those who have never heard one, is one of the myriad issues Vilde has eagerly engaged with. Luckily for us, she will continue playing a part in developing the archive in the years to come.

With her great knowledge of and experimental approach to historical image reproduction technologies, photography and archival principles, she has been an inspiration to all of us working with art and technology. Vilde demonstrates how art can be self-aware of its medium and technologies and the stories of their origin.

We will miss her carrot-crunching by the screen, her good cheer and a brain always ready to bandy about ideas and plans. However, we wish her the best of luck and look forward to her future exhibitions. After all, it is in the capacity of visual artist that Vilde really shines like the star she is!