The Connection Barents project explores and interacts with the community of the Barents region and the various cultures there, forming new networks and relations between artists and experts working in different artistic fields and places.

Using a laboratory and symposium housed in an abandoned industrial building, artists and local experts explore collaborative strategies and develop proposal for museums of everyday life in the Barents. A special focus of discussion is the ‘border’ role played by the city of Kirkenes.

The project focuses on Kirkenes, a city in the north-east of Norway, close to the border with Finland and Russia. Situated between the East and the West, the city has been a war battlefield as well as a centre of trade and cultural exchange between Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Not only is it at the border of geographical Europe, it is also part of the so-called Schengen Border dividing EU from non-EU countries, and NATO from non-NATO members.

Connecting Barents’ exploration of and interaction with the community and cultures of the Barents Region develops its research along five main areas: the liminal (in-between) zones, emerging economies, the Sami situation, nature and ecology, and border-crossing.

‘The border’: Kirkenes

‘Kirkenes […] had changed from being the end of the line, into being a place for transition […] from being militarised to civilised. From being nationalised into being an international place, regionalised and even globalised. From static to dynamic, from closed to open, from monocultural to multicultural, from masculine to feminine.

Kirkenes has become a real bordertown, with trade and movement across the borders. Kirkenes has become a laboratory for a new time.’

– Morken Strøksnes, 2003

Sixty different nationalities and ethnic groups live and work in Kirkenes. Two recent events have forced the town to rethink its identity: the fall of the Soviet Union (and the resulting ‘re-opening’ of the Norwegian - Russian border) and the closing down of the mining company AS Sydvaranger, which had been the key element of the town since 1906. These two changes brought Kirkenes into a new era in which open borders mean the opening up of societies.

Phase 1: The Laboratory

The Laboratory took place between 19 and 29 June, 2006. It involved 22 Nordic, Baltic and North-West Russian artists from the fields of music, literature, and the visual and performing arts, selected (on application) by the project pilot Ong Keng Sen in collaboration with NIFCA, Nordbok, Nomus, NordScen and Pikene på Broen.

The researchers developed a series of collaborative strategies (introductions, discussions, provocations, collaborations and travels). Using the combined ‘languages’ of the sites, of local ‘connectors’, of the various art fields, of the sharing of experiences, the participants drafted proposals – fantastic proposals – for museums of everyday life in the Barents.

Laboratory activities included explorations of the landscape and visits to local connectors, journeys to the Norwegian, Russian and Finnish sides to collect materials and elements, and the processing of collected materials in an open studio in the industrial zone of Kirkenes.

The artistic leader Ong Keng Sen and the visiting navigators conducted workshops to strategise research approaches and facilitate the content of the research.

Phase 2: The Symposium

From 29 June to 3 July 2006, an additional 26 artists, experts and international keynote speakers joined those artists involved in the previous Laboratory to broaden the discussion about cultural negotiation across national, traditional and artistic borders. The Symposium was an interactive meeting place for the sharing of experiences and exchange of ideas, points of view, practices and methods. Participants visited the research Laboratory and were presented with the collaborative strategies and visions for everyday life which it had produced.

Research areas

The liminal (in-between) zones

This area of research focused on the nomadic identities and sub-cultures of Kirkenes, including the refugees and Russian fishermen who reside in the city for months at a time, as well as gender subcultures and cultural minorities.

Emerging economies

The opening of the border to Russia and the closing of the mining company in the town led to the formation of new economic networks and new creativity in the city. The focus of this research area is to understand how local resources and wisdom are exploited, particularly in relation to tourism, industry, and new economic networks and potential.

The Sami situation

The Sami people are a cultural minority living in the Barents region: some of them help the Laboratory researchers to explore the potential, differences and advantages of this culture in comparison with others of the area. The aim is to understand how specific traditional skills and knowledge are used and transformed in everyday life.

Nature and ecology

Due to the importance of hunting and fishing, nature is a vital element of the local way of life. The work of the Laboratory involves the exploration of natural resources and discussion of crucial ecological matters.

Border-crossing

This area of research involves contact between guards and workers at the physical border and the people who cross these borders daily. The border structures are power structures which reinforce the prevailing politics. The focus of the discussion is how workers and users negotiate these power structures.

The actors

The Project Pilot is Ong Keng Sen, artistic director of TheatreWorks in Singapore (http://www.theatreworks.org.sg) and an innovative performance director working in the USA, Europe and Asia. He has actively contributed to the evolution of an Asian identity and the Asian aesthetic in contemporary arts.

Navigators are Wu Wenguang, filmmaker, and Coco Fusco, visual artist and writer.

Keynote speakers are Akran Zaatari, video artist and curator, Tadashi Kawamata, visual artist, Ayu Utami, writer, Kaffe Matthews, maker and performer of new electro-acoustic music.

NIFCA – the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art – is a Helsinki-based institution which aims to be a catalyst in the ongoing processes of contemporary Nordic visual culture. http://www.nifca.org

Nordbok – the Nordic Literature and Library Committee – encourages the propagation of Nordic literature and strengthens public library cooperation in the Nordic countries. It is located in Oslo, and is a committee under the Nordic Council of Ministers. http://www.nordbok.org

Nomus – the Nordic Music Committee – is located in Stockholm and is active in the field of Nordic music collaboration. http://www.nomus.org

NordScen – the Nordic Centre for the Performing Arts – is the Nordic Council of Ministers’ institution for the performing arts, promoting and developing creative Nordic cooperation within the professional performing arts. http://www.nordscen.org

Pikene på Broen is a culture mediator and producer, based in Kirkenes, which promotes culture as an engine in the development of the local society and stimulates cross-border cultural cooperation with the northern areas of neighbouring countries. http://www.pikene.no