https://en.bergenassembly.no Bergen Assembly Wed, 06 May 2026 11:02:03 +0000 https://en.bergenassembly.no en https://en.bergenassembly.no/Home-after-BA-2025 Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/Home-after-BA-2025 Bergen Assembly <img width="3500" height="2334" width_o="3500" height_o="2334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fdfe719fc164ec0d161755c20b12036564a8cfbd2b08cde4555066e69569e178/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D3_B__-849.jpg" data-mid="245316847" border="0" alt="The Literature Boat Epos brought visitors to the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus during the Opening Days of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." data-caption="The Literature Boat Epos brought visitors to the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus during the Opening Days of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fdfe719fc164ec0d161755c20b12036564a8cfbd2b08cde4555066e69569e178/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D3_B__-849.jpg" /> Bergen Assembly is a recurring platform for art in Bergen that opens the city to new artistic processes and perspectives. Every three years, a new edition takes shape, developed over time and on its own terms by invited convenors. Through collaboration with artists and local partners, we create encounters between art and the public that engage with issues shaping our present.&nbsp; We are now working toward 2028 Read more here&nbsp;→ Open Office Bergen Assembly's offices function as both a public work- and event space.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. Are you or your group interested in using our office? Read more here → <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/169f73d5f5b3b6812d20c3db4f9eccdab057af4155479cdf61ea85fab09a7ca8/Bergen-Assembly_Apent-kontor.jpeg" data-mid="241027772" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/169f73d5f5b3b6812d20c3db4f9eccdab057af4155479cdf61ea85fab09a7ca8/Bergen-Assembly_Apent-kontor.jpeg" /> The Communist Museum of Palestine The Communist Museum of Palestine is a community-hosted museum initiated for Bergen Assembly 2025, across, with, nearby, where donated artworks are cared for and displayed across domestic and public spaces throughout Bergen. Read more here → <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2dd36087dfcf469d99f36347efce27d89c2ba961aacfeac61c2b7f8189b9ffee/PXL_20251017_094137373.RAW-01.COVER.jpg" data-mid="245891163" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2dd36087dfcf469d99f36347efce27d89c2ba961aacfeac61c2b7f8189b9ffee/PXL_20251017_094137373.RAW-01.COVER.jpg" /> Bergen Assembly’s 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.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. Read more here → <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7812c34643095a36949343e759e122da043b105a899343b9c46550ac52a60a85/PXL_20260506_095317377.jpg" data-mid="248130930" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7812c34643095a36949343e759e122da043b105a899343b9c46550ac52a60a85/PXL_20260506_095317377.jpg" /> https://en.bergenassembly.no/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste-en Mon, 20 Feb 2023 15:08:43 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste-en La Cantina de la Touriste NO / EN <img width="1500" height="1001" width_o="1500" height_o="1001" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2a45dae4b0e0698eb191ee93d9f31209690c7e5937843320859634deddc82076/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_Photo-Bjrn-Mortensen_2.jpeg" data-mid="169054701" border="0" alt="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kaf&eacute; Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Thor Br&oslash;dreskift. " data-caption="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kafé Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Thor Brødreskift. " src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2a45dae4b0e0698eb191ee93d9f31209690c7e5937843320859634deddc82076/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_Photo-Bjrn-Mortensen_2.jpeg" /> <img width="1500" height="1001" width_o="1500" height_o="1001" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/75eaaf7bdec66d8626d381197a1be173a8bc983bffa9eee1894daabdc6ddffb8/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_Photo-Bjrn-Mortensen_1.jpeg" data-mid="169054702" border="0" alt="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kaf&eacute; Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Bj&oslash;r Mortensen." data-caption="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kafé Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Bjør Mortensen." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/75eaaf7bdec66d8626d381197a1be173a8bc983bffa9eee1894daabdc6ddffb8/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_Photo-Bjrn-Mortensen_1.jpeg" /> <img width="1500" height="1001" width_o="1500" height_o="1001" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/27830c2a7fc5486dc4fb44264de7d1a1bb5409ccd7ced4d64b063f9c1d045264/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_Photo-Bjrn-Mortensen_3.jpeg" data-mid="169054739" border="0" alt="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kaf&eacute; Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Bj&oslash;rn Mortensen." data-caption="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kafé Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Bjørn Mortensen." