Hordaland Art Centre

Hordaland Kunstsenter is a resource centre for contemporary art in the context of the Vestland region in Norway. Our core activity includes a public program of exhibitions, events and conversations, mediation and educational projects, as well as projects that has to do with art in public space. The art centre includes a bookshop, a café and an all-year-round residency program.

MISSION

The mission of Hordaland kunstsenter is:
1. to promote the use and public awareness of visual and applied arts
2. to preserve and augment artist-run mediation of the visual and applied arts
3. to safeguard artistic freedom of expression and the right to choose the form of artistic execution without regard to commercial considerations

About the art center

Hordaland Kunstsenter is a resource centre for contemporary art in the context of the Vestland region in Norway. Our core activity includes a public program of exhibitions, events and conversations, as well as mediation and educational projects. The art centre includes a bookshop, a café and an all-year-round residency program.

Hordaland Kunstsenter works actively with art in public space and provides consultancy to both the public and the private sector. We aim to develop and stimulate the production of, the use of and dialogue on public space and urban development.

Hordaland Kunstsenter's aim is to increase the visibility of contemporary art in and from Norway, and to create opportunities for exchange between arts professionals in different geographic and political contexts.

Hordaland Kunstsenter is supported by Vestland County Municipality, and also receives support from Bergen Municipality. Hordaland Kunstsenter is directly connected to the local art organisations, Norske Kunsthåndverkere Vest-Norge (NKVN) and Bildende Kunstneres Forening Hordaland (BKFH). Appointed representatives from the organisations constitute Hordaland Kunstsenter’s board and the supervisory board. Hordaland kunstsenter is part of the association Contemporary Art Centres in Norway.

Art and the public

How art is presented to an audience, within the art institution as well as in public spaces, is a central concern at Hordaland Kunstsenter. In our mediation projects and art in public space initiatives, we want to preserve and augment artist-run mediation. Art is something that should benefit everyone and be part of our shared environment. As an art center, it is our task to create dialogues between artists and the community, about what art’s role in the public sphere should and can be.

About the Artist in Residency program at Hordaland kunstsenter

Since 1987, Hordaland Kunstsenter has hosted an artist in residence programme, offering an apartment and a work space for the residents. The guests receive a scholarship, and traveling expenses are paid. Residencies usually last for a month. The residency is open to international artists, curators, critics, art researchers and other art professionals. The residency is supported by Hordaland County Council.

The aim of the residency is to provide artistic professionals with a platform for research and production, one they may leave from with expanded possibilities and a broader network. The artist in residence programme enables the practices of international guests to Bergen through exploring the wealth of resources available in the city such as its numerous institutions, workshops and collectives.

It is Hordaland Kunstsenter's objective to strengthen and further artistic cooperation both within the local arena and internationally. The centre hosts regular seminars, talks and exhibitions, and participating residents are also expected to give a public presentation related to their practice in a format of their choosing.

OPEN CALL 2022

The deadline for our most recent Open Call was 16th January, 2022. This time the Open Call was directed towards artists with a curatorial practice.

A list of upcoming artists-in-residence will be published on our website shortly.

ACCOMODATION INFORMATION

The guests stay in a quiet residential area just a few minutes walk from the art centre which is situated in downtown Bergen. The one bedroom self-catering apartment is furnished and equipped with a TV and Wi-Fi and has a fully functioning kitchen and spacious living room.

STUDIO INFORMATION

Hordaland kunstsenter can not provide a studio in all situations. If absolutely relevant, Hordaland kunstsenter will arrange a studio for the residency guest to work in, but the majority of their residents utilize the guest apartment for this purpose. Guests are expected to bring their own computer and other tools necessary for their work during the residency.

Questions about the residency can be sent to Scott Elliott, at scott@kunstsenter.no.

ART IN PUBLIC SPACES

Hordaland Kunstsenter has been working with art in public space since its foundation, and has for many years been the regional contact institution for KORO, the Norwegian government’s professional body for art in public spaces.

Hordaland Kunstsenter provides practical advice and information to both the public and the private sector, and aims to contribute with artistic professionalism in the management of public space and urban development.

Our work with art in public space is an important part of our core activities, and we offer a unique competence within the field. We will work towards securing artistic quality in public art projects within our region, and towards an active and critically reflecting, public conversation about art and our shared public spaces.

CONSULTING SERVICES / ART CONSULTANT

Hordaland Kunstsenter is a regional resource center for art in public space. We offer consultancy and coordination services to ensures artistic quality in art in public space projects, within the region. We help municipalities and other authorities announce assignments for art consultants, to receive and process applications, and in collaboration with Fagutvalg for kunst i offentlig rom (where the region’s artist organizations are represented), to assign art consultants for various projects.

As an art consultant you function as a project leader for an art project, connected to a public building, site, or similar. You are the leader of a project group put together by the employer/client, where different professionals involved in the construction project (such as architects, developers, user representatives or others). Together with the project group you articulate a plan for the art and locate relevant artists.

Do you have a background from the art field, and feel that this resonates with you? Please contact Petra Rahm (petra@kunstsenter.no) for more information, or apply as art consultant for one of our announced projects!