For our fourth gathering of the season we will meet up digitally, where we will be exploring Togetherness through music, the digital format and in conversation with the audience.
On the programme this time is an excerpt from South African artist Candice Breitz’s Legend (A Portrait of Bob Marley) from 2005, a dig back into the American folk archives to a recording of the song 47b Idumea from The Sacred Harp, and in our long listen we’ll go back to 1969 and hear Paragraph 2 from Cornelius Cardew’s seminal experimental work for the Scratch Orchestra, The Great Learning.
Denne uken arrangeres Transgender Awareness Week for alle første gang i Norge! Den norske markeringen er et Bergensinitiativ og er organisert av SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Acceptance), Skeiv Verden Vest og PKI (Pasientorganisasjonen for kjønnsinkongruens). Markeringen har et fokus på arabisk språk og tilbyr programmet og flere arrangementer på arabisk. Programmet er stort sett digitalt i år av naturlige grunner, og er fylt opp med alt fra samtaler og radioshow til lytteseanser – gå til Trans Awareness Week sin Facebook-side for detaljert program og informasjon!
I anledning denne viktige markeringen vender Borealis blikket bakover til noen av de fantastiske artistene som har opptrådt på festivalen, for å støtte og belyse musikken og arbeidet til skeive/ trans/ ikke-binære musikere! Følg med på vår Instagram og Facebook-side gjennom uken!
Borealis er en festival for eksperimentell musikk som har eksistert siden 2004. En viktig del av Borealis sin virksomhet er ikke bare å arrangere festival, men også å bruke plattformen vi har til å belyse skeivheter i samfunnet, og i det små, bidra til å skape det samfunnet vi ønsker å se i fremtiden. Borealis ønsker å representere samfunnets mangfold, på og av scenen og i publikum, og å skape og vise frem rollemodeller som ikke følger strømmen. Vi heier på organsisajoner som SAGA, Skeiv Verden Vest og PKI som jobber med å opplyse om transrelaterte temaer og støtte opp om transpersoner og deres behov, og er utrolig glade for at vi endelig har en markering i Norge som kan sette ekstra fokus på dette!
Bergen composer Ruth Bakke and visual and video artist Anne Marthe Dyvi have found each other and are working on a new commission for pipe organ and video projection for Borealis 2021! The project carries the working title De Compositionand is being written for the impressive Storetveit Church, built in 1930, designed by the renowned architect Ole Landmark. Bakke has worked at Storetveit as church organist for 45 years in addition to her impressive career as a composer, and so for her the premiere will be on home turf, but this time in a whole new setting with Anne Marthe Dyvi’s visuals, inspired by nature’s processes and the inner working of the pipe organ, accompanying the music.
Anne Marthe Dyvi discovered Ruth Bakke‘s work back in 2018 when she heard an in-depth interview with the composer on Norwegian National Radio and Borealis is proud to present this fresh collaboration between these two outstanding artists from two different art fields and generations. Bakke, born 1947, made a career for herself in composition and as an organ player. She studied in the USA for a longer period in the 60’s and 70’s and has composed large orchestral works as well as music for brass band and chamber ensembles. Dyvi, born 1979, on the other hand comes from the visual arts field and has had her base in Bergen since 2010 when she finished her Masters degree at the Bergen Academy of Fine Art and Design. Dyvi has a special interest in technology and time, human existence, survival and behaviour, which comes through in her work.
From the left: Anne Marthe Dyvi, Ruth Bakke
Together Bakke and Dyvi will create a piece where their differences and different expertise – the aural and visual – will meet and grow into each other. Using nature’s circular processes, the wheel of time, geological time and human affected time as their ground structure and inspiration, we can’t wait to see what comes out of this new and exciting collaboration presented in March for Borealis 2021!
Even though November has brought back restrictions and lockdowns there’s still a lot happening!
We recommend the new album by B L A C K I E FACE THE DARKNESS which took us right back to his unforgettable performance at Landmark during Borealis in 2019.
Piksel Festival is starting soon! They will stream from three online TV channels where they will show concerts, workshops and artist talks. Check out all the exciting things on their website!
Speakerspeaker is a platform for experimental writing, conversation and sound work which explore current themes through a collective voice. On Saturday there’s a double launch of the two most recent books titled Silence og Failure. Check out their programme on the Facebook event!
