2_9_ScanMag_72_Jan_2015_Text_Q10_Scan Magazine 1 09/01/2015 22:45 Page 47
Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Festivals in Norway
are encouraged to explore through their own interpretations. “By always moving to new locations and presenting works in new ways, we’re allowed to work both openly and freely. We aim to present you with art in places art has never been presented before,” Pedersen says, listing locations such as a private garage, a freeze storage, the town hall, the American car owners’ clubs and a barrel factory among the thought-provoking places where visitors have been able to experience art at the festival. “Most people are used to always seeing art in a white-painted, minimalistic room with artificial lighting. By showing pieces in unexpected places we give the experience a different framework, and thereby add to its story. It gives it another dimension, and an air of being approachable.” Boundary-pushing innovation And, when speaking of approaches to art conveyance, the notion of space is not the only one this festival has challenged. As a popular feature Lofoten International Art Festival has brought in local so-called ‘LIAF-loser’ [LIAF pilots] to guide visitors to the art in their own, personal way. The guides – 10 people of different ages, genders and backgrounds – convey the
pieces through their own eyes, after receiving training from LIAF. “We had a 9year-old boy as one of our previous guides,” says Pedersen, “and he did a great job explaining the tour in his own words. We’ve had a kayak instructor – and this year we are welcoming a priest. The point is that these people communicate the art from their own individual standpoint, informed by their particular background. That way we achieve two very important things: multiple, different guided tours for our visitors, and an anchoring in the local milieu.” The 2015 festival is entitled Disappearing Acts. It is curated by British Matt Packer
and Norwegian Arne Skaug Olsen and displays works by 25-30 international artists. The main exhibition is hosted in an architecturally compound 3,000 m2 former hardware and furniture store, a venue Pedersen is excited about. “The building is a thrilling space; architecturally it’s been growing from a small store in the 1940s until it covered a whole block in the 1990s. It tells a story in itself, however pragmatic the overall visual impression of it may be. We’re excited to reveal more about the theme in coming months,” says Pedersen. The year of 2015 will also be a special one for Lofoten International Art Festival, as it will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Through a specially compiled exhibition, works from all 25 years will be shown in Lofoten, alongside groundbreaking neverseen-before art. When it comes to telling stories, Lofoten International Art Festival will keep you both entertained, enlightened and enriched.
For more information, please visit: liaf.no
TOP LEFT: Elmgreen&Dragset, Tiergarten, Berlin, May 21.1991 (Cooling box #2) (2004) at the pier in Svolvær. LIAF2004. BOTTOM LEFT: Tori Wrånes’s performance Loose Cannon at Kuba, Svinøya. LIAF 2010. BOTTOM RIGHT: Kabelvåg in Vågan municipality, Lofoten. TOP RIGHT: David Horvitz, Stone Soup performance at the opening of LIAF2013. Kabelvåg Square.
Issue 72 | January 2015 | 47