We are very pleased to share with you a new audio-walk, the outcome of an October 2021 collaboration between artist Floortje Zonneveld and the students of the Svalbard Folkehøgskole. 


The Slow Adventure is an exploration into the world we live in and an ongoing collective artistic research project. It raises a dialog that illuminates the landscape and gives insight into the nature of our surroundings. Collaborating with young people, the various workshops and site-specific experiments are designed to open up the senses (touch, sound, vision, smell), igniting curiosity and inspiring moments of discovery.

To learn more about the project visit https://www.articasvalbard.no/projects/the-slow-adventure-a-year-without-trees

We are pleased to share a new podcast episode recorded with current resident Sanaa Aoun.

Sanaa was joined in conversation with Longyearbyen Parish priest, Siv S. Limstrand and translator Rim Ibrahim. Their discussion covers Sanaa’s work, her time in Norway as a Free City author from Damascus, Syria and her experiences of Longyearbyen. 

Sanaa also shares readings from her recent work in Arabic.

The podcast is in Norwegian and translated by Rim Ibrahim

Siv S. Limstrand, Parish priest on Svalbard since 2019. Siv previously worked at the Lutheran World Federation in Geneve, she was a student priest at NTNU and HiST in Trondheim for several years, working with people affected by HIV/AIDS in mid-Norway. Limstrand also worked as a Street priest for the Church City Mission in Trondheim and was responsible for Our Lady’s church - the Trondheim city open care church.

For Siv Svalbard is a point of extension - in life and geographically. Located on top of the world, connected, but far away. A place that gives views and perspective, meaning and challenges, that invites new joys and exploration of the fearsome. 

Sanaa Aoun is an author and teacher from Damascus, Syria and came to Tromsø, Norway as a free city author in 2016. Aoun has published two collections of short stories in Arabic, Red Lifelines (2007) and To Where the Compass Points (2018), and continues to be a regular contributor to Arabic online newspapers. In Norwegian, her texts have been published in Klassekampen and in the anthology For Folk Flest (2017). In June 2018, her monologue A Half Woman was performed at Hålogaland Theater. Several of her texts have been translated into English and German. 

Sanaa Aoun was nominated by Norsk Pen for a residency at Artica in June 2021.

Ole Robert Sunde besøkte Svalbard for første gang i 2018 hvor han hadde et to måneders langt opphold som artist in residence på Artica Svalbard.

Under sitt andre opphold på Svalbard så holder en forfatterkveld på Longyearbyen folkebibliotek hvor han vil snakke om sine erfaringer og opplevelser på Svalbard.

Deriblant vil han vil lese et essay han har skrevet etterfulgt av en samtale med Lars Holt.

Sunde er nominert til sitt opphold hos Artica Svalbard av vår key partner Norsk Pen.

Kristin Mork is talking with poet Montaser Hassan about his authorship. We will also hear som of his poems both in Arabic and translated into English.

About Montaser:

Based in Trondheim, Montaser Hassan is an Egyptian poet and author. Hassan has published several poertry collections, among them Thamat Ashiaa lan yogrebha (2012) and Huroob wa Haza'em (2004). His Poems have been published all over the world ranging from Dubai Cultural to Mina Magazine.

Hassan has participated in several literature festivals in Norway and abroad (Lillehammer literature festical, Grenada international poetry festival, Voix vois in Sete).

Hassan is an Artist in Residence at Artica Svalbard nominated by Key Partner Norsk PEN See less

Journalist Line Ylvisåker i samtale med grafikeren Julie Ebbing.

Ebbing er i residens på Artica Svalbard nominert av vår Key Partner Queen Sonja Print Award. Samtalen dreier seg om hennes opphold på Svalbard og kunsten hennes.

Forfattersamtale med Alena Kazlova by Artica Svalbard

Benedicte Meyer Kroneberg var på besøk hos Longyearbyen folkebibliotek.

Boka "Der det brenner" finner sted i Singapore og forfatteren leser utdrag og forteller om kvinners liv på krisesenter i Singapore.

Hennes neste bok "Ikke bli borte" kommer ut i april og handler om en stormfull dag i London, begge bøker har et klimaperspektiv og utforsker ulike typer ansvar, både globalt og i nære relasjoner.

Meyer Kroneberg arbeider i skriversidens hos Artica Svalbard nominert av Key partner Norsk Pen hvor hun arbeider med den tredje boken i triologien.

Samtale mellom forfatter Ole Robert Sunde og biblioteksjef Elin Anita Sunde fra Longyearbyen bibliotek. Opptaket ble gjort torsdag 22/11.

Artica Svalbards Key Partner Norsk PEN er opptatt av åpenhet og ytringskultur. En bekymring som ligger til grunn for dette arrangementet er at norske politikere viker unna for å diskutere endring i sikkerhetspolitikken på en åpen og ærlig måte. Innebærer såkalte rullerende systemer med tropper på norsk jord i praksis en endring av norsk basepolitikk? Hvor involvert er norsk etterretning i USAs geopolitiske strategi?

Bård Wormdals bøker Satelittkrigen og Spionbasen illustrerer disse spørsmålene på en god måte og vil bli gjenstand for debatt. Wormdal hevder i sine bøker at norsk offentlighet har blitt ført bak lyset om hvilken sentral rolle satelittnedlastningsstasjonen på Svalbard og radaranlegget i Vardø spiller i USAs etterretning.

Varsleren Edward Snowden har avslørt at Wormdal har noen gode poenger. Dette og mange andre viktige spørsmål vil bli belyst på debattmøte.

English:

Do we need a more open debate about the challenges and dilemmas created by Norwegian security policy?

Artica Svalbard´s Key Partner Norwegian PEN believes strongly in transparency and a culture of free speech. One of the concerns that provides the backdrop to this event is that Norwegian politicians are reluctant to discuss changes to security policy openly and honestly. Do so-called rotational deployments of troops on Norwegian soil in practice represent a change to Norwegian policy on foreign military bases? How strongly involved is the Norwegian Intelligence Service in the United States’ geopolitical strategy?

Bård Wormdal’s books The Satellite War and Spy Base, which highlight these issues well, will be discussed. In his books, Wormdal claims that the Norwegian public has been deceived about how important the Svalbard Satellite Station and the radar station in Vardø are to US intelligence activities.

The revelations of the whistleblower Edward Snowden show that Wormdal makes some good points. This issue is one of many important questions that our debate will put the spotlight on.