Glimpses of 2023
Published
We’re looking back on 2023 with a great warmth and sense of gratitude for our community, artists and collaboration partners, taking pride in what we have accomplished and been able to offer in the past year.
Throughout this year, close to 40 local and international artists had residencies in our studios and spaces, which allow for explorative processes as well as developing new works. We are currently open to applications for Spring 2024 studio residencies – apply by January 7, 2024.
Among other things, our public programme offered a glimpse of work from some of the residents: sound performances by tonota and Arthur Hureau were part of BEK Opening Week; at BEK summer party the audience enjoyed live sets and presentations by Emily Adomah and Pavel Sterec; for Kulturnatt, we showed the installation «Land Bodies, Decomposing Mass» by artists Ingrid Bjørnaali, Fabian Lanzmaier, and Maria Simmons; during B-open, Marcel del Castillo and Al Skua held open studios at BEK.
We upgraded our facilities by investing in a new quadrophonic sound system, offering exciting new possibilities for artists working with sound during their residencies.
We continued expanding and sharing knowledge through a variety of workshops. Among the highlights were «Listening to the Echoes of Bergen: Mapping the Soul of a City» with artist and scholar Yara Mekawei. Looking into the philosophy of listening, experimenting with different techniques for field recording, and learning to capture the essence of various locations through sound, the participants drew a sonic map of Bergen. The week-long Queer game jam with artist Chloé Desmoineaux, initiated by aerial in collaboration with BEK, was based around the themes of technofeminism and queer video-gaming. Inspired by historical accounts, Norwegian queer narratives and personal narratives, the participants delved into speculative storytelling and used tools such as fantasy consoles.
The third installment of our symposium The Only Lasting Truth is Change, subtitled Hallucinating, Computing, Collapsing, examined how different perceptions of reality arise and collide in our steadily more automated world. The symposium featured contributions from prominent artists and scholars: Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, N. Katherine Hayles, Jennifer Gabrys, Haig Aivazian, Jenna Sutela, Damien Roach, Ibiye Camp, Michele Elam, Eva Maria Fjellheim, Tung-Hui Hu, Bahar Noorizadeh, and others. Have a look at some highlights here.
We were thrilled to start working on New Perspectives for Action, the new project of Re-Imagine Europe – a collaboration of fourteen interdisciplinary arts organisations across Europe, where BEK is one of the partners. New Perspectives for Action aims to equip and empower young Europeans through artistic practices to better withstand societal challenges triggered by rapid climate change.
For now, BEK team is taking a winter break. We are back in the house on 2 January and look forward to seeing you all in 2024.
Images: 1) Queer Game Jam, photo: Kaeto Sweeney 2) Borealis family day at BEK, photo: Thor Brødreskift 3)«Land Bodies, Decomposing Mass», photo: Maria Simmons 4) Maia Urstad in studio residency, with Roar Sletteland, photo: Åsne Hagen 5) Drone recordings for Susan Schuppli in Folgefonna, with Thomas Bugaj, photo: Åse Løvgren 6) «Admiror, or Revolutionary Sentiments» by Bahar Noorizadeh, Klara Kofen, Cameron Graham, photo: Petronelle Halvorsen 7) BEK summer party, photo: Johanne Øra Danielsen 8) Emily Adomah, photo: Johanne Øra Danielsen 9–10) Dreaming with Nonhumans and AI Workshop by Suzanne Kite, photo: Petronelle Halvorsen