Lofoten International Art Festival 2024 Explores Communication and Indigenous Culture
Scheduled for 2024, the Lofoten International Art Festival (LIAF) is Scandinavia's oldest contemporary art biennial, hosted in Svolvær, Norway. Curated by Kjersti Solbakken and organized by the North Norwegian Art Centre, this year's theme is SPARKS, drawing inspiration from Hermod Petersen's establishment of northern Europe's first wireless telegraph line in 1903. The event showcases 20 projects across nine locations, featuring artists from Norway, Europe, China, Japan, and Africa. Notable attractions include a solo exhibition by Sámi artist Hans Ragnar Mathisen and the revival of David Tudor's unrealized 1974 project, Island Eye Island Ear. Additionally, the festival presents NODES Collective's immersive experience at Kraftholmen and the audio-video project, Memories of the unbridled river, from the Livingstone Office for Contemporary Arts.
Key facts
- LIAF 2024 is Scandinavia's longest-running contemporary art biennial.
- The festival is held in Svolvær, Norway.
- Curated by Kjersti Solbakken.
- Organized by the North Norwegian Art Centre.
- Inspired by the first wireless telegraph line in northern Europe (1903).
- Features 20 projects across nine venues.
- Includes a solo exhibition of Sámi painter Hans Ragnar Mathisen.
- Revives the unrealized 1974 project Island Eye Island Ear by David Tudor.
- Island Eye Island Ear realized in 2023 on Hokkaido and Lofoten.
- Courses of Action exhibition at NOUA Foundation in Bodø.
- Bodø is European Capital of Culture 2024.
- NODES Collective presents The House of Broken Utopias at Kraftholmen.
- Livingstone Office for Contemporary Arts presents Memories of the unbridled river.
- Artists from Norway, Europe, China, Japan, and Africa participate.
Entities
Artists
- Kjersti Solbakken
- Hermod Petersen
- Guglielmo Marconi
- Hans Ragnar Mathisen
- David Tudor
- Billy Klüver
- Julie Martin
- Fujiko Nakaya
- Jackie Matisse
- Margaretha Åsberg
- You Nakai
- Michael Tsegaye
- Flis Holland
- Sissel Solbjørg Bjugn
- Anawana Haloba
- Kabila Kyowa Stéphane
- Banji Chona
- Bwanga "BennyBlow" Kapumpa
- Niccolò Lucarelli
Institutions
- North Norwegian Art Centre
- NOUA Foundation
- SIAF LAB
- NODES Collective
- Livingstone Office for Contemporary Arts
- Technische Universitat West-Berlin
Locations
- Svolvær
- Norway
- Lofoten Islands
- Sørvågen
- Røst
- Bodø
- Nyksund
- Nordland
- Hokkaido
- Japan
- Zambia
- Addis Ababa
- Ethiopia
- Knavelskär
- Sweden
- New Zealand
- Germany
- Australia