The University Museum in Bergen, ROM for Art and Architecture, and the Museum of Cultural History (KHM) in Oslo cordially invite you to the fifth seminar in the series exploring the essence of exhibitions. "What Display Context?" will take place at The Unfinished Institution in Bergen on November 24, 2023.

In the seminar, experts with diverse knowledge and responsibilities will share their reflections on how the physical context of an exhibition influences the visitor experience. We will explore how the exhibition venue affects the audience's perception of cultural, religious, architectural objects, and artworks. Does the exhibition, with its objects and works, have an inherent value that operates independently of the place it appears in? Or does the physical space, reputation, values, and identity of the venue influence how the audience interprets what they are there to see?

Together, we aim to understand how the exhibition venue contributes to or complicates the storytelling of the exhibition's content. The presentations and discussions intend to foster a greater understanding of what determines the quality of exhibitions and to what extent the display context contributes to the exhibition's content.

Program will be announced soon, but you can already sign up!

Olav Hamran is the section chief for the Section of Ethnography, Numismatics, Classical Archaeology, and University History at the Museum of Cultural History.

Gjertrud Steinsvåg is the daily and artistic director for ROM for Art and Architecture, curator, and co-producer for the Project on Exhibition Architecture.

Karoline Kjesrud is an associate professor at the Museum of Cultural History and is responsible for the academic aspects of the Project on Exhibition Architecture.

Björn Nilsson is the head of the Department of Cultural History at the University Museum in Bergen, UiB. He is an educated archaeologist with a PhD (2003) in archaeology focusing on environmental science through essays. Before moving to Bergen in 2021, he was a researcher at Lund University, where he studied the long-term relationship between humans and the sea, primarily through maritime archaeological studies of underwater Stone Age sites in the Baltic Sea. Nilsson also has experience in artistic research and has been involved in a major research project exploring the intersection of photography and architecture with architects and artists.

Den uferdige institusjonen is a collaborative studio space and non-commercial production and exhibition venue for professional artists established in the summer of 2022. The organization currently occupies approximately 800 m2 spread across two large halls and several adjoining rooms that serve as private workspaces. It currently hosts 12 permanent members plus 3 studios for shorter stays. The organization is in the process of establishing shared resources such as an art-focused library, a communal kitchen, and exhibition spaces, all developed as independent projects at the intersection of art and architecture.

"den uferdige institusjonen" attributes art an unconditional intrinsic value and aims to be a space where art is continuously developed and explored in new and surprising ways, both individually and collectively. The development of the institution is inspired by the open-form theory of Oscar & Sofie Hansen, known for shaping the institutional identity of Bergen School of Architecture. This theory views art and architecture as both individual and collective endeavors, emphasizing organic processes and participation. This philosophy is intended to guide "den uferdige institusjonen" both organizationally and in its activities.

"den uferdige institusjonen" seeks to build itself gradually and dynamically, where the diverse individual activities collectively define its identity. They advocate for self-organization and resource sustainability, with central values including reuse, moderation, community, and experimentation. Their name signals an identity grounded in the belief that all true art and knowledge are inherently unfinished but underscores a commitment to practice this institutionally.

The seminar presentation will be conducted as a dialogue among members of "den uferdige institusjonen."

Eli Hausken (b. 1977) is a folklorist and head of the Department of Research Communication and Outreach at the University Museum, University of Bergen. Since 2006, she has focused on shifting the museum's communication towards the research process and was deeply involved in renovating and developing a new museum concept at Norway's oldest protected museum building from 1865, the Natural History Museum at Muséplassen 3. She led projects like the Arena for Research Communication, expanding the University Museum's mandate to also cover other research areas at UiB through museum formats in the renovated museum.

June Stuen (b. 1984) holds a master's degree in archaeology from the University of Bergen (2012). Since 2021, she has been the director at Dalane Folk Museum, having previously worked as head of communication at the same museum with a broad practice in the museum field. Her main task as director has been to fully finance the establishment of Jøssingfjord Vitenmuseum as a venue for communication and exhibitions. She is particularly interested in museum policy, especially the rights of smaller museums to exist as cultural institutions.

Kirsti van Hoegee (b. 1975) is a curator and artist based in Bergen. She holds a bachelor's degree from the Department of Photography at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design (KHiB) and a master's degree in visual arts from the Academy of Fine Art at KHiB in 2009. From 2016 to 2018, she was a producer and curator at KRAFT before becoming managing director in December 2018. As managing director at KRAFT, she has artistic responsibility and curates much of the program, also serving as editor for the Parallell series published by KRAFT Press.

From 2021 to June 2023, Kirsti van Hoegee completed the master's program in curatorial practice at the University of Bergen. She has a special interest in reshaping established narratives and uses speculative fiction as a method to challenge our perception of reality.

Synnøve Marie Vik is the academic leader of the Image Collection at the University Library in Bergen, one of the country's oldest archives for historical photography. The Image Collection comprises approximately 1.2 million images, including collections from key Norwegian photographers and examples of early photographic techniques. Vik leads the University Library's exhibition group, ensuring continuity and quality in the library's exhibitions, with overarching responsibility for exhibitions at the humanities library, an exhibition arena established in autumn 2021. She is an art historian with a PhD in visual culture, researching topics ranging from photo history and archive studies to ecocriticism, the Anthropocene, and oil culture. She has worked as a museum director, curator, and art critic, and was a longtime advisor in art and cultural policy.

Tina Larsen is a senior architect at the City Architect's Office in Bergen and was the project manager for the now completed research project BOPILOT, which examined how the municipality could promote alternative housing solutions. She is passionate about promoting public-private collaboration in urban planning and involving civil society and future residents in developing future housing solutions. Tina co-curated the housing exhibition NABO – how shall we live together at KODE last year, the final activity of BOPILOT, a collaboration between the City Architect's Office in Bergen Municipality, the National Museum, Helen&Hard, and KODE. The exhibition aimed to create a meeting place for reflection and dialogue on visions for living together and to explore how sharing, co-use, resident involvement, and community in housing and neighborhoods can create social sustainability, well-being, and activity, prevent loneliness, and create good neighborhoods. One goal was to generate interest in new ways of living and to involve residents and developers interested in building and living in more social forms of housing.

She previously worked in the Norwegian State Housing Bank on housing quality and at HLM Architecture, contributing to projects such as the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and Halden Prison. She graduated from the Bergen School of Architecture in 1999, where she also taught and lectured.

Project on Exhibition Architecture:

Since 2021, the Cultural History Museum (KHM) and ROM have collaborated on a Project on Exhibition Architecture, aiming to explore exhibition production across disciplinary approaches and institutional guidelines. From 2023, we are excited to further develop our collaboration with the University Museum in Bergen. The fundamental question "What is an exhibition?" has guided a series of seminars addressing various aspects of exhibition production. These fully-subscribed seminars have targeted a broad professional community and have been well-received as an interdisciplinary forum for competence development in exhibition production practices across the art and museum sectors, transcending internal role and responsibility divisions.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to email us at post@r-o-m.no.