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/27830c2a7fc5486dc4fb44264de7d1a1bb5409ccd7ced4d64b063f9c1d045264/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_Photo-Bjrn-Mortensen_3.jpeg" /> <img width="1500" height="1001" width_o="1500" height_o="1001" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/04da2ba4801a0c17b9a5a265d6bcb2f4ed20b70444a57220f5a248cf56e44f05/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_photo-Thor-Brdreskift_2.jpeg" data-mid="169054768" border="0" alt="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kaf&eacute; Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Thor Br&oslash;dreskift. " data-caption="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kafé Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Thor Brødreskift. " src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/04da2ba4801a0c17b9a5a265d6bcb2f4ed20b70444a57220f5a248cf56e44f05/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_photo-Thor-Brdreskift_2.jpeg" /> <img width="1500" height="1001" width_o="1500" height_o="1001" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6ce4ce54a31a04905867ab6afcfad22b7b99e9e4039998d899a2cd1709e9a98/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_photo-Thor-Brdreskift_1.jpeg" data-mid="169054770" border="0" alt="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kaf&eacute; Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Thor Br&oslash;dreskift. " data-caption="La Cantina de la Touriste at Kafé Mat &amp; prat. Photo: Thor Brødreskift. " src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c6ce4ce54a31a04905867ab6afcfad22b7b99e9e4039998d899a2cd1709e9a98/La-Cantina-de-la-Touriste_Sol-Calero_Bergen-Assembly-2022_photo-Thor-Brdreskift_1.jpeg" /> La Cantina de la Touriste is a permanent installation by the artist Sol Calero that reimagines the interior of Kafé Mat &amp; prat. The installation was part of the fourth edition of Bergen Assembly in 2022, Yasmine and the Seven Faces of the Heptahedron.&nbsp; You can experience La Cantina de la Touriste at Kafe Mat &amp; prat and try their tasty and affordable lunch menu with healthy dishes from all over the world. Open for lunch Monday to Friday, 10:00 - 15:00. Calero's La Cantina de la Touriste has given the institutional-looking café at Engensenteret a new, welcoming and colorful atmosphere. The new canteen paves way for social exchange and new connections. Mat &amp; prat is an education and work training program run by Ny Sjanse (Bergen municipality). The participants come from many different countries, and they therefore bring with them knowledge of different food cultures which is reflected in the rotating menu. Calero’s extensive redesign, created in close conversation with Kafé Mat &amp; prat’s community, invigorates an existing project with meaningful social benefits, allowing visitors and participants to become, momentarily, tourists in their own city. With a bright, tiled wall mural, hand-painted furniture, and room dividers that recall somewhere south of Norway, Calero’s imagery reflects her interest in tropical aesthetics as well as those of applied design, and determinations of the self-consciously “exotic.” &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Artist Biography&nbsp; &nbsp; Sol Calero creates site-specific installations that work as spaces for gathering. She often uses opulent three-dimensional tableaus, and has staged situations as far-ranging as a school, spa, and currency-exchange office. Calero’s works are at once vibrant, bright, and playful, while also examining the political overtones of themes such as cultural representation, national identity, exoticism, and marginalisation. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kafé Mat &amp; pratTeatergaten 435010 BergenMonday - Friday10:00–15:00<img width="667" height="1000" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/667/q/75/i/a786606a57a80be859f289665433511be11e44d82b67d5c83c84fab8be7e08a8/BergenAssembly_NicolasRsener_20220912_preview-0270.jpg" style="width: 194.842px; height: 292.117px;"> https://en.bergenassembly.no/About Tue, 16 Mar 2021 15:58:03 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/About About Bergen Assembly NO / EN Bergen Assembly is a recurring platform for art in Bergen that opens the city to new artistic processes and perspectives. Every three years, a new edition takes shape, developed over time and on its own terms by invited convenors. Through collaboration with artists and local partners, we create encounters between art and the public that engage with issues shaping our present. 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. <img width="3500" height="2334" width_o="3500" height_o="2334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/608cfca07907e0fd644dfd0ded32c2d03284ca600745846a4c674f4261da4027/BA_Akrakadabra_2025_Bergen-School-of-Architecture_Joar-Nango_Ken-Are-Bongo_Post-Capitalist-Architecture-TV-270-Version_installation-view-3.jpg" data-mid="248537110" border="0" alt="Joar Nango and Ken Are Bongo, Post-Capitalist Architecture-TV &lsquo;270&deg; Version&rsquo;, 2024, at the Bergen Architecture School as a part of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." data-caption="Joar Nango and Ken Are Bongo, Post-Capitalist Architecture-TV ‘270° Version’, 2024, at the Bergen Architecture School as a part of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/608cfca07907e0fd644dfd0ded32c2d03284ca600745846a4c674f4261da4027/BA_Akrakadabra_2025_Bergen-School-of-Architecture_Joar-Nango_Ken-Are-Bongo_Post-Capitalist-Architecture-TV-270-Version_installation-view-3.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2334" width_o="3500" height_o="2334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fdfe719fc164ec0d161755c20b12036564a8cfbd2b08cde4555066e69569e178/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D3_B__-849.jpg" data-mid="248537106" border="0" alt="The Literature Boat Epos brought visitors to the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus during the Opening Days of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." data-caption="The Literature Boat Epos brought visitors to the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus during the Opening Days of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fdfe719fc164ec0d161755c20b12036564a8cfbd2b08cde4555066e69569e178/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D3_B__-849.