I should really start by saying that ‘digesting’ something like Coast Contemporary needs more than a few weeks, but at the risk of sharing some half-baked thoughts, I am reporting here about my recent experience in Oslo and Bergen of the platform’s 8th edition: Art on Food.
My first experience of a nomadic curatorial retreat was in 2009 with AICA in Armenia where the focus was on ‘collaborative curating’. Artists, curators, and historians came together and exchanged knowledge, both in the city of Yerevan and by lake Sevan. I remained interested in the format and used it as a reference when curating with Anna Santomauro the International Curatorial Workshops of our curatorial platform ‘vessel’. Much of my curatorial learning came from observing and reflecting on the dynamics and knowledge created during those 5 days of curatorial gathering in my home region of Puglia, Italy. As a passionate dialogical practitioner and an enthusiast for the surfacing and sharing of inert and tacit knowledge, from projects like AICA and vessel, I have continued to look for opportunities that explore the generative potential of these precious encounters. So, while perhaps the majority of guests and participants of this year’s Coast Contemporary were most interested in the theme, ‘Art & Food’, I was also very much taken by the format, and curious to see what I could learn from the methods and choreography of hosting.
Coast Contemporary was started in 2015 by Tanja Sæter. It is a nomadic event that has taken place on ships, islands, cities and in the countryside as a method to reconnect with Norway’s natural environment, and also as a tool to disconnect from conventional urban impositions on such a gathering. It is as if Sæter had created a condition of temporary suspension in which people, ideas and things floated physically and metaphorically.
For the 8th edition in 2024, the format was grounded in the local art scenes of Oslo and Bergen. We did float just a little during dinner at a boat club called Revierhavnen Kro, which opened its doors exceptionally to serve us dinner for one evening – officially a ‘lock in’ as the owner closed the gates. This evening offered all of the participants a different perspective on Oslo; we could see the city from afar, but remained a little more anchored to it compared to earlier editions. Sæter and the team, Kenneth Varpe, Taru Kallio, Geir Backe Altern, and Natalie Eliassen made a huge effort to connect with various creative platforms and gave us a sampling of all the ‘flavours’ of Oslo’s and Bergen’s cultural ecosystems.
The kick-off for the event was at UKS – Young Artists’ Society, an art institution and Norway’s oldest union for artists which recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. Given the event’s theme, we were of course met with food and drinks. This is also where I had the opportunity to meet my fellow Independent Curators International awardees Ece Pazarbasi from Berlin (via Turkey) and Sara Garzón from New York (via Colombia). This was our chance to share the various journeys that brought us all to this moment, and to share reflections of ICI, a fantastic curatorial hub that we all three cherish. Nomadic curatorial gatherings such as Coast Contemporary and ICI’s Curatorial Intensive program can be pivotal for those working in our field. ICI played a crucial role in my own career, when I attended the 2013 Curatorial Intensive in Derry. That was my introduction to the city in which I now live and work. Precisely ten years after that intensive, I became the Director of Void Art Centre where I am invested, together with the team, in transforming the institution into the first social-permaculture institution of Northern Ireland. Without exaggeration, I can say that opportunities like those offered by ICI and Coast Contemporary can entirely change one’s personal and professional trajectory.
In Oslo, we participated in a series of presentations, screenings and discussions that took place predominantly at Gamle Munch. A selection of local and international guests including Stéphanie Sagot, Chloé Bonnie More, Flora Fettah, Lars Holdhus and Nikhil Vettukattil, spoke about food and other topics addressing regrowth, sustainability, self-organisation, as well as ecology and natural systems. Personally, I would have appreciated more focus on food specifically, for that to have been a stronger fille rouge. However I imagine that the variety of topics presented most likely better served the group’s diverse interests.
A highlight of our time in Oslo was our visit to ‘Dep.artment’, a project by Polish artist Pawel Stypula that took place in his own apartment. Pavel reconfigured his private accommodation as an art centre with dedicated laboratory corners, testing hubs, along with other tools and spaces needed for art experimentation. The project has been realised in collaboration with an architecture university. Between the various interests and skill sets that Pawel and his collaborators bring to Dep.artment, food is by far one of the strongest. Part apartment, part farm, Dep.artment experiments in food production including mushrooms and spirulina. I have myself curated many projects related to domestic environments, and I felt particularly inspired by this encounter.
In addition to the moments mentioned above, we witnessed a performance by Brazilian artist Nayara Leite in a silo, visited public and commercial galleries, an enjoyed a picnic by KV AE & BARK (Karoline Sætre and Øyvind Novak Jenssen).
In Bergen, on Norway’s western coast, we were welcomed by the artist studio den uferdige institusjonen (the unfinished institution) where we communally made pizza, engaged in studio visits, and where interesting topics emerged through casual conversations. I visited Sveinung Rudjord Unneland’s studio and started to dream of potential future collaborations.The city of Bergen was holding an open studio event during our stay, titled B-Open, and many artists and studios were made accessible to participants of Coast Contemporary. We also wanted to dedicate time to local institutions, and visited Bergen Kunsthall as well as Kraft where some very interesting shows were on view including Edgar Calel Ni Musmut (It’s Breezing) and Åsa Elzén Notes on a Fallow – The Fogelstad Group and Earth.
One key impression for me from this journey is the centrality of the role of the artist within the Norwegian art system and, by comparison at least, the marginality of the curator. We visited platforms predominantly related to the artists’ union and artists’ associations, which might have influenced this perspective, but I did not miss the opportunity to suggest to the Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) that there is an opportunity for further development with respect to curatorial agency in the country.
This quick personal reflection is by no means a comprehensive review of all the encounters, events, and moments we shared during Coast Contemporary 2024. However I hope that this reflection not only gives you a ‘taste’ of the week-long program, but more importantly, illustrates the relevance of gatherings like Coast Contemporary and the way in which they act as a catalyst within the creative community, and society at large.
Viviana Checchia is a curator, programmer, and researcher active internationally. Viviana is Director of Void Art Centre in Derry, and Co-Director of ‘Vessel’, an international curatorial platform based in Puglia, South of Italy, for the support of social, cultural, and economic development through contemporary art.
–Editors note: Coast Contemporary is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with collaboration embassies, the Arts Council / Kulturrådet, Bergen municipality, OCA Office for Contemporary Art Norway and Institut français de Norvege.
This text is published in collaboration with Independent Curators International (ICI), New York.