OPEN CALL - Between Sky & Sea VII: Flying Blind
Dear artist,
This is an open call from Performance Art Bergen (PAB). We are looking for one more artist in the program of the 7 th edition of the international performance art event Between Sky & Sea for 2025. This edition will focus on the theme of Uvissas tilstand/Flying Blind. For the second time PAB collaborates with Longva AiR north of Ålesund, Norway, hosting the festival format. The period for the event is 25.08. -08.09.2025.
The aim of Between Sky & Sea VII: Flying Blind is to give professional artists a production framework, where they can challenge our notions of matter in the span of minerals and organisms, science and speculation. The outcome should be a public performance for the audience at the end of the residency.
During a period of 14 days, the artists get the necessary resources in the process of developing work(s) of art in a collegial community. Meaning you will have access to professional video and still photographers, transport resources and people with local knowledge of culture and nature. In addition, we will have invited guests contributing with relevant theory. The topic the artists will work towards is our common material framework of existence; the landscape - shaped by natural and human forces alike. In particular, we will challenge you to investigate how to constitute meaning and communication between the human body and the Earth.
PAB will provide the invited artists with travel, accommodation and food during the stay. We also will pay you a small fee. This we cannot quantify today, because we are still waiting for response from funding applications.
Beside this open call, seven more artists will take part in this production-camp focusing on live performance art in a rural environment, in addition to possibilities of performance for camera and video.
Before applying, please read the full description HERE.
Your application should include:
- Short description of your artistic practice related to the theme, maximum size of 10 MB
- Portfolio of maximum 5 projects
- CV
File format: PDF, all combined in one document, maximum size of 10 MBFile name:
name_open_call_2025The application should be sent to: post@performanceartbergen.no
Please mark the email with: Between Sky & Sea - open call - 2025
You will be notified by the end of June 24.
www.betweenskyandsea.com
www.nordoyane.no
Member of the Month: Iben Mansfeld
Where were you born?
Göteborg
Where do you live?
Bergen
What pronouns do you use?
They/Them
What makes you work with performance?
Performatively, I recreate situations of powerlessness and despair in order to take back control, in order to free myself from it. I want to meet an audience through vulnerability, in the unpredictable and challenge the way we are expected to face complex social situations.
Do you have any rituals before performing?
1 shot of Fernet
What was the best performance you have done so far? Why?
My project «unwanted», because it contains everything that I wish to convey as a performance artist.
Are you currently working on any performance?
Yes, I am working on a new performance about rejection, which I will perform later this year.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in working with performance?
Don't wait for the opportunity to perform, take the place you need and jump into it.
Can you give us a few names of performance artists who inspire you?
I am inspired by other performance artists who challenge the human complexity in social situations such as Marina Abramovic, Anna Odell and Yayoi Kuzama.
Photos 2-3 Midsommerfeiring: Madihe Gharibi
Photos 4-7 unwanted: Eleanor Smith
Member of the Month: Alt Går Bra
-Where were you born?
Our artistic practice has since 2015 been funned through the collective duo Alt Går Bra, born in Bergen
-Where do you live?
Bergen and Paris
-What pronouns do you use?
We
– What makes you work with performance?
Performance has always been one of our preferred artistic expressions
– Do you have any rituals before performing?
No
– What was the best performance you have done so far? Why?
Every new performance
– Are you currently working on any performance?
Invisible theater - performances in public space that intervene in everyday life, with several performers
Alt Går Bras nationwide embroidery contest, inviting the public to participate
Banner (fane) parades
– What advice would you give to someone who is interested in working with performance?
Be brave
– Can you give us a few names of performance artists who inspire you?