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2334" width_o="3500" height_o="2334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b7462396c42c949b981b9924dd65aadb1e5e1c79ece8b9b429c249c4b33bab82/BA-Office_Abrakadabra_2025_9.jpg" data-mid="248537120" border="0" alt="The Bergen Assembly Open Office in Halfdan Kjerulfsgate 4. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio" data-caption="The Bergen Assembly Open Office in Halfdan Kjerulfsgate 4. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b7462396c42c949b981b9924dd65aadb1e5e1c79ece8b9b429c249c4b33bab82/BA-Office_Abrakadabra_2025_9.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2334" width_o="3500" height_o="2334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/29a8bee558fc29c8fa2c949f1cac223a5b9d67211e0c0f74877ea1de38e868ee/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D3_B__-849.jpg" data-mid="248537113" border="0" alt="The Literature Boat Epos brought visitors to the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus during the Opening Days of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." data-caption="The Literature Boat Epos brought visitors to the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus during the Opening Days of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/29a8bee558fc29c8fa2c949f1cac223a5b9d67211e0c0f74877ea1de38e868ee/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D3_B__-849.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2334" width_o="3500" height_o="2334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d527fc87c16fdac77a6e62964ef38126ace3dcea962b76ca288b03fce76f77cb/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D1_-575.jpg" data-mid="248537112" border="0" alt="Introduction to the BAS Trajectories at USF ROMMET as a part of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." data-caption="Introduction to the BAS Trajectories at USF ROMMET as a part of across, with, nearby, Bergen Assembly 2025. Photo: Abrakadabra Studio." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d527fc87c16fdac77a6e62964ef38126ace3dcea962b76ca288b03fce76f77cb/BA_Abrakadabra_2025_D1_-575.jpg" /> 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. Our office in&nbsp;Halfdan Kjerulfs gate 4, 5017 Bergen, is open from Monday - Friday. For general inquiries contact: post@bergenassembly.no Bergen Assembly Team Ingrid Haug Erstad Director&nbsp;(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&nbsp;(01.05.26 - 01.03.27) Communications &amp; Mediation maria@bergenassembly.no Christina Hannestad Administrative Coordinator christina@­bergenassembly.no Tor Steffen Espedal Project Coordinator tor@­bergenassembly.no Alex Hamish Millar Events &amp; Project Coordinator alex@bergenassembly.no Eirik Hunnes Events &amp; Bar Manager events@bergenassembly.no Tora Karoline Dahl Digital Content tora@bergenassembly.no Arash Shahali International Press &amp; Communications Advisor arash@bergenassembly.no Advisory Board Ina BlomMaria HlavajovaRanjit HoskoteAnaïs TondeurMichael MarderExecutive Board Stein Olaf Onarheim (chair)Henriette SölterAntonio Cataldo Marit EikemoSveinung Unneland Karen Sofie Sørensen Design profile PART <img width="859" height="406" width_o="859" height_o="406" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e0e019e5eadd0ff2be601823178b61a2f9a195e83bb2e275a627e1049e7427c4/Alternativ_logo_eng_258026a.png" data-mid="102216327" border="0" data-scale="61" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/859/i/e0e019e5eadd0ff2be601823178b61a2f9a195e83bb2e275a627e1049e7427c4/Alternativ_logo_eng_258026a.png" /> <img width="2249" height="485" width_o="2249" height_o="485" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e46f5ddc6a212963940100b0ed83107380a55148e46a4bcbea56a3bbc0327ccf/ArtsCouncilNorway_Endorsed_Black.png" data-mid="102216337" border="0" data-scale="89" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e46f5ddc6a212963940100b0ed83107380a55148e46a4bcbea56a3bbc0327ccf/ArtsCouncilNorway_Endorsed_Black.png" /> <img width="546" height="149" width_o="546" height_o="149" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/feb4c8412ce8c63a401efb1ee56ea7308975b5d2e0c1fced8a5f377647cf07a6/Vestland-County-Council_RGB.png" data-mid="102216340" border="0" data-scale="73" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/546/i/feb4c8412ce8c63a401efb1ee56ea7308975b5d2e0c1fced8a5f377647cf07a6/Vestland-County-Council_RGB.png" /> <img width="1280" height="426" width_o="1280" height_o="426" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e30b126baaeb7074753b28fd3f75aafcdd652bab3a79314f1a43fa16b994967e/Perennial-Biennial-logo-black.png" data-mid="102216341" border="0" data-scale="61" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e30b126baaeb7074753b28fd3f75aafcdd652bab3a79314f1a43fa16b994967e/Perennial-Biennial-logo-black.png" /> <img width="2836" height="771" width_o="2836" height_o="771" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7a0c59d8c11ff7ee8488a9720ac762d6962bdb72a7b6c090824dc0287b46541a/eu_flag-creativeeurope_vect_bw_0.png" data-mid="102216348" border="0" data-scale="61" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7a0c59d8c11ff7ee8488a9720ac762d6962bdb72a7b6c090824dc0287b46541a/eu_flag-creativeeurope_vect_bw_0.png" /> DATA PRIVACY https://en.bergenassembly.no/News Sat, 26 Dec 2020 12:28:07 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/News News NO / EN &nbsp; https://en.bergenassembly.no/All-Events Mon, 13 Feb 2023 18:32:45 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/All-Events