About

Bergen Assembly works through long-term artistic processes and collaborations to develop an in-depth project in the city of Bergen every three years.

Bergen Assembly aims to strengthen the role of art in society and to give space to artistic practices that challenge and examine our present, including practices that may be complex, vulnerable, or under pressure. Each edition is developed by invited convenors, who establish the conditions for collective development, artistic agency, and shared responsibility, allowing every iteration to take on its own distinct form.

Through collaboration with artists, communities, and civil society, Bergen Assembly contributes to a public sphere for art and knowledge where new perspectives, connections, and communities can emerge - locally rooted in Bergen, in dialogue with the world.

All Bergen Assembly events and exhibitions are free and open to all.

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History / Background

Bergen Assembly originated from the Bergen Biennial Conference in 2009, in response to a proposal by the municipality of Bergen to establish an international biennial for contemporary art in the city. The conference, which discussed the question “To biennial or not to biennial?” with international curators, artists, and academics, was followed by The Biennial Reader (Hatje Cantz/Bergen Kunsthall, 2010)—to date the most comprehensive publication on the global history and practice of biennials or regularly occurring exhibitions and art events.

The first edition of Bergen Assembly, convened by Ekaterina Degot and David Riff in 2013, was titled Monday Begins on Saturday and organized as a narrative unfolding across a series of exhibition spaces. The second edition, in 2016, was led by artist and composer Tarek Atoui, the freethought collective and the collaborative platform PRAXES, who each produced a distinct project. The third edition, Actually, the Dead Are Not Dead, convened in 2019 by Iris Dressler and Hans D. Christ, explored new notions of political assembly in collaboration with a core group of ten artists, curators, writers and activists. The fourth edition, Yasmine and the Seven Faces of the Heptahedron, of Bergen Assembly took place in 2022, and was convened by the artist Saâdane Afif. The last edition, across, with, nearby, took place in 2025, and was convened by Adania Shibli, Ravi Agarwal, and the Bergen School of Architecture.

We are now working towards the sixth edition of Bergen Assembly in 2028.

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Our office in Halfdan Kjerulfs gate 4, 5017 Bergen, is open from Monday - Friday.

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For general inquiries contact:
post@bergenassembly.no

Bergen Assembly Team
Ingrid Haug Erstad

Director (on maternity leave 01.05.26 - 01.03.27)
ingrid@­bergenassembly.no

Kirsten Wandschneider

Interim Managing Director (01.05.26 - 01.03.27)
kirsten@­bergenassembly.no

Maria Råkil

Interim Deputy Director (01.05.26 - 01.03.27)
Communications & Mediation
maria@bergenassembly.no

Christina Hannestad

Administrative Coordinator 
christina@­bergenassembly.no

Tor Steffen Espedal

Project Coordinator
tor@­bergenassembly.no

Alex Hamish Millar

Events & Project Coordinator
alex@bergenassembly.no

Eirik Hunnes

Events & Bar Manager
events@bergenassembly.no

Tora Karoline Dahl

Digital Content
tora@bergenassembly.no

Arash Shahali

International Press & Communications Advisor arash@bergenassembly.no

Advisory Board
Ina Blom
Maria Hlavajova
Ranjit Hoskote
Anaïs Tondeur
Michael Marder

Executive Board
Stein Olaf Onarheim (chair)
Henriette Sölter
Antonio Cataldo
Marit Eikemo
Sveinung Unneland
Karen Sofie Sørensen

Design profile
PART

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DATA PRIVACY