Newsletter JUNE '26

Heia,

Summer’s eating up Europe and I hope everyone finds a nice bit of shade and reprieve during this ongoing heatwave. This newsletter includes a recap of a couple of events I’ve been part of this month, an upcoming film night at PODIUM and a recommendation by the ever-so-lovely filmmaker and friend Armita Keyani.

As always: Any and all responses are welcome through replies to this mail. And you can opt out of receiving them at the bottom.

And lastly, per the footer in these emails, I’ll reiterate the wish for a riotous Pride month and hope to see a few of you out on the streets in Oslo this weekend!

RECAP: Premiere at The Norwegian Short Film Festival and performance at Kunstdøgnet

This was an eventful month, both with premiering the new short film RESEMBLING A BODY (Det likner en kropp) at The Norwegian Short Film Festival and presenting the new performance ‘Røde manøvre V’ in Stavanger.

We finally got to premiere the new short film RESEMBLING A BODY in Grimstad, which I’ve written, directed alongside Sverre Matias Smith, and acted in with Joakim Nesvik and Sunniva Sætereng. The film is produced by Skissefilm, with co-conspirators Johanna Nyström and Iggy Augunset.

It was a joy to be at the festival with a film this year, partly because I’ve never been to Grimstad before and mostly because I got to spend time with amazing colleagues and friends related to the production, Skissefilm and beyond in the film scene. Thank you to everyone who’s been a part of the project, from script read-throughs, long hours and all the way to distribution assistance. New screenings of the film will be announced in the next newsletter!

More info about the movie and credits:
https://verbalkunstfilm.com/Resembling-a-Body

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A week earlier, ‘Røde manøvre V’ was part of an event curated by the duo Koffi & Højgaard for Stavanger municipality, as part of their anniversary program. ‘Kunstdøgnet’ consisted of 24 hours of art, mostly performance and intervention works, presented in various public spaces throughout the city. My piece took place in the evening at Stavanger domkirke, as well as performances by artists Nils Bech and Siri Borge.

A huge thank you to Josefine Gynther Craig for the good vibes, coordination and communication, and a big kudos to the whole curatorial team for pulling off a really ambitious programme over both daytime and nighttime hours, spread out over so many locations!

‘Røde manøvre V’ was a collaboration with two other artists: Tromsø-based Grusha Pankert (electric violin and beatmaking) and Oslo-based Vilde Jensen (costume). Thanks to Jo Mikkel Sjaastad Huse for the lighting rig.

More info on the event:
https://www.stavanger.kommune.no/kultur-og-fritid/kultur/kunst-i-offentlige-rom2/der-vi-motes---kunst-i-uterom2/kunstdogn/

Introduction and screening at MIND EATER Festival

I’m invited by Louis Schou-Hansen and Runa Skolseg to screen film/s of choice at the artist-run festival MIND EATER in Oslo. On August 6th at PODIUM, there’ll be a free movie night consisting of Dani and Sheila ReStack’s video works under the umbrella ‘Feral Domesticity’. This series of radically charged, experimental videos continue to confront and inspire with unflinching depictions of the duo’s family structure, presented in haphazard edits, rituals, documentary and fictions.

Hope to see you there, or otherwise at MIND EATER!

About MIND EATER:
“MIND EATER is an Oslo-based, artist-run, non-institutional festival primarily dedicated to emerging artists, critical thinkers and performative practices. The second edition will take place from August 6–9, 2025, at UKS – Young Artists' Society and PODIUM.

The festival features a two-part program: A public performance program consisting of interdisciplinary artists working across performative formats, and a discursive program including lectures, workshops, and screenings by theorists, critics, and artists.

With MIND EATER, we aim to present works that explore frictions, deviant imaginaries, and desire, while critically engaging with our contemporary cultural conditions. Queer in nature and grounded in embodied practices, MIND EATER seeks to become a steamy meeting point for artistic inquiry, un-worlding, and critical reflection.”

