(w)ORD workshop – Norway
(w)ORD is a cultural and creative collaboration between Scottish and Norwegian artists looking at common historical, cultural and geographical connections with an emphasis on the use language in art.
Part two of (w)ORD took place during a two-week long residency workshop workshop in two locations on the West Coast of Norway Aug/Sept 2019, following on from our first residency to the Isle of Mull, Scotland in 2018.
We started with a one-day seminar at Bergen Ateliergruppe studios – with speakers talking about language, place names, geology and kelp forests, interwoven with word play exercises facilitated by the Bergen based artist collaborative – TEXST Group. Speakers at the seminar were Eldar Heide, Hanne Sophie Greve, geologist Øystein Jansen and kelp researcher Sabine Popp. The (w)ORD artists also presented their work.
During our time in Bergen we organised field trips and guided tours to Hordamuseum (Folk museum), Bergen Skog- og Treplantningsselskap (Bergen Forestry Group), and the Manuscript and Special Book Collection at the University of Bergen.
We then travelled to by boat to an old smallholding in Gulen, and spend ten days working with ideas, discussions, collaborations and future plans. During this time we visited Gulatinget.
The participants for (w)ORD 2019 are:
Norwegian Artists: Marit Tunestveit Dyre, Sarah Jost, David A Rios, Randi Annie Strand, Imi Maufe.
Scottish Artists: Jon Mcleod, Calum Wallis, David Lemm, David Faithfull.
Research from the the two (w)ORD residencies will be used by the artists to create new works for at touring exhibition, starting at Visningsrommet USF in Bergen in August 2021. A trilingual artists book publication will accompany the exhibition.
BAG ArtCamp 2019 has been organised in association with: The Society of Scottish Artists (SSA) and is co-curated by Imi Maufe (BAG) and David Faithfull (SSA).
For more info see the blog from 2018.
The (w)ORD workshop was financially supported by Bergen kommune, Creative Scotland and the artists involved. With special thanks to Solveig and Orlaug Brekke for their amazing hospitality and for the use of their cabin in Gulen.
