Borealis is a festival for genre-crossing music and art that takes place over 5 days each March in Bergen, Norway. The festival presents concerts, installations, performances, lectures, film screenings and radio broadcasts in an eclectic mix of venues across the city – from art galleries and cultural arenas to surprising spaces you may not have visited before. Borealis is a place for adventurous listeners, celebrating music that resists a single definition. We present new projects from Norway and around the world that push the boundaries of what music is and how we listen.
But we are more than just five days of concerts and events in March. As an organisation we are here all year round, thinking about how we can create experiences and spaces that reflect the society we live in, whilst trying to contribute to the society we want to see. For us this means working hard to present gender balance in our programming and giving space for many different expressions of excellence. It means thinking not just about who is on stage, but about who feels excluded from our audience. We do this work through our project Borealis Radius which is intricately woven into the way the organsation works. Outside of the festival our Borealis Listening Club creates a space for people to listen to new sounds together, and our Borealis Ung Komponist mentoring scheme helps build a grassroots new music culture in the West of Norway.
GREEN FESTIVAL
Borealis has been certified as a Green Festival again in 2025. This means we are committed to systematically reducing our climate footprint when it comes to energy, transport, food, procurement, and waste management.
The Green Festival certification is an environmental label that helps festivals make responsible choices for the climate. At Borealis, we focus particularly on transport, procurement, and food & catering, continuously taking steps to become more sustainable.
We have a vegetarian festival kitchen that serves artists, staff, and volunteers, and we believe that both small and large measures together can make a big difference.
All local transport is provided with electric cars rented through the car-sharing service Dele, and we encourage both artists and guests to travel by train rather than plane. We reuse as much as possible – including Borealis flags and banners, which are used year after year to guide visitors around the festival area.
AFFILIATIONS
Borealis is member of the Keychange initiative, Balansekunst, Brak, Proscen and Bergen International Cultural Centre.
In 2017 Borealis was awarded the first Equality Price from the Norwegian Society of Composers.
THE BOARD
Chair of the Board: Ruth Grung (she)
Members of the Board:
Karianne Mjelde (she)
Katarina Dorothea Isaksen (she)
Amber Ablett (she)
Craig Farr (he)
Deputy members:
Elaine Maltezos (she)
Erik Håkon Halvorsen (he)
Ole Øvretveit (he)
BOREALIS MEMBERS
- Avgarde
- BEK – Bergen Center for Electronic Arts
- Bergen Barokk
- Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester
- Bergens Kammermusikkforening
- Bergen Kjøtt
- Bergen Kunsthall
- Bergen Nasjonale Opera
- Birgon ja biras sámiid searvi
- BIT20 Ensemble
- Bergen Internasjonale Teater
- Cinemateket i Bergen
- Collegiûm Mûsicûm Kor og Orkester
- Den Nationale Scene
- Edvard Grieg Kor
- KODE Kunstmuseer og komponisthjem
- Lydgalleriet
- NyMusikk Bergen
- Sjøforsvarets musikkorps
- UiB Fakultet for kunst, musikk, og design
- USF Verftet
- Østre
SUPPORTED BY
In 2026 Borealis recieved support for the festival, all-year-round running of the organisation and project funding from Arts and Culture Norway, City of Bergen, Vestland County Council, Bergesen Foundation, Grieg Foundation, Ernst von Siemmens Music Foundation, Music Norway, Fritt Ord Foundation and the project New Perspective for Action by Re-Imagine Europe co-funded by the European Union.