MIND EATER Festival
6-9th of August
Movie night at PODIUM on the 6th of August, 8PM

More info:
https://www.mindeater.no/

Last weekend of Vårutstillingen 2026

It was a real joy to be at the opening of the Spring Exhibition last month and to celebrate wonderful works by the nine selected artists of this year’s edition. This weekend will be the last chance for those stopping by Oslo to catch the show, so don’t miss it!

Thank you to all artists, Ane Sund Sjøvold at Forbundet Frie Fotografer (FFF) and technician Finlay Hall for great work during the installation period.

And congratulations to Henrik Follesø Egeland with the BKH Photography Prize!
You can read more about it here (Norwegian article):
https://kunstfond.no/aktuelt/fotokunstprisen-2026-tildeles-henrik-folleso-egeland

About this year’s Vårutstilling:
“For the 45th time in 50 years, the doors have opened for The Spring Exhibition (Vårutstillingen), one of Norway’s most significant arenas for camera-based art. This year’s edition presents a multifaceted selection of both technique and content, reflecting a distinct interest in the intimate and the immediate in a turbulent world.

This year’s jury evaluated an exceptionally strong pool of more than 200 applicants. The selected artists distinguish themselves through high-quality and insightful ways of exploring an increasingly complex visual reality.

For most of us, daily life is mediated through images. This raises ethical questions regarding both politics and our collective understanding of reality. In this landscape, this year’s artists seek out the fundamental and the intimate. Through photography, film, sculpture, and installation, they explore themes such as kinship, craftsmanship, and the everyday with depth and complexity—the exhibition centres on human experiences and how they shape our perception of the world.

This year’s participating artists:
Henrik Follesø Egeland
Emma Lomell
Joanna Chia-yu Lin
Johanne Nyborg
Greg Pope
Sakib Saboor
Dan Skjæveland
Christian Tunge
Jostein Venås

This year’s jury consisted of Hamid Waheed (Jury Chair), Trine Stephensen, and Åsne Eldøy.”

This year’s BKH award jury consisted of: Nina Strand (representative of Kritikerlaget), Jenny Rydhagen (representative of Forbundet Frie Fotografer) and Hamid Waheed (representative of the Spring Exhibition jury)

Vårutstillingen
28th of May - 29th of June

More info:
https://www.fffotografer.no/varutstillingen

ARMITA KEYANI recommends!

In this column, I invite someone I know to make a recommendation. It can be anything really, whether a piece of media, an experience or something else entirely.

Armita Keyani (b.1990, Norway) is a filmmaker based in Oslo. Her short films are often comedy-dramas with unusual and bizarre situations that explore larger themes, and have screened at film festivals such as Tribeca Film Festival, Palm Springs, Chicago and The Norwegian Short Film Festival. She's currently developing a new short film and writing her first feature. In her work she enjoys challenging the idea of us vs them, social norms and how we perceive each other.

Armita:

"They say “Nothing in life is free!” but I say “Hang on, have you heard of PlutoTv, Le Cinema Club, Rakuten and Plex?!” Okay, I've never had that conversation, but the truth is we tend to forget that there are many free legal ways to watch films and shows. Have you still not watched Carol? (well it's on Rakuten) Or maybe you're itching to watch Nathan for You? (PlutoTv) - very Andy Kaufman-esque. Or do you want to check out The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)? A zany charming little romp that's basically the OG Undercover Boss but pro-union and somewhat anti-capitalist (on Plex). Or The Florida Project or Paris Texas (PlutoTv)?

“No, I don't want ads! I want something ad-free and curated, curated I say!” Let’s just calm down, because Le Cinema Club is then a must, one of the coolest recs I've gotten so I'm passing it on here. Every week they curate a feature or a short, with a text about the work (gems like Cinemania and I hate myself:) have been on there). 

I as many have a mild to moderate case of subscription addiction, but knowing that these spaces make great films/shows more accessible and free, especially some obscure ones, brings me much joy and I hope it brings you some joy too!”

All the best.

a queer and riotous pride month
azaadi wishes for
Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Kashmir, Iran, Ukraine
and all the peoples globally
fighting colonialism, fascism or imperialism