5th Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art
Favoured Nations
29 August – 18 October
Moss
Norway
Punkt Ø AS
Postbox 1033 Jeløy
N-1510 Moss
Punkt Ø proudly presents Favoured Nations, the biennial showcasing the work of artists with a background from, or a connection to the Nordic region. The exhibition features 31 artists and groups spread across two outstanding and strikingly different venues – Momentum Kunsthall and Galleri F15. Favoured Nations is the fifth edition of Momentum and has been curated by Lina Džuverović and Stina Högkvist.
Participating artists
A Kassen, Mats Adelman, Roger Andersson, Asmundur Asmundsson, Fia Backström, Maja Bajević, Petra Bauer & Annette Krauss, Nina Beier & Marie Lund, Maja Borg, Liv Bugge, Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, Jacob Dahlgren, Ida Ekblad, Marte Eknæs, Andreas Eriksson, Jan Freuchen, Carl-Michael von Hausswolff / Juan Pedro Fabra / Jan Håfström, Hannaleena Heiska, Saskia Holmkvist, Karl Holmqvist, Lars Laumann & Benjamin A. Huseby, Klara Liden, Darri Lorenzen, Josefine Lyche, Eline McGeorge, Are Mokkelbost, Jani Ruscica, Marthe Thorshaug, Helgi Þórsson, Salla Tykkä, Gaeoudjiparl featuring Martha Hviid & Tordis Berstrand.
Favoured Nations
The legal term, Favoured Nations, is borrowed from international trade agreements, which is used in contracts to request equal treatment for all parties. In the context of this biennial the term acts as a springboard for highlighting issues around equality, access and the ways in which those involved in artistic production are treated. Highlighting infrastructural issues such as artists’ salaries and hierarchies involved in curatorial decisions, the curators have used the title as a working method rather than a theme. Is there such a thing as ‘fair treatment’ in a biennial context and if so, what might this mean?
In the context of a Nordic Biennial the term Favoured Nations also points to ideas often associated with Nordic countries – the belief that artists from this region of economic prosperity enjoy privileged treatment, a life filled with opportunities, grants and, we are often told, salaries to be an artist. The curators have made a decision to work with artists they have come across during their research trips in the five Nordic countries – Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland as well as Nordic ‘satellites’ (Berlin, London, New York) – cities which are home to many artists from the region.
Curators 2009
Lina Dzuverovic is the founding Director of ELECTRA, a London-based contemporary art agency established in 2003. Selected projects include: ’27 Senses’, Kunstmuseet KUBE, Norway (2009), ‘Art Now Live’ (Tate Britain, 2007), ‘Her Noise’ (South London Gallery, 2005), ‘Sound & Twentieth Century Avant Garde’ (Tate Modern, 2004/05). Formerly Lina was Media Arts Curator at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts and prior to this she worked for The Lux Centre for Film and Video and Pandaemonium Festival of Moving Images. Lina was named 2006 Decibel Mid-Career Curatorial Fellow by Arts Council England.
Stina Högkvist is an art historian and has been working as a curator of Contemporary Art at the National Museum of Art Architecture and Design in Oslo, Norway since 2004. During 2001-2003 she founded and ran the non-profit gallery Simon Says in Stockholm, together with Marianne Zamecznik. In 2009 she curated “Hypocrisy: the site specificity of morality” together with Koyo Kouoh. The latest project was an exhibition with assume vivid astro focus, titled “affektert veggmaleri akselererende faenskap”, that she curated together with Geir Haraldseth. She is also working on a research project at the museum titled “Dark secrets: representations of Africa in the museum collection”.
Join us at the opening ceremony!
The exhibition opening takes place on Saturday, 29 August at 2 pm at Momentum Kunsthall and continues with a garden party at Galleri F 15 from 6 pm with drinks, canapés, an inauguration of Into the Firmament by Àsmundur Àsmundsson (IC) and music by DJ Simon Russell (UK) and Querteto Habana (NO).
About Momentum
Previous Momentums have been curated by Lars Bang Larsen, Daniel Birnbaum and Atle Gerhardsen (Pakkhus, 1998), Jonas Ekeberg, Paula Toppila, Jacob Fabricius and Ina Blom (Park, 2000), Caroline Corbetta and Per Gunnar Tverbakk (Momentum 2004) and Anette Kierulf and Mark Sladen (Try Again, Fail Again, Fail Better, 2006).
With thanks to Electra!
Contact: info@momentum.no
