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Norway’s Buzzing Art Scene
Artist Aleksandra Stasiak.
Serpentine by Irene Christensen.
An independent space for art, music and performance Mark Steiner is not your average gallery owner. He grew up in New York City with a Norwegian mother and in the 1990s he lived in Manhattan, played in a band and worked in the film industry. He also volunteered at an art gallery in Soho. After September 2001, he swapped NYC’s East Village for Oslo, but it was not until 2011 that the ground floor of his apartment building in Grünerløkka became available, and a new art gallery was born. By Hanna Margrethe Enger |
Photos: Mark Steiner
This is not your typical art gallery. One of its two rooms is The Theatre Room, a performance space for not just visual art, but also live music and film screenings. Poets and performance artists, too, grace the stage on occasion. With the room’s capacity of about a dozen people, each event is intimate. This gives the performer a great opportunity to connect directly with the audience. It is a place where new and up-and-coming musicians can showcase their work, perform original compositions and gain experience both on and off stage. For Steiner, it is important to give talented new artists of any medium a chance. “Everyone has to start somewhere,” he says. “We are interested in highlighting those artists and music performers who have a message in their work. We 62 |
Issue 153
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April 2023
want this space to be a springboard for their art.”
The World We Made Between 3 May and 14 May 2023, audiences can experience a multimedia group exhibition called The World We Made. “This international group show is focused on the global climate crisis, on overconsumption and littering, resulting in a world that we and the previous generations created without considering the consequences for future generations,” explains Steiner. The exhibition aims to raise awareness about the state of the climate and the importance of recycling through artworks that employ a range of mediums, including photography, painting, drawing, graphics, textile and video. Through visual art, performance, photography and
many other modes of artistic expression, Schaeffers Gate 5 strives to inspire its audience to think and to make a difference. Artists, musicians and filmmakers may submit applications to show their work at Schaeffers Gate 5 via the official website. The space is also available to rent out for private cultural events, such as album release parties, workshops or seminars. www.schaeffersgate5.no Instagram: @schaeffersgate5 Facebook: schaeffersgate5