Ellisif Wessel, Henrik Ibsen, Luis Buñuel, Komar and Melamid, Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia are current favorites
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Photos:
- Portrettbilde. Alt Går Bra, 2024, photographer: Birk Tjelmeland
2. “17.mai”, Bergen public parade, 2018, photographer: Bjarte Bjørkum
3. “Det er ikke fersk fisk å få i Kabelvåg”, Kabelvåg, 2015, photographer: Ane Cecilie Krogseth
4. “Victor Charlie”, USF, Bergen, 2015, photographer: Bjarte Bjørkum
5. “Syllogisms”, LevArt, Levanger, 2017, photographer: Hilde Meen
6. “The Mimeograph, Voice to Speech”, KODE, Bergen, 2021, photographer: ThorBrødreskift
7. “Jacobsen”, Nordnesparken, Bergen, 2020, photographer: Alt Går Bra
8. “Alt Går Bras Strandabroderi utfordring 2024”, public space, Bergen, 2024, photographer: Victoria Eriksen
Photo: Bjarte Bjørkum - Performance: Jordina Ros & Pere Estadella
OPEN CALL PAB OPEN 2024
PAB is seeking performances from regional, national, and international artists for the sixth edition of the PAB OPEN 2024 festival. The festival holds a low-threshold offer that allows the artists to explore and test new performative expressions.
Here is the: Open call PAB OPEN 2024
Member of the Month: Hanna Pherson
PAB is pleased to introduce the Member of the Month, where we will showcase a brief interview with one of our members here on the website and on social media every month. The first artist featured is Hanna Pherson.
-Where were you born?
Gothenburg (Göteborg) Sweden
-Where do you live?
Bergen, Norway
-What pronouns do you use?
She/her
– What makes you work with performance?
I started my BA in the glass and ceramics depatrement at Konstfack in Stockholm. I was young and rebellious so I wanted to break all the rules of making craft and started filming myself breaking objects I had made. When I dropped out and started my Bachelor’s in Art in Bergen I didn’t know that I was doing performance until my first professor (Frans Jacobi) told me. Nowadays I have moved away from it a bit and I’m getting back to creating objects again. But I view my process differently now because of my experience with performance.
– Do you have any rituals before performing?
Freaking out. Being in denial. The minutes before I’m hyper focused and feel like I’m outside my own body. It’s a very spiritual experience.
– What was the best performance you have done so far? Why?
I did a performance in Denmark once where I talked a lot in Swedish. A member of the audience told me afterward that while they didn't understand everything I said, they listened to the melody of my language instead. That performance stands out for me for that reason. I also did a karaoke performance once where I sang for hours, and the audience joined in. It was terrifying but fun!
– Are you currently working on any performance?
I’m currently working mostly with textiles and trying to communicate concepts through objects. It still feels new and exciting for me.
– What advice would you give to someone who is interested in working with performance?
Try to avoid the cliches! Think about how to start and end and rethink how to document. Consider what to wear—whether your outfit should be neutral or representative of the concept. It’s good to feel nervous; it means you care. If possible, keep something in your pocket that makes you feel safe, like a piece of jewellery or a nice rock. Celebrate afterwards. Redo it another time if you’re not satisfied with the results.
– Can you give us a few names of performance artists who inspire you?
This is so hard to answer because I’m inspired by so much different stuff! But Sophie Calle for her way of working with documentation. Curator Nicolas Bourriaud who coined the term ’relational aesthetics’. Superflex have some very cool projects like ’Free Shop’. I always go back to philosopher Thomas Nagel’s text ’What Is It Like to Be a Bat?’ if I feel lost. Movie director Ruben Östlund for his clear depiction of human behavior and power dynamics.
Photos:
1.Let me sing for you / sing with me: Marie Vallestad 2.Dagsrapporter: Sonja Ovaskainen
3.Where have all the flowers gone young girls picked them everyone: Bjarte Bjørkum
4.Tomater i låda: Vegard Kleven
5.The Helping Project: Hanna Pherson
6.När jag fyllde rummet med min luft: Hanna Pherson
7.Jag ser blommor växa i varje hörn: Guttorm Glomsås
8.Den Rosa Tråden: Barbara Katzin
9.Den Rosa Tråden: Barbara Katzin
The Performance Art Bergen - archive
PAB is currently working on updating the archive at the web page with documentation, artists name and text from a large number of performance art events/festivals from the start in 2011 - 2024.
Check out: archive
PAB OPEN 2024
Next large festival PAB OPEN 2024 will be helt October 4-7 2024.
Here is documentation from the PAB OPEN 2022 with documentation of each artist.