Borealis Listening Club is back in October to soothe your eardrums and spark your curiosity! This time we’re looking at the theme Isolation through music. A varied soundscape and freshly popped popcorn awaits you!
You can also take part in shaping the night by suggesting music to listen to – send us recommendations atblc@borealisfestival.no, and join us with open ears at Studio 207, Wednesday 28.10 at 8-10 pm.
We’re incredibly happy to announce that Raven Chacon is composing new work for BIT20 Ensemble to be premiered at Borealis 2021 in March!
Using voice, field recordings and moving image, this new commission sees Chacon combining his solo career in noise and electronic music with his extensive experience in composing chamber music – a combination he rarely employs.
Chacon is a composer, performer and installation artist from Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He’s the recipient of several fellowships and awards for his outstanding work in composition. As a solo artist, collaborator, or with Postcommodity, Chacon has exhibited or performed at Whitney Biennial and documenta 14 amongst others.
We can’t wait to present his music as part of Borealis 2021 and to work with the versatile musicians of the BIT20 Ensemble!
October is like a cultural dream! We highly recommend you drop by BIFF – you can literally go see whatever film and get smarter, but we specifically recommend the documentary “Other Music” about the legendary record store with same name in New York.
For those of you who are not in Bergen, or have to stay at home, BIFF also offers a selection of their 2020 programme on their own streaming site BIFF+. “Other Music”, “Babyteeth” and a range of other goodies from this year’s programme are possible to rent between 12th and 31st of October. It’s also worth checking out films from their archive on BIFF+, which are out the whole year!
From left: Runa Halleraker, Émilie Fanor-Fontaine, Said Abdullahi
We have expanded our forces on the team! It’s with great pleasure we’re presenting our three new interns Said Abdullahi, Émilie Fanor-Fontaine and Runa Halleraker! With varied backgrounds in music, arts and film they will be working with production, communication and the volunteers towards Borealis 2021.
Runa Halleraker (b. 1995) from Trondheim is currently studying a Master in Art at The Art Academy in Bergen, KMD, UiB, where they work with painting, words and installation. Their first solo exhibition was held at Galleri Fisk in November 2019, and some recent group exhibitions include Kommunikation at Färgfabriken in Stockholm and MERGE at Cafe Gallery Project & Dilston Grove in London. On the side Runa has worked with photography, design and communication for different cultural organisations, for example Stormfestivalen and Pstereofestivalen, and here at Borealis they will be working with communication.
Émilie Fanor-Fontaine (b. 1991) from Paris will be working with our volunteers here at Borealis. With an extensive background in film, philosophy and nordic, she has in recent years been active as guest curator, assisting editor and volunteer for different organisations including Cinemateket, Isme Film and BIFF. She took her Master in Film, heritage, curating and preserving at Université Paris 8 and Stockholm’s University (2015-2017), and aims towards becoming a film director.
Said Abdullahi (b. 1995) came to Bergen from Kenya in 2011, and has in recent years contributed to the music scene in Bergen. He has been part of establishing DJ collective Svette Føtter (2019), has long been part of Fargespill (2012-2018), and here at Borealis he will be working with production. In more recent time, Said has also been building his own DJ name, Said Warya, and had gigs both on radio and for a range of concepts including at Østre and Café Opera.
We need good aural input now that autumn is knocking at our door and the safety of our sofa is more relevant than ever. Check out the new podcast “What’s love got to do with it” curated by film-maker Beatrice Gibson, who took part in Borealis 2019. For this new podcast Beatrice invited renowned contemporary poets like CAConrad, Alice Notley and Precious Okoyomon to talk about nothing less than, LOVE! Also check out the new record Juxtaposition II (Blitzopposition)from the turbulent quartet of Oslo and Bergen-based improvisers Agnes Hvizdalek, Guro Moe, Håvard Skaset and Utku Tavil, bringing the house down with two voices, bass, guitar, and drums.
We’re excited to be part of this newly launched book of interviews: Taking the Temperature: Crisis, Curating, and Musical Diversity edited by Brandon Farnsworth, Anna Jakobsson and Vanessa Massera. It reflects on some of the implications of the current situation for music and the performing arts, and how this connects to issues of curatorial practice and intersectional diversity issues in contemporary music. Read it here!