Upcoming Events &nbsp;&nbsp;NO / EN&nbsp; ←Previous Events https://en.bergenassembly.no/Open-Office Tue, 16 Mar 2021 15:53:13 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/Open-Office Open Office &amp; Library NO / EN <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f68b42e4eb7b0a6b3b2affd8a4ca667987dab4e132c8b6dc76a436e9e1c41c89/TBR_Bergen-Assembly-_17.jpeg" data-mid="168412220" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f68b42e4eb7b0a6b3b2affd8a4ca667987dab4e132c8b6dc76a436e9e1c41c89/TBR_Bergen-Assembly-_17.jpeg" /> <img width="3557" height="2379" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1500/q/75/i/8f51a4d9760c6998719c6a2aaebcb3a7999ec4ea5d6447dd1d344c5b0d56d690/flashigjenaaaa.jpg"> <img width="3637" height="2433" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1500/q/75/i/650edbd639151edc76b1c6f0d3e90bd16a3ae95d20779a132394bb125544911a/R1-00604-0022.JPG"> <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5ec7f17e0fa228eeec8624117c82c6092c80562f3d6630be1edbfa913a5b9e9c/SynneSBBnes_yen_Pas5.jpg" data-mid="102215750" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5ec7f17e0fa228eeec8624117c82c6092c80562f3d6630be1edbfa913a5b9e9c/SynneSBBnes_yen_Pas5.jpg" /> <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/47461d5101e0208851f72f44316b612c6e9270513792ec3569c539620d3bf485/SynneSBBnes_yen_Pas1.jpg" data-mid="102215767" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/47461d5101e0208851f72f44316b612c6e9270513792ec3569c539620d3bf485/SynneSBBnes_yen_Pas1.jpg" /> 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.&nbsp;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. If you or your group are interested in using our office, contact us at: events@bergenassembly.no The Bergen Assembly Library <img width="1229" height="819" width_o="1229" height_o="819" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3c0fd3de9016aa1b0a4197bc4abd96a9e8bef35180db2e877574a8ae083d7f5f/PXL_20260506_094854455-copy.jpg" data-mid="248181346" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3c0fd3de9016aa1b0a4197bc4abd96a9e8bef35180db2e877574a8ae083d7f5f/PXL_20260506_094854455-copy.jpg" /> <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7812c34643095a36949343e759e122da043b105a899343b9c46550ac52a60a85/PXL_20260506_095317377.jpg" data-mid="248181296" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7812c34643095a36949343e759e122da043b105a899343b9c46550ac52a60a85/PXL_20260506_095317377.jpg" /> <img width="1593" height="1062" width_o="1593" height_o="1062" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bca79bab8abfed698afbbd8cdc999500df59ae0ac335cc386c40f5c15487876f/PXL_20260506_102000166.jpg" data-mid="248181361" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bca79bab8abfed698afbbd8cdc999500df59ae0ac335cc386c40f5c15487876f/PXL_20260506_102000166.jpg" /> 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.For any questions about the library, please contact:events@bergenassembly.no 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. If you or your group are interested in using our office, contact us at: events@bergenassembly.noHalfdan Kjerulfs gate 4 5017 Bergen Monday—Friday11:00–16:00<img width="1168" height="716" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/600/q/75/i/7c76f0fedb2aa4e01f1e23dfca1efa96ba2bc76293f3ef9cce4a496fe156155e/map-s.png" style="width: 230.001px; height: 140.994px;"> https://en.bergenassembly.no/Bergen-Assembly-Library Wed, 06 May 2026 11:02:03 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/Bergen-Assembly-Library The Bergen Assembly Library NO / EN <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7812c34643095a36949343e759e122da043b105a899343b9c46550ac52a60a85/PXL_20260506_095317377.jpg" data-mid="247932138" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7812c34643095a36949343e759e122da043b105a899343b9c46550ac52a60a85/PXL_20260506_095317377.jpg" /> <img width="1593" height="1062" width_o="1593" height_o="1062" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bca79bab8abfed698afbbd8cdc999500df59ae0ac335cc386c40f5c15487876f/PXL_20260506_102000166.jpg" data-mid="247931961" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bca79bab8abfed698afbbd8cdc999500df59ae0ac335cc386c40f5c15487876f/PXL_20260506_102000166.jpg" /> <img width="1229" height="819" width_o="1229" height_o="819" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3c0fd3de9016aa1b0a4197bc4abd96a9e8bef35180db2e877574a8ae083d7f5f/PXL_20260506_094854455-copy.jpg" data-mid="247932116" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3c0fd3de9016aa1b0a4197bc4abd96a9e8bef35180db2e877574a8ae083d7f5f/PXL_20260506_094854455-copy.jpg" /> 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.For any questions about the library, please contact:events@bergenassembly.no For any questions about the library, please contact:events@bergenassembly.no Halfdan Kjerulfs gate 4 5017 Bergen Monday—Friday11:00–16:00<img width="1168" height="716" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/600/q/75/i/7c76f0fedb2aa4e01f1e23dfca1efa96ba2bc76293f3ef9cce4a496fe156155e/map-s.png" style="width: 230.001px; height: 140.994px;"> https://en.bergenassembly.no/Publications Tue, 28 Feb 2023 14:33:39 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/Publications Publications NO / EN Coming Soon! https://en.bergenassembly.no/Side-Magazine Sun, 29 Aug 2021 12:54:33 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/Side-Magazine NO / EN&nbsp; Side Magazine<img width="1440" height="810" width_o="1440" height_o="810" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a040d9bf21d401a63274bbab7c4a6928b382a1cd71a977baf0a5932518597db7/side-professor.gif" data-mid="117647882" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a040d9bf21d401a63274bbab7c4a6928b382a1cd71a977baf0a5932518597db7/side-professor.gif" /> ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe Side Magazine is conceived as a site of research for the fourth edition of Bergen Assembly convened by artist Saâdane Afif. Afif has invited Berlin-based Yasmine d’O. as curator of the edition and executive editor of Side Magazine. Side Magazine is dedicated to the seven characters in The Heptahedron, a play written by the French poet, essayist, and scholar Thomas Clerc in 2016. In order of apparition these characters are the Professor, the Moped Rider, the Bonimenteur, the Fortune Teller, an Acrobats, the Coalman, and the Tourist. Yasmine d’O. says, “The seven characters in The Heptahedron resemble a game—a tarot deck—and that’s handy, because my work as a curator requires a certain level of divination. I am becoming better acquainted with them, exploring and discovering them through their puzzling names. I consider Side Magazine a tool of poetic prospection, if you will. It is neither an art magazine, nor an academic magazine. Instead, it gives a body to the seven faces of The Heptahedron, physicalising the questions that they raise. Subsequently, they will become the motifs guiding the seven exhibitions that will shape the seven sides of the upcoming Bergen Assembly.”&nbsp; &nbsp; Seven issues of Side Magazine will be released in the run up to the opening of Bergen Assembly 2022, each comprised of seven articles respectively. A special eighth issue includes installation images, which will be published after the opening days. This, combined with the existing seven issues, make up the collection that constitute the exhibition catalogue and guide. The Professor <img width="2480" height="3307" width_o="2480" height_o="3307" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9c62e7bbbd78cb7b54526763bb527518747a434eeef49ac96bbf88468c18d906/Side-Magazine-01-Professor-2021-07-19-Jacket-RZ.jpg" data-mid="117585943" border="0" data-scale="63" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9c62e7bbbd78cb7b54526763bb527518747a434eeef49ac96bbf88468c18d906/Side-Magazine-01-Professor-2021-07-19-Jacket-RZ.jpg" /> The first issue of Side Magazine is dedicated to the figure of the Professor. It features seven articles, each of which explores the identity, role, and position of the Professor. Contributors include Uli Aigner and Valérie Chartrain, Jörg Heiser, Christian Nyampeta, Lili Reynaud-Dewar and Yasmine d'O., Tatiana Rybaltchenko, Marjorie Senechal, and Vivian Slee. The editorial committee for the first issue is comprised of Saâdane Afif, Anna Bühler, Alix Chambaud, Louisa Elderton, Ingrid Haug Erstad, Jonas von Lenthe, John McKiernan, Yasmine d’O., Tatiana Rybaltchenko, and Pit Stenkhoff. ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe THE MOPED RIDER <img width="1512" height="2016" width_o="1512" height_o="2016" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5d05751e97d6e25cae4bfcfb6c1e8dd2dc980936a05561beb7562a7d6b73205b/Side-Mag---Moped-Rider---Portrait.jpg" data-mid="130606173" border="0" data-scale="64" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5d05751e97d6e25cae4bfcfb6c1e8dd2dc980936a05561beb7562a7d6b73205b/Side-Mag---Moped-Rider---Portrait.jpg" />What are you hiding under your helmet, dear Moped Rider? Where will your wanderings lead you and what encounters might they bring? The second issue of Side Magazine is dedicated to the manifold figure of the Moped Rider, approached differently by seven contributors. The full list of contributors includes: Haci Akman, Michèle Bernstein, Lou Ferrand, Pierre-Henry Frangne, Patrick Jagoda, Yasmine d’O., Lars Ole Kristiansen, Marcella Lista, and Kristian Vistrup Madsen. The editorial committee for The Moped Rider is comprised of Saâdane Afif, Anna Bühler, Alix Chambaud, Louisa Elderton, Jonas von Lenthe, Yasmine d’O., Tatiana Rybaltchenko, and Pit Stenkhoff.The Moped Rider is supported by the City of Bergen, Arts Council Norway, and Fundació Antoni Tàpies. ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe The Bonimenteur <img width="1512" height="2016" width_o="1512" height_o="2016" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a12a5ef66cf0891a173d647194b97a4a7eeb3cc4ed5cbb2515094319550e6882/Bonimenteur-portrait-cover.jpg" data-mid="136528336" border="0" data-scale="64" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a12a5ef66cf0891a173d647194b97a4a7eeb3cc4ed5cbb2515094319550e6882/Bonimenteur-portrait-cover.jpg" /> Coming from the French word bonir (to tell stories in a nice way), their speech is&nbsp;often exaggerated, and aims&nbsp;to please, convince, and seduce—illusionary tricks often used as a means to&nbsp;an end. Seven contributors explore the soul of this talkative figure: Aurélien Gambonianalyses Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Conjurer (1502); Polly Wiesnerdiscusses storytelling at night among the Ju/’hoansi (!Kung Bushmen); a reprint of Marion Baruch’s NAME DIFFUSION&nbsp;links commodity with cultural production; Helmut Draxler looks at the relation between art and its display;Deborah Bowmann harnesses neoliberalism’s individuation; Jean Breschandputs Pier Paolo Pasolini’s masterpieces in the frame; and finally, Jacqueline Barus-Michel explores belief and our desire for meaning. The editorial committee for The Bonimenteur is comprised of Saâdane Afif, Anna Bühler, Alix Chambaud, Louisa Elderton, Ingrid Haug Erstad, Jonas von Lenthe, Yasmine d’O., Tatiana Rybaltchenko, Pit Stenkhoff, and Kirsten Wandschneider. Bergen Assembly thanks the City of Bergen, the Arts Council of Norway, Mehdi Chouakri and the French Ministry of Culture for supporting this project. ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe The Fortune Teller<img width="1512" height="2016" width_o="1512" height_o="2016" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9b4730a454bbdd5a412014f9ccafdf53c004030edda8957ccfa171a3da22a174/Side-Magazine_Issue-4_The-Fortune-Teller_single-pages_LR--dragged.jpg" data-mid="141647548" border="0" data-scale="70" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9b4730a454bbdd5a412014f9ccafdf53c004030edda8957ccfa171a3da22a174/Side-Magazine_Issue-4_The-Fortune-Teller_single-pages_LR--dragged.jpg" /> Divine Fortune Teller, what do the cards say today? Won’t you fill the void of our hypothetical futures? Professor Alain Schnapp’s abyssal knowledge of ruins was called upon to offer an unmissable forecast. The message delivered by the oracle Franco “Bifo” Berardi at the temple of Apollo in Delphi to the students of the Dirty Art Department (Amsterdam) is transcribed. Good fortune often flows from the outsider; Aage Borchgrevink recounts how the geologist Farouk al­ Kasim, an Iraqi immigrant, helped establish the Norwegian oil industry. The reproduction of selected pages from Verena Dengler’s diaries offer the possibility that the voices of all ages who wrote them cast spells on her future as an artist. Sébastien Wit reveals the nuances that inhabit chance by recalling two famous artistic dis­putes. Could the bookseller be a kind of fortune teller? This is the question asked to siddhartha lokanandi and Theresa Clasen. Concluding with the sounds of the Saami drums, Fredrik Prost tells us stories about this divinatory instrument.The editorial committee for The Fortune Teller is comprised of Saâdane Afif, Anna Bühler, Alix Chambaud, Louisa Elderton, Eirini Fountedaki, Ingrid Haug Erstad, Jonas von Lenthe, Yasmine d’O., Pit Stenkhoff,and Kirsten Wandschneider. Bergen Assembly thanks the City of Bergen and the Arts Council of Norway for supporting this project. ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe The TOURIST <img width="1240" height="1653" width_o="1240" height_o="1653" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c1cac8339d3e53737990c3724c9ea35903c7c83117c2d54a1ac341f7b94e1878/Side-Magazine_The-Tourist_Catalog-images_3.png" data-mid="146082310" border="0" data-scale="71" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c1cac8339d3e53737990c3724c9ea35903c7c83117c2d54a1ac341f7b94e1878/Side-Magazine_The-Tourist_Catalog-images_3.png" />Dear Tourist, what have you brought back from your wonderful travels? Which memories are spinning under your bucket hat?Abdelmajid Arrif takes us to a “Territory of Misunderstandings,” Marrakech’s famous Jemaa el-Fna square; Saint Augustine analyses the governing mechanisms of his own memories in his Confessions, written towards the end of the fourth century; Daniel Buren’s text from 1988, which relates to his Photo-Souvenirs series, reminds us of the difference between the photograph of a work and the work itself; Maggie Popkin reflects on the phenomenon of souvenirs; Xavier de Maistre’s voyage around his room from 1794, written during his house arrest in Turin, is interwoven with photographs by the artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster; and Moses März refers to Edouard Glissant’s Poetics of Relation to explore the issues of borders, migration, and political communities in contemporary Germany. Finally, Ida Lødemel Tvedt reflects on her relationship to her hometown through the lens of Ragnar Kjartansson’s monumental sculpture which no traveler arriving by plane can miss, asking: BERGEN?The editorial committee for The Fortune Teller is comprised of Saâdane Afif, Anna Bühler, Alix Chambaud, Louisa Elderton, Eirini Fountedaki, Ingrid Haug Erstad, Jonas von Lenthe, Yasmine d’O., Pit Stenkhoff, and Kirsten Wandschneider.Bergen Assembly thanks the City of Bergen and the Arts Council of Norway for supporting this project. Thanks also goes to Ministère de la Culture, Institut Français, Perspektive, and PSSBL for supporting Side Magazine The Tourist. ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe The Coalman <img width="1506" height="1970" width_o="1506" height_o="1970" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/969c66d6a1dac473129ce0750a2406d82eba540935f9713c41272367b3c5cf46/The-Coalman_Portrait.png" data-mid="149512483" border="0" data-scale="71" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/969c66d6a1dac473129ce0750a2406d82eba540935f9713c41272367b3c5cf46/The-Coalman_Portrait.png" />Coalman, Coalman! Which stories are hidden beneath the burden you carry, bending your body like a fragile blade of grass under the morning dew? Charles-François Mathis discusses the two historical bodies of King Coal —its physical form and symbolic capital— looking at how its rule began, and the march to-wards its end. Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Nivaggioni situates the experience of the miners in 1984, as they were striking for their right to exist, along-side the LGBT groups who came to support them. Continuing our series of individual painting analyses, Isolde Pludermacher digs into Gustave Courbet’s A Burial at Ornans (1849). In the spirit of honouring the Victorian era, when coal was oh so revered, Richard H. Horne’s series The True Story of A Coal Fire is reprinted as it was originally published in Household Words, edited by none other than Charles Dickens. Denis Herlin sings to the sweet tunes of Claude Debussy’s last composition, Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon (“Evenings Lit by the Burning Coals,” 1917), produced for his coal merchant, Monsieur Croquin. Professor Irena Bukowska-Floreńska explores the tradition of coal being used by Polish miners as a material for sculpture, and finally, Gabbi Cattani writes an elegy to all of the dead organisms that gave rise to coal.The editorial committee for The Coalman is comprised of Saâdane Afif, Anna Bühler, Alix Chambaud, Louisa Elderton, Eirini Fountedaki, Jonas von Lenthe, Yasmine d’O., Pit Stenkhof, and Kirsten Wandschneider.Bergen Assembly thanks the City of Bergen and the Arts Council of Norway for supporting this project. Thanks also goes to Ministère de la Culture, Institut Français, and Perspektive for supporting Side Magazine The Coalman. ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe AN ACROBATS <img width="1585" height="2014" width_o="1585" height_o="2014" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/370066729624b05e2475eb9a89351c2d5cf5598de7ffd35d582bf4d6fe8d656a/Acrobats_Portrait.png" data-mid="152691719" border="0" data-scale="71" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/370066729624b05e2475eb9a89351c2d5cf5598de7ffd35d582bf4d6fe8d656a/Acrobats_Portrait.png" />Dear Acrobats, what kind of incredible figures are you going to unravel today before our stunned eyes?Seven contributors shed light on this figure: Jörg Heiser takes us on an ever-twisting journey through the universal force of gravity; Anton Escher looks at how a group of Moroccan acrobats have been invited around the world to demonstrate their prowess, participating in the modern tradition of highly-skilled migration; Anri Sala and Tacita Dean contextualise Sala’s work A Spurious Emission (2007); Gerald Bär tells us how Fernando Pessoa used specific literary strategies to encourage the sense of strangeness in himself; Eran Schaerf brings to life his many inner voices, which inhabit the script of his performance Blinded in Remembering the Present? Ask Franz; and finally, curator Marcella Lista offers us a journey through La Ribot’s conceptual Distinguished Pieces series, with selected pages from the legendary choreographer’s notebooks published as facsimiles.The editorial committee for an Acrobats is comprised of Saâdane Afif, Anna Bühler, Alix Chambaud, Louisa Elderton, Eirini Fountedaki, Jonas von Lenthe, Yasmine d’O., Pit Stenkhoff, Kirsten Wandschneider, and Asya Yaghmurian. Bergen Assembly thanks the City of Bergen and the Arts Council of Norway for supporting this project. Thanks also goes to Ministère de la Culture, Institut Français Deutchland, PERSPEKTIVE and CRAVAN for supporting Side Magazine An Acrobats.︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe ︎︎︎ Buy or Subscribe Executive Editor: Yasmine d’O. Chief Editor: Louisa Elderton Associate Editor: Jonas von Lenthe Concept: Saâdane AfifEditorial Coordinator: Alix Chambaud Research Assistant: Eirini FountedakiTranslator: Nina KettigerProofreader: Hannah SatzGraphic Design: Neue Gestaltung Side Magazine is published by Wirklichkeit Books https://en.bergenassembly.no/Perennial-Biennial-en Fri, 22 Jan 2021 13:23:55 +0000 Bergen Assembly https://en.bergenassembly.no/Perennial-Biennial-en Perennial Biennial WEBSITE → NO / EN Europe witnesses significant political and cultural changes regularly putting the cohesion of European countries and actors at risk. This unrest has brought about an urgency and desire for closer collaboration in the arts. The Perennial Biennial was a partnership of five European Contemporary Art Biennials working together to develop and explore sustainable models for perennial practices in the biennial field. The Perennial Biennial ran as a year-round collaboration aiming to challenge and further the field of biennial practice and strengthen European biennial collaboration across five partners in Germany, Latvia, Slovenia, Norway and the UK. In partnership with the International Biennial Association (IBA). Liverpool Biennial, Berlin Biennial, RIBOCA, MGLC and Bergen Assembly were working together on this programme for four years from september 2018 until september 2022. The project supported research, writing and the formulation of new narratives in the biennial field through collaborative working, staff exchanges and the sharing of expertise and models for sustainable practice. Its aim was to create a dynamic European platform of exchange which could strengthen the contemporary Art sector at global, European and local level. The project was supported by Creative Europe which is the European Union's programme to support the cultural, creative and audio-visual sectors. Local Perspectives on a Global Format→ Download <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f6cf7acfa0858dc6277191b018f80908253ee35242550795577353f032609be/1_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024380" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5f6cf7acfa0858dc6277191b018f80908253ee35242550795577353f032609be/1_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e17a1b467e1d19fb50fd07b72b106ca9615b6e87d7494fd07199c44a924b092c/2_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024385" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e17a1b467e1d19fb50fd07b72b106ca9615b6e87d7494fd07199c44a924b092c/2_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/174c6e117ee8201f0c3d5f2a56ff9a7ddbbf7c99007bd0ce02d7c32cf86c4c55/3_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024390" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/174c6e117ee8201f0c3d5f2a56ff9a7ddbbf7c99007bd0ce02d7c32cf86c4c55/3_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/29a88ec8aa9222f27eedad368825026f17317926c44ac98cf3b32cb432562d13/4_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024392" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/29a88ec8aa9222f27eedad368825026f17317926c44ac98cf3b32cb432562d13/4_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/721efb7c2e6daecefaa45e3e0e38d0e70e8d2b7a0014dde8c22eba2222af3aeb/9_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024406" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/721efb7c2e6daecefaa45e3e0e38d0e70e8d2b7a0014dde8c22eba2222af3aeb/9_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/623bef2b295b5995fcc3450958493011ef2116f737acf03925cdc573e67210f2/10_