Bergen Assembly’s offices function as both a public work- and event space.

Are you or your group interested in using our office?

Our open office is a low-threshold offer where we wish to lend our space to local groups and initiatives that are in need of space for their closed meetings and public events. We charge NOK 300 per hour for events where alcohol is served, or there is need for a bartender/event host.

If you wish to borrow the space, we can be contacted at events@bergenassembly.no.

On weekdays 11:00-16:00, you are welcome to bring your own computer or work and spend time at our office. Here you have access to free coffee/tea and can connect to our free wi-fi. Drop by!

Our open office is fully accessible from street level and our toilets are gender neutral.

At Bergen Assembly we are committed to supporting an inclusive and diverse arts scene in Bergen. We work to provide a space free of all forms of discrimination and injustice.

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The Bergen Assembly Library

The Bergen Assembly library includes a wide variety of books and publications connected with every edition of the assembly, as well sections on specific themes and projects. You can find artist books, catalogues, novels, cookbooks, and magazines across ecology, politics, philosophy, technology, and contemporary art.

Books are available for anyone to read in our open office on Halfdan Kjerulfs gate 4, or to borrow for up to three weeks at a time.

The library is comprised of nine sections:

• Bergen Assembly 2013: A variety of resources connected to the 2013 edition of Bergen Assembly, Monday Begins on Saturday, convened by Ekaterina Degot and David Riff.

• Bergen Assembly 2016: A variety of resources connected to the 2016 edition of Bergen Assembly with Tarek Atoui, Praxes, and FREETHOUGHT.

• The Ghosts of My Life (2019): A selection of books curated by the Bergen-based collective, TEXSTgroup, in connection with their workshop series As ghosts speak… How are they heard? during the 2019 edition of Bergen Assembly, Actually the Dead are Not Dead. These theoretical and literary resources engage ideas central to the workshops which explored Mark Fisher's theories of hauntology in Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology and Lost Futures (2014).

• Bergen Assembly 2022: A variety of resources connected to the 2022 edition of Bergen Assembly, Yasmine and the Seven Faces of the Heptahedron, convened by Saâdane Afif.

• The Oil Library (2022): In connection with themes explored in the 2022 edition of Bergen Assembly, The Oil Library gathers critical resources on the influence of the oil industry on global politics, culture, and histories of oppression.

• Until Liberation: Solidarity with Palestine (2023): Resources on the politics, history, culture, and food of Palestine, curated on the occasion of the 2023 fundraiser in aid of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), and in collaboration with Until Liberation Coalition, Comradess.inc, and Vers Libre.

• Bergen Assembly 2025: A variety of resources connected to the 2025 edition of Bergen Assembly, across, with, nearby / på tvers, med, nær, convened by Adania Shibli, Ravi Agarwal and Bergen School of Architecture.

• Bergen Assembly Extended Library: A collection of artist books, magazines, and other texts on a range of subjects.

• Biennial Catalogues: A collection of catalogues of international biennials from 2007 to the present.

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History:

In 2016, Partisan Café, held inside the Old Fire Station in Bergen, was a shared space for conversations, art, education, debate and performance and functioned as the main information point for Bergen Assembly. Conceived by Nora Sternfeld in collaboration with artists Isa Rosenberger and Jenny Moore, it was a location for educators and café workers to think about and practice radical hospitality. For the 2019 edition, Bergen Assembly opened KODE 2, an old archiving and restoration wing, as Belgin. It became the central working space for Bergen Assembly, but also a community space which all were welcome to use. It was a place of work, play, collaboration, celebration, and rest. Both of these spaces offered a meeting place with no purchase obligation in the city centre for the community to use and engage with.

We have established our new office on Halfdan Kjerulfs Gate as an open space for exchange and gathering, as well as work, taking from the experiences of these previous projects and those who realised them.

Bergen Assembly’s offices in Halfdan Kjerulfs Gate 4 was designed and refurbished by musician Kristoffer Wie Van Der Pas and Bergen-based architect Tord Øyen.

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