20 MA Exhibitions

20 MA Exhibitions Kunstakademiet’s MA graduation exhibition 2012 This year the MA class at Kunstakademiet in Oslo decided to do things differently. Instead of having the graduation exhibition in a gallery or museum space, the class wished to expand into the city of Oslo. Each of this year’s twenty graduate students has selected a space, site or venue to host each of their artworks. The result is the 2012 gradu­ ation exhibition 20 MA Exhibitions which employs Kunstnernes Hus as depart­ure and information point. From there one can embark on a journey through the city and visit twenty different exhibitions scattered throughout the city of Oslo.

The idea is both to challenge the format of the traditional graduation exhibition, and to intervene in the existing dynamics of the city while creating a unique situation and specific context around each graduate’s contribution. This will create new, exciting encounters for both the audi­ ence and the art on view. The exhibitions have been planned and devel­ oped with the assistance of four curators, critics and artists, namely Per Platou, Terje Nicolaisen, Bo Krister Wallström, and Geir Haraldseth.

The graduates’ approach to the exhibition varies considerably. Formats range from site-specific works departing from their contexts (whether in public or the private sphere) to pieces exhibited in mass media (such as television broadcasting) to the classical hanging of paintings in a gallery space as well as event-based works in the shape of perform­ ances and lectures.

The catalogue for 20 MA Exhibitions functions as a short guide to the exhibition in which each artist is presented by a short introduction contain­ing a description of the actual piece on display. The catalogue also contains a map of the city marking out the different sites and venues.

PDF versions of the catalogue, including the map and documentation material, are available for download at at www.kunstakademiet.no. The exhibition can be visited as one pleases, by foot, public transport, or borrowing a free bike at Kunstnernes Hus. Those who have visited all venues – and can show proof of this with stamps to be collected from each of the twenty venues – are entitled to a free beer in the restaurant at Kunstnernes Hus. The format for this year’s graduation exhibition of Kunstakademiet in Oslo might be a challenging one for the viewer. However, we hope that this exhibition provides an engagement with the city and the artworks in an unexpected and stimulating manner, offering a special experience which the visitors couldn’t have had otherwise.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Jesper Alvær (study leader), Henrik Plenge Jakobsen (professor) & Vanessa Ohlraun (dean)