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024429" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/623bef2b295b5995fcc3450958493011ef2116f737acf03925cdc573e67210f2/10_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d9c1da4063ac7c24b249bdcf85853f1a73e8449ea25aff27e16e55e1144d40f2/8_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024404" border="0" data-scale="71" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d9c1da4063ac7c24b249bdcf85853f1a73e8449ea25aff27e16e55e1144d40f2/8_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4b64cc17333d9ef73d2dcd637defbb3244848ad513982dddcf11214acbb74feb/7_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024402" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4b64cc17333d9ef73d2dcd637defbb3244848ad513982dddcf11214acbb74feb/7_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8cf59645e0fd3a875646981048bcdfd46bdb86dc2a9d998bdeca5651b28b2a86/5_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024394" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8cf59645e0fd3a875646981048bcdfd46bdb86dc2a9d998bdeca5651b28b2a86/5_PB.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a6c2b1debef5eefdcaa95d72536614e76153383dd93ad8e43fdfff5cf1a936d1/6_PB.jpg" data-mid="177024401" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a6c2b1debef5eefdcaa95d72536614e76153383dd93ad8e43fdfff5cf1a936d1/6_PB.jpg" /> Each art biennial forms a kind of microcosm of the art world, aiming to address and attract current cultural movements as well as exhibit a region’s contemporary art production, or at least a curated segment. Viewed from the outside, the presence of a biennial designates its host as a participant in a globalizing art system and its larger economy. But how are these biennials perceived in the cities or regions where they’re held? What roles can they take in their local contexts and communities? Does a biennial reflect the local scene, is it integrated, accessible to its inhabitants, representative? How can the local discourse around biennials inform our understanding of this proliferating form of exhibition? Responding to the need to reflect on the mechanisms of the art biennial, this publication collects six local responses to biennials (and one triennial) in Shanghai, Ljubljana, São Paulo, Aichi, Dhaka, and Glasgow, and how they relate to the intentions, both stated and implicit, of their organizers. First published outside the international art press, these texts address the realities of an art exhibition that is caught between a tendency to universalize and a local, regional, or national desire for representation and participation. By revisiting these texts—and making some accessible in English for the first time—we aim to highlight the local urgencies, responses, and discussions around biennials, and how they diverge from the international biennial discourse. This publication does not attempt to be a history of the biennial, rather it hopes to contribute to the literature of local art and cultural criticism in a biennial context. Not simply condemning the neoliberal tools of the (Western) biennial complex or an exclusionary art system, the authors of these essays unpack the specifics of a particular biennial to discuss its potentials and flaws, how it both creates and exposes contradictions, from a perspective committed to the cities and their art scenes. Local Perspectives on a Global Format is published in the context of Perennial Biennial, a collaboration of five European contemporary art biennials—in Liverpool, Berlin, Riga, Ljubljana, and Bergen—to develop and explore lasting sustainable models in the biennial field. The contributions were selected from responses to an open call, and each text includes an introduction by the colleague(s) who nominated it for inclusion. Download Links to partners’ websites: Berlin Biennale Liverpool Biennial International Centre of Graphic Arts The Bergen Assembly Riga Biennial of Contemporary Art <img width="1280" height="426" width_o="1280" height_o="426" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e30b126baaeb7074753b28fd3f75aafcdd652bab3a79314f1a43fa16b994967e/Perennial-Biennial-logo-black.png" data-mid="97317771" border="0" data-scale="88" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e30b126baaeb7074753b28fd3f75aafcdd652bab3a79314f1a43fa16b994967e/Perennial-Biennial-logo-black.png" /> This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. <img width="2836" height="771" width_o="2836" height_o="771" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7a0c59d8c11ff7ee8488a9720ac762d6962bdb72a7b6c090824dc0287b46541a/eu_flag-creativeeurope_vect_bw_0.png" data-mid="97317770" border="0" data-scale="89" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7a0c59d8c11ff7ee8488a9720ac762d6962bdb72a7b6c090824dc0287b46541a/eu_flag-creativeeurope_vect_bw_0.png" /> Published by the Perennial Biennial Edited by Max Bach andIngrid Haug Erstad Design by Gaile Pranckunaite Content: Introduction Max Bach and Ingrid Haug Erstad The Situation of “Underground Going International” Should Be Changed: The Value of the Shanghai Biennale Liu Xiaochun Introduction by MelodyDu Jingyi and WilsonYeung Chun Wai Reflections on Manifesta Eva Čufer Conover Introduction by Gregor Dražil The Case of Caroline Pivetta da Mota at the 28th São Paulo Bienal Artur Matuck, CristianeArenas, Euler Sandeville Jr.,Flavia Vivacqua, GavinAdams, George Sander, and Henrique Zoqui M. Parra Introduction by Gabriela Saenger Silva Was Freedom of Expression Violated? Problematic Aspects of the Aichi Triennale 2019 Tomoki Sakuta Introduction by Daisuke Sato Dhaka Art Summit: Cultural Capital and the Long Tail of Colonial Time Parsa Sanjana Sajid Introduction by Sarrita Hunn and James McAnally Leaving the Auld Toon Neil Clements Introduction by Ruby Eleftheriotis ISBN 978-1-3999-3495-4