May 28, 2016, 10:30am
David Mitchell will hand over the 2016 manuscript for Future Library on Saturday, May 28. His contribution to the project will be celebrated in a special two-part event: a public walk through the Future Library forest in Oslo and an in-conversation with the artist Katie Paterson held in the Deichmanske Library. Both events are free and open to all. We hope you will join us.
The multi-award winning British novelist David Mitchell is the second writer to contribute to Future Library. Future Library is a public artwork by Scottish artist Katie Paterson that will unfold over 100 years in the city of Oslo, Norway. Of the artwork David Mitchell says,
“The Future Library project is, and will be, many things to many people, but for me it’s a vote of confidence in the future of culture. The project is a declaration of belief that, one century from now, despite the threats to civilisation posed by climate change and its deniers, by racist demagogues and by death-cultists, our great-grandchildren will still value trees, books, reading and narrative.”
A thousand trees have been planted in Nordmarka, a forest just outside Oslo, which will supply paper for a special anthology of books to be printed in 100 years time. Between now and then, one writer every year will contribute a text, with the writings held in trust, unpublished, until 2114. Tending the forest and ensuring its preservation for the 100-year duration of the artwork finds a conceptual counterpoint in the invitation extended to each writer: to conceive and produce a work in the hope of finding a receptive reader in an unknown future.
To learn more about the Future Library visit our website.
Read Lisa Le Feuvre’s new essay, The Time of an Artwork.
Watch an exclusive new interview with David Mitchell
Program
Future Library Forest
David Mitchell will hand over the 2016 manuscript for Future Library, and participate in a public walk through the forest, where he will give a reading. Meet at Frognerseteren station, Nordmarka at 10:30am. The walk will take approximately 30 minutes in each direction, and the group will return to the station at around 12:30pm. The Future Library forest coordinates are 59°59’10.0” N10°41’48.6” E. View Googlemap. Download the map. Please dress for a walk in the woods and bring a cup with you. Coffee will be served.
Deichmanske Library
An in-conversation with David Mitchell and Katie Paterson will be held in the Deichmanske Library, Oslo at 3pm. The talk is moderated by The Wire’s Anne Hilde Neset. Both events are open to all, and free of charge.
Katie Paterson, Future Library, 2014–2114, Oslo
Conceived by Katie Paterson, Future Library is commissioned and produced by Bjørvika Utvikling, and managed by the Future Library Trust. Supported by the City of Oslo, Agency for Cultural Affairs and Agency for Urban Environment.
Press contact: Anne Beate Hovind, Chair of the Future Library Trust, Project Director, Bjørvika Utvikling
T +47(0)909 42528 / anne.beate.hovind [at] bjorvikautvikling.no