PAB OPEN FESTIVAL 2022 - Hotel Villa Terminus
Here is documentation and texts from earlier PAB OPEN festivals:
Here is documentation and texts from earlier PAB OPEN festivals:
PAB OPEN FESTIVAL 2019 - Grand Hotel Terminus
PAB OPEN FESTIVAL 2017 - Vaskerelven 8
PAB OPEN FESTIVAL 2015 - Old prison of Bergen
PAB OPEN FESTIVAL 2013 - Old prison of Bergen
Photo: Petter Lønningen - Performance: Den lokale venneforening Sophie Barth & Katarina Caspersen.
Cod - Connecting People
A participatory performance by Jon Irigoyen in collaboration with Emma Hovi (Social Choreography Lab Helsinki, Finland).
Date: Saturday, November 11th 2023
Time: 14:30-17:00h
Starting and finishing point: Kunsthall 3,14, Vågsallmenningen 12, 5014 Bergen, Norway
This participatory performance combines humor and playfulness to bring participants on an anti-tourist tour in Bergen, culminating in a shared meal experience. At the center of the performance is the cod: the most profitable fish in history that has played a key role in shaping cultures across the Atlantic coast, from the Vikings that first developed the industry to the Basques who found out how to preserve it with salt. Tracing different economies of cod (cultural, social and political) that link the city of Bergen and the Basque city of Bilbao (Jon’s hometown), we will share and map both the historical connection between the cities how cod shaped history locally and globally, and a dinner
table through playfulness and humor.
The festive anti-tourist tour will introduce the participants to the city as seen through the eyes of the artists. The tour will consist of small interventions across the historical old town of Bergen, preparing us for the second part of the performance at Kunsthall 3,14. We will gather in the gallery to try one of the most famous Basque cod recipes, Biscayne Cod, while exchanging experiences, jokes and memories of the fish at the dinner table.
Welcome!
The workshop is free of charge.
Register by sending an email to socialchoreography.helsinki@gmail.com by 8th of November.
Please bring clothes suitable for the outdoors.
Facilitators
The workshop will be facilitated by Jon Irigoyen and Emma Hovi of the Social Choreography Lab Helsinki. Social Choreography explores how we can learn and unlearn pre-choreographed aspects of our personal, social, cultural and political lives. As a cultural practice, it can create new spaces, preparing the imagination for envisioning new social relations and ecological thinking. Formed in 2020 as a collaborative experiment intersecting corporeality, choreography and political life, the Lab is developed through an ongoing series of workshops, festivals and talks. The Lab is based at the Performance Arts Center Eskus in Helsinki and has been supported by Esitystaiteen Seura - Live Art Society and Nordic Culture Point.
More information: https://www.jonirigoyen.com/Social-Choreography-Lab-Helsinki
IMAGE
Engraving from Encyclopedia of Natural History, Augsburg, 1804
PAB lokal 2023: SJØMIL
in this edition of pab lokal 23, we want to take the audience on a journey through time at the Øygarden Coastal Museum, encountering performance art. We present SJØMIL
Sunday, October 15th, from 12:00 to 17:00 at the Øygarden Coastal Museum.
We have selected 2 artists who have created their own interpretations of what SJØMIL (nautical miles) can mean. The title refers to life by the sea and the resources from the sea that have been important in Øygarden and for the West Coast.
Artists
Lucia Andolova (1991, Slovakia)
Lucia Andolova lives and works in Bergen and has a background in journalism. Andolova is an artist who delves into the realm of transforming of natural materials. She has a strong fascination for details and a passion for the oldest textile skill known to mankind , the Slovak national showcases the beauty and potential of these materials in contemporary context.
Marte Dahl (1989, Norway)
Based in Bergen, Marte Dahl holds an MFA from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design (KMD/UiB, 2022) and a BFA from the Oslo Academy of Art (KHIO, 2018). Using the body as a starting point, she explores how certain objects, environments, or materials present various possibilities and limitations for movement and interaction. This is expressed through sculptural costume design and partially improvised choreographies, both live and for the camera.
Her works have previously been exhibited at Bergen Kunsthall (2022), Hordaland Kunstsenter / Bergenhus Festning (2022), Kunstbanken Hamar (2021), Vega Scene (2020), Kunsthall Oslo (2018), Bærum Kunstforening (2018), and ROM for kunst og arkitektur (2017).
