Opening of Spektakel exhibition
February 2, Wednesday
24.00
Follow the exhibition map around the town centre

Opening of the exhibition by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre and Border Commissioner Ivar M. Sakserud. H.M. the Queen Sonja will be present.

Borders around the world, at sea and on land, are challenged every day. In April 2010 the maritime boundary in the Barents Sea was drawn between Norway and Russia. In November 2010 a visa-free agreement applied to the border areas along the Norwegian-Russian border was signed. Almost at the same time NATO and Russia entered a strategic partnership about the ABM-system, and activities in the vicinity of the borderline between North and South Korea in the Yellow Sea led to escalating of tension on the Korean Peninsula.
Pikene på Broen invited a Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, Olga Kisseleva from Russia and Stefano Cagol from Italy to comment on the maps undergoing changes. They stayed in Kirkenes within the art-residency program and were inspired to create new artworks for the festival exhibition.

Olga Kisseleva (RU)
Olga Kisseleva is mapping the Arctic
The digital animation ARCTIC CONQUISTADORS examines the tensions and conflicts characterizing the Arctic today. The Arctic space is being re-mapped / re-drawn / re-appropriated by the traditional stakeholders and newcomers, be it private or state-owned corporations, governmental or non-governmental bodies. The artist reflects on how the current situation is effected by the overlapping interests of geopolitical and corporate powers, referring to the «global conquests».
Kisseleva’s work answers the question who is the Arctic today? First, logos of the companies appear where they are now located. Then the logos start invading the whole map following the rhythm that echoes rapidly growing activities in the Arctic.
To build «Arctic Conquistadors” she has worked with the Departments of Economics and Political Sciences of Sorbonne. They have cooperate with the Business and Industry Advisory Committee of the OECD, the Norwegian Barents Secretariat, the International Barents Secretariat and Platform (London).

Morten Traavik (NO)
Morten Traavik is moving the borders
BORDERLINES : A dynamic border zone marked by old border posts from the Norwegian-Russian (ex-Soviet) border. In the festival period, the border will run through the centre and environs of Kirkenes, and simultaneously divide the capital Oslo in an axis from the King´s Castle to the Parliament. Through webcameras the public will be able to monitor activity in the border zone. WWW.BORDERLINES.INFO
Inspired by border zones between (among others):
States and nationalities, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, East and West Berlin, economic zones in the Barents Sea, North and South Korea, Israel and the West Bank, Shia and Sunni, Mars and Venus, business and economy class, centre and periphery, sense and sensibility, too much and not enough, genious and madness, us and them, order and chaos, majority and minority, hip and unhip, Left and Right, art and politics, homo and hetero, grown-up and underage, Apollo and Dionysus, Heaven and Hell, Laurel and Hardy, past and future, to be and not to be.
In collaboration with the Norwegian Border Commissariat and KORO (Public Art Norway).

Stefano Cagol (IT)
To Evoke or to Provoke?
The project EVOKE PROVOKE (the border) sets focus on historical borders and possibilities for development. For Stefano Cagol, to evoke means to be aware of the history’s impact on the borderland undergoing drastic changes, and to provoke means to trigger new thoughts and reflections around border issues.
In his video Cagol workes with the border as a transition between water and nature, with human existence under extreme conditions. He catches the moment when the short November sun becomes almost as white as the vast and pure landscape, while at the next moment turning the sky into dramatic colours before disappearing into the darkness. Cagol uses signals of smoke, sound and light to communicate through the borders. EVOKE / PROVOKE … your mental borders.
The project continues around the town centre of Kirkenes, where Cagol has planted flags with the words in Norwegian, English, Russian and Saami, which call to take actions towards borders. Challenge! Rastil! Открой! Inviter! Spreng! Охраняй!

Exhibition is open until February 14.

Curated and produced by Pikene på Broen.