NO / EN
Bergen Assembly 2025: Opening Days Programme
21.08.2025
11.09- 14.09 The fifth edition of Bergen Assembly is titled across, with, nearby and opens to the public on Thursday 11 September with a four-day programme of collective inquiries and modes of engagement relating to processes of learning and knowledge formation, shaped by acts of neighbouring and participation. This programme, much like across, with, nearby as a whole, is experiential: it unfolds across waters, schools, libraries, exhibition spaces, and airwaves, and through practices of sharing rather than showing.
On Thursday morning we invite you alongside others to a welcome reception at the Bergen School of Architecture (BAS), followed by the first of three live performances by Jana Winderen, whose Meet the Locals: Underwater uses hydrophones and field recordings to bring marine soundscapes into urban spaces. The day continues with afternoon visits to Entrée, where Maasai Mbili Artist Collective blurs the wish to see their work with the need to touch it, and Stranges Stiftelse for an introduction to the Archives for Social Change, with readings of stories from the archives. At Bergen Kunsthall you can experience a late afternoon happening by Susan Philipsz inspired by co-ritus, echoing the participatory spirit of artist collective Gruppe 66. At ROMMET we are introduced to the Open Form approach by Espen Folgerø through the example of the Builders’ Hut. There will also be a sharing of the Trajectories that will unfold throughout the assembly period at BAS and during weekly public programmes. The day draws to a close with food, music and an opening party at ROMMET and the sound of waves aboard the Literature Boat Epos docked nearby. On this evening you can also experience the inaugural transmission of Karen Werner’s Night Air, either on air via FM, AM, shortwave signal or with a shared listening at ROMMET. Night Air is a 60-night-long radio project where a lullaby, shared between strangers, carries listeners over thresholds into sleep.
On Friday, the day is set in motion through conversation and space for encounter: at Amundsen Bar, artist Monica Ursina Jäger and Kikki Flesche Kleiven from Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research reflect on the unseen ecologies of the fjord. Following this, the Communist Museum of Palestine, in collaboration with Tenthaus, invites audiences to explore the aesthetics of neighbouring, as stipulated by thinker Munir Fasheh, in the P1 Mobile Studio at Bergen Katedralskole “Katten”. From there you can make your way to the Bergen Assembly Open Office to join a conversation between BAS’ Emma Nilsson and Tom Chamberlain and architects of Al Borde about their practice and the commission they have developed for the Open Office. Sajan Mani shares his durational performance Yamandan: Eruptions from Where You Buried Us back at Bergen Kunsthall, in which he navigates the weight of caste, colonialism, and bodily memory. Nearby, in the Tårnsalen at KODE, Lapdiang Artimai Syiem performs Laïtiam, embodying the voices from a Khasi folk tale of grief and ancestral knowledge. In the evening, Epos, docked at Bryggen, hosts Blocknotes: a creative writing initiative for imprisoned people in the Netherlands, which offers readings by Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Christine Otten. At the Bergen Assembly Open Office you can join for an evening with an open bar and music, where Luke Drozd will perform his trace Impulse/Signal alongside Simone Ghetti. Once again, the day turns to night with Night Air drifting across the airwaves.
Saturday takes us on paths that disperse across land and over sea: the Bergen Library hosts a conversation with Nabil Ahmed about the work of CLIMATE RIGHTS / INTERPRT. At noon you are invited to join the first fjord journey with the Literature Boat Epos to the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus, where we encounter Jakkai Siributr’s long-running textile project There’s no place for which former textile workers of Salhus and different community members are gathering in two embroidery workshops, adding new layers of experiences, stories, and labour. In the late afternoon, Epos sails to Salhus once again, where a programme unfolds, starting with an offering to the sea the by Elin Már Øyen Vister and collaborators. The offering is connected to their audio work Along the currents — an ocean of voices, a choral of beings installed on the boat. The programme continues with a talk by Izz Aljabari, readings by Layli Long Soldier and Gunhild Øyehaug, and ends with a presentation of The New New Norwegian – a collaborative project with the Literary Journal Vinduet — including readings by Priya Bains. When the boat moves back to Bergen, Elin Már Øyen Vister will continue with a DJ set on board. At the Fisheries Museum, Sarah Kazmi performs Cooking at Sea, a poetic reflection on migration, memory, and the shifting meanings of language, while Jana Winderen returns to the waterfront for her second live underwater transmission, this time close to the Bergen fish market. The day is brought to a fitting end with a student-organised party at BAS — food, dancing, and conversation take us on a journey well into the night.
Sunday invites further reflection on processes of learning across, with, nearby: in the late morning an introduction to Elsebet Rahlff’s new work All we are saying... at the docks near Epos, sets off the final voyage of the Literature Boat to Salhus and the Textile Industry Museum with a workshop in association with Jakkai Siributr’s exhibition there. The day also offers space to revisit artworks and take part in mediation events, such as guided tours for families at Bergen Kunsthall. You can join a collective listening session in the Singing Wells with founder Tabu Osusa. At the Fisheries Museum, Sarah Kazmi performs Cooking at Sea a second time.
Throughout the Opening Days, all venues in Bergen are open from 11:00–19:00 (Sunday until 17:00) for you to spend time with the artworks. The Bergen School of Architecture’s own sauna welcomes early risers each morning between 9:00–11:00.