PAB LOKAL is curated by Masja Nødtvedt & Ebba Kruse. Thanks to the
Øygarden Coastal Museum.
Bergen International Performance Festival, 24th-26th August 2023
Where: Bergen Kjøtt
When: August 24-26
Doors open: 17:30
Program starts: 18:00
Admission is free!
Welcome to the 6th edition of the Bergen International Performance Festival (BIFF), organized by Performance Art Bergen (PAB). This year, you can experience powerful performances and thought-provoking seminars with some of Europe's most prominent performance artists:
Mari Norddahl (NO)
Elizabeth Tomos (UK)
Maire Karuvuori (FIN)
Ana Matey (ES)
Isabel León (ES)
Giusseppe Dominguez (ES)
Mario Montoya (ES)
Lorena Izquierdo Aparicio (ES)
Héctor Navarro Agulló (ES)
Thomas Reul (DE)
Stephan US (DE)
Surya Tüchler (DE)
This year's festival draws inspiration from Angela Carter's novel 'Nights at the Circus' (1984), where the main character is a trapeze artist whose ambiguous but physically overwhelming presence manifests as half-bird, half-woman. The novel takes us from London to Siberia, using a train journey to explore the transformation of identity through the violation and liberation from cultural norms by connecting with our animalistic selves.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 at 18:00 - SEMINAR: MIND JOURNEY
As part of BIPF, we are hosting an evening seminar open to the public. The seminar will be moderated by the Bergen-based performance artist Eleanor Clare, and the invited speakers are Thomas Reul, Maire Karuvuori, Elisabeth Tomos, and Eirik Fevang.
A journey often serves as a spatial metaphor in everyday language. In the art world, journeys are referred to as a journey of the mind, not a physical movement from one point to another. The journey we plan encompasses cities, former industrial buildings, and untouched landscapes. The artists will explore how encounters with each other and the environment can transform and expand us.
The seminar will address the theme of transformation through interaction, using the practice-based perspectives of our festival artists and the theoretical lens of philosopher and literary critic Eirik Fevang.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26 at 18:00 - GROUP-PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
On the festival's main day, you can experience challenging group-performances from 12 European artists gathered on one stage. The artworks are a result of the artists' collaboration during their train journey to Bergen, where they also had a residency in Finse. This makes this year's edition of BIPF a unique art experience.
BIPF 2023 is organized by Anette Friedrich Johannessen (Chair of PAB) and Marit Tunestveit Dyre.
Our festival partners are:
EXCHANGE Live Art (ES), https://linktr.ee/exchangeliveart
PAErshe (DE) http://www.paersche.org
DIÀLEG OBERT (ES) https://www.instagram.com/dialeg_obert/
We extend our sincere thanks to the support for BIPF 2023 from Bergen Municipality, the Norwegian Arts Council, Vestland County Municipality, and Acción Cultural Española (Through the Programme for the Internationalisation of Spanish Culture (PICE), in the framework of the Mobility grants)
About BIPF:
Bergen International Performance Festival (BIPF) is organized by Performance Art Bergen (PAB). PAB's ultimate goal is to strengthen, visualize, and promote performance art in Bergen, on the West Coast of Norway, and in Norway as a whole. BIPF is held every other year, and the format has varied between individual and group performances. BIPF offers professional development opportunities for the art community in Bergen through the presentation of international, national, and local high-quality performance art. The festival introduces performance art, brings new impulses to Bergen, and inspires and challenges a broad audience interested in the arts.
Between Sky & Sea
from August 8 to August 20 - 2022
The following weeks Performance Art Bergen will present the artists taking part in Between Sky & Sea in August 2022! Information will be published at
PAB Instagram & PAB facebook
Between Sky & Sea is a performance event that takes place every third year on different Norwegian islands. The 6th edition is titled “Temporal Horizons” and brings eight artists, art historians, lecturers and others together. For two weeks the artists will develop their works on Skuløy inspired and informed by seminars and discussions, leading up to a public performance program and showing August 20th 2022 from 13.00-ca 18.00.
Here is the facebookevent: Event - Between Sky & Sea - Skuløya