2022 in a wrap…

And what an eventful year it has been! At BergenKunsthall, we had the pleasure of working with a legion of amazing artists, welcoming back record numbers of visitors, having great and inspiring discussions, and having lots of fun. We listened to and watched many projects by other organisations and are thankful for the wealth of good work in Bergen and worldwide.

At Bergen Kunsthall, we opened eight exhibitions, ran a busy live programme, were visited by school classes from all over Bergen, and hosted tours and workshops for all ages.

Amongst our exhibitions were “File Under Freedom”, curated by Steinar Sekkingstad, The MA Exhibition 2022: “Picnic”, curated by Randi Grov Berger, Mylder with Sofie Jansson, “Twine an image that is yet to be” by Damla Kilickiran, Bergen Assembly 2022, “The Bonimenteur”, “On Self-Defense – A Cassandra Press Reader In Action” by Cassandra Press (co-curated by Puppies Puppies), and “We breathe together” by D Harding. The Festival Exhibition 2022: Lene Berg, our summer exhibition, was our summer highlight and received immensely great feedback in the press in Norway and abroad, and Nasjonalmuseet acquired a key work from the exhibition. We announced Camille Norment as the Festival Exhibition artist for 2023. In connection with the exhibitions, we have published “Fra Far”, Lene Berg´s Festival Exhibition book and a busy public programme. During “File Under Freedom”, the exhibition was activated with several concerts and performances by Exotic Sin, Alvin Curran, Sofia Jernberg, Kjetil Møster, Roscoe Mitchell and Mats Gustafsson. On most weekdays, the exhibitions were visited by local school classes, and the education team hosted guided tours of the exhibitions and workshops for youths every Sunday!

Within the Live Programme, at the beginning of the year, when restrictions were still in place, we launched ENCORE, a gathering space for artists and audiences. Once restrictions were lifted, we started a new ambitious (and exciting) live series, “Knowing We Won’t Have Each Other Forever,” curated by Nora-Swantje Almes, which took place inside the galleries with performances Dykegeist by Eve Stainton and Echoic Choir by Stine Janvin and Ula Sickle, as well as the large-scale programme “Cruising Utopia” on board of M/S Midthordland cruising around Bergen, with performances and contributions by Stasis, Ebun Sodipo, Rosa-Johan Uddoh, Miriam Kongstad, Kaeto Sweeney, Nayara Leite, Monica Mirabile, Deborah Findlater & Kiera Coward-Deyell as well as “If We Were Thrown Into The Meltin’ Pot, Would We Tie A True Lovin’ Knot?” a series on reshaping identities, curated by Ifrah Osman, which so far has presented conversation “Through the lens of a black woman” with Marie Cole and The Handshake, a double film screening of “The Goodness Regime” by Jumana Manna and Sille Storihle and “Gracie Square” by Rebekka Christophersen.

This year, we also focused a lot of energy on internal work to discuss how to become more open – and to make it happen. We aim to be an institution that is accessible to everyone and to become accountable for this ambition!

We have worked with our partners at Landmark on 172 events, including club nights, concerts, film screenings, lectures, and talks. Landmark Kafé continues to be a staple for many living in Bergen, serving the freshest coffee and delicious food!

That is 2022 in a wrap?

Thank you to all the artists, our partners, our members, supporters and visitors for this year. Season greetings to you all, and we hope to see you in 2023 ✨