The Opening Days Programme is a continuation of ongoing processes already set in motion by convenors Ravi Agarwal, Adania Shibli, and the Bergen School of Architecture together with the practitioners of across, with, nearby. Throughout the autumn, this fifth edition of Bergen Assembly will carry on with varied and dense programming in Bergen and beyond, taking the form of weekly events, gatherings, and mediation programmes. Amongst these are the Bergen School of Architecture Trajectories, which will be held regularly on Wednesdays at ROMMET. On four Thursdays (11.09., 18.09., 30.10., and 06.11.), you are welcome to join us at Bergen Kunsthall for a new co-ritus event and every Thursday during the early evening, the public mediation programmes deepen your engagement with the works. Tracing the currents of the water and the connections of the land and the sea, the Literature Boat Epos, continues its journey. It offers space for three residencies with Layli Long Soldier, Shahram Khosravi, and Maaza Mengiste as it moves between Bergen, Valevåg, Lofthus/Grimo, Odda, and other sites along the Hardangerfjord, fostering encounters and collaborations with artists and institutions including Olav Bleie, Leander Djønne, Lars Korff Lofthus, Einar Økland, Agnes Ravatn, Tora Sanden Døskeland, Odda's Literature Symposium, and many others.
You will find an overview of the programme with links to booking tickets below. You will soon be able to find more details about the program here on our website.
Thursday 11.09
11:00–19:00 — All venues open09:00–11:00 — Sauna at BAS open to the public Reserve tickets
Bergen School of Architecture
11:00 — Opening and welcome speeches at BAS
13:00 — Meet the Locals Underwater by Jana Winderen
Entrée
15:00 — Introduction and time to see Maasai Mbili Republic
Stranges Stiftelse
16:00 — Introduction to Archives for Social Change
Bergen Kunsthall
17:00 — Co-Ritus by Susan Philipsz
ROMMET, USF and Epos docked there
19:00 — Introduction to Open Form and Builders’ Hut with Espen Folgerø
— Sharing of the Bergen School of Architecture Trajectories
20:00 — Opening party at ROMMET and the sound of waves at Epos
22:00 — Night Air by Karen Werner - the inaugural transmission will be possible to hear at ROMMET as well as on 100.3FM, 88.6FM and 1314 AM
Friday 12.09
11:00–19:00 — All venues open09:00–11:00 — Sauna at BAS open to the public Reserve tickets
Amundsen Bar, Terminus Hotel
11:00 — Conversation with Monica Ursina Jäger, Ravi Agarwal, Bjørg Risebrobakken & Kikki Kleiven moderated by Louisa Elderton
P1 - Mobile Studio at Katten
11:00 — Mujawarah: The Communist Museum of Palestine with Munir Fasheh invites the public to take part in gathering based on sharing stories, exploring meanings, all nurtured by neighbourly care (over three days with the a possible concluding fourth day, the daily schedule is decided jointly).
Bergen Assembly Open Office
15:00 — Conversation with Al Borde, Emma Nilsson and Tom Chamberlain
P1 - Mobile Studio at Katten
16:00 — A Conversation with Munir Fasheh, Ayreen Anastas, Rene Gabri and Tenthaus Art Collective.
Bergen Kunsthall
17:00 - 20:00 — Sajan Mani യമണ്ടന് (Yamandan): Eruptions from Where You Buried Us
Tårnsalen, KODE Lysverket, Rasmus Meyers allé 9
18:00 — Lapdiang Artimai Syiem: Laïtiam (live performance) Reserve tickets
20:00 — Lapdiang Artimai Syiem: Laïtiam (live performance) Reserve tickets
The Literature Boat Epos, docked at Bryggen
19:00 — Blocknotes: Readings with Christine Otten and Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Bergen Assembly Open Office
20:00 — Luke Drozd will perform his trace Impulse/Signal alongside Simone Ghetti.
21:00 — 01:00 Open Office Bar and music
22:00 — Night Air by Karen Werner
Saturday 13.09
11:00–19:00 — All venues open09:00–11:00 — Sauna at BAS open to the public Reserve tickets
Bergen Public Library
12:00 — Conversation with INTERPRT and Climate Rights
Epos + Textile Industry Museum
12:00–16:00 — First Epos tour to Salhus Reserve tickets
13:00-15:00 — In Salhus: Exhibition and workshop There’s no place by Jakkai Siributr Reserve tickets
16:00–21:00 — Second Epos tour to Salhus Reserve tickets
17:00 -20:00 — In Salhus: An offering to the sea by Elin Már Øyen Vister and collaborators. A program of readings and talks by Izz Aljabari, Layli Long Soldier, Gunhild Øyehaug, Priya Bains of Vinduet.
Elin Már Øyen Vister DJ set onboard on return
12:00 – 20:00 — You can join the public programme at the Textile Industry Museum even if you are not joining the trip with Epos.
Fisheries Museum, Sandviksboder 23, 5053 Bergen
17:00 — Sarah Kazmi: Cooking at Sea: on the Dastarkhān Reserve tickets
Bryggen / Fisketorget
19:00 — Meet the Locals Underwater by Jana Winderen
BAS
20:00 — Student-organized Opening Party (food & dancing)
22:00 — Night Air by Karen Werner
Sunday 14.09
11:00–17:00 — All venues open09:00–11:00 — Sauna at BAS open to the public Reserve tickets
Epos + Textile Industry Museum
12:00 Elsebet Rahlff gives an introduction to her new work All we are saying… at the docks near Epos
12:30–16:00 — Third Epos tour to Salhus Reserve tickets
13:00-15:00 — Exhibition and workshop There’s no place by Jakkai Siributr Reserve tickets
You can visit the exhibition and join the public programme at the Textile Industry Museum even if you are not joining the trip with Epos. (12:00-15:00)
Bergen Kunsthall
13:00 — Guided tour for families (in Norwegian)
14:00 — Guided tour (in Norwegian)
15:00 — Listening Session, Sonic Inheritances by Singing Wells with Tabu Osusa
Fisheries Museum, Sandviken
17:00 — Sarah Kazmi: Cooking at Sea: on the Dastarkhān Reserve tickets
22:00 — Night Air by Karen Werner
