Open Competition: Artists for KUNSTKANTEN, a new and unique outdoor exhibition arena in Bodø

OPEN COMPETITION

The Norwegian Sculptors Society (Norsk Billedhoggerforening), Bodø2024 and Bodø Municipality seek five artists for KUNSTKANTEN: a new and unique outdoor exhibition arena in Bodø. In 2024 we will establish five art spots – platforms for art – that enter into dialogue with a city and a society undergoing change.

Bodø has for 70 years shared space with the military air base Bodø Main Air Station. The city has developed along the shoreline, with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. Bodø is constantly on the move, and there will be big changes in the next decade. When the military air base closes, a new part of the city, and the Bodø of the future, will be developed. KUNSTKANTEN extends along historical and social lines: from prehistoric memories, through the city’s establishment, to reconstruction after the Second World War and recent times as ‘aeroplane city’ Bodø. KUNSTKANTEN gives artists an opportunity to engage in a dialogue about urban development, social development and identity.

KUNSTKANTEN is a unique investment in art in public space. Fresh funds have been made available in order for art to play a key role in the city’s history of change.

THE COMPETITION’S FORM

The project provides financial support for five new works that will be installed in September 2024. To participate in the competition, please send sketches and a project description explaining details in the realisation of your project. Each contestant can send a maximum of three proposals for new works. Production funding is 350,000 Norwegian kroner (NOK) for each of the five selected works. We also pay 50,000 NOK in remuneration per work for the exhibition period, which is two years. The artworks remain the property of the artists. KUNSTKANTEN is part of the programme for Bodø as a European Capital of Culture in 2024.

COMPETITION CONDITIONS

• Your competition proposal must take the form of a sketch. See below for more information on sketch requirements.
• The proposal must relate to Bodø by being linked, in one way or another, to the city’s expansion and history of change.
• Five locations on the city’s coastal path are currently being established. All the locations, except Molorota, will have a foundation of concrete modules (4 x 4 m), either flush with the ground level or 10–20 cm above it.
• The concrete modules mark the outdoor exhibition spaces and provide an even platform on which to mount the artworks. The artworks nevertheless need not be limited by the platform size; they can extend beyond it and/or be situated on an edge or corner or to the side of the platform, but then, in one form or another, in dialogue with it. If a work extends beyond the platform by more than 2m in each direction, or if it requires an intervention in the surrounding nature, this must be clarified in advance and approved by the jury. The locations for the sculptures will be pre-approved by the municipality for a sculpture size of up to 6 x 6 m.
• You can apply to have your sculpture placed at a specific location, or you can let the choice remain open. The jury can choose to assign you a different location than the one you request.
• Applicants commit themselves to completing the work and having it ready for mounting in Bodø by 12 August 2024.
• The works remain the property of the artists, but during the exhibition period, possible sales will be handled by the Norwegian Sculptors Society.
• All works must have a permanent character and tolerate being outdoors for at least two years.
• There is no possibility to mount works that require electricity or water, or works that include sound.
• KUNSTKANTEN will be accessible to the public 24 hours a day and in all kinds of weather. The concrete modules are suitable for all artistic expressions that tolerate this level of accessibility.
• Contact us if you have questions about any possible limitations.

SKETCH REQUIREMENTS

• Sketch, with the project description. There is no possibility to submit a 3D-model.
• Description of materials (the work must be able to stand outdoors for a minimum of two years).
• Budget
• Plan for how you will carry out the project

The sketch should show the work in the correct scale, placed on or in relation to a 4 x 4 m concrete platform. If you want the work to extend beyond the concrete platform, make a sketch showing its placement in relation to the landscape/the ground at the chosen location for the sculpture. The sketch can also visualise the sculpture’s placement in the selected location, but this is not a requirement.

BACKGROUND

Bodø is an attractive place for people, animals, aeroplanes and birds. Traces of human habitation have been found which date back to the late Stone Age. By about 1900, approximately 5,000 people lived in Bodø. Large parts of the city were bombed during the Second World War, but by 1952 they were rebuilt as NATO’s most northern air force base. About half of Bodø’s peninsula was cordoned off and earmarked for military NATO preparedness. In 2012 Norway’s parliament resolved to shut down the air base, and in January 2022 the operative base closed.

Today about 50,000 people live in Bodø. Easy access to the coast and air space have transformed the city into a modern transportation hub, with infrastructure and people moving in all directions. Bodø’s peninsula will soon return to civilian use. Bodø is once again in a position of tension between the past and the present.

During the next 50 to 100 years the city will gain a new district, and there are high ambitions for smart ‘green’ solutions. Good preconditions exist for technologically sustainable development, in an area with access to ecologically-grown goods and renewable energy. In 2024 Bodø will be a European Capital of Culture, the aim of which is to bring Europe’s population together through the means of art and culture. The project is called Bodø2024 – ARCTICulation. Bodø2024 wants to help raise questions and create dialogue about the identity of the city and its inhabitants in the renewal process now underway. The city’s boundaries will once again move. The landscape will be transformed. Areas where nature has been in control will be lost, and new neighbourhoods and environments will emerge. Art is now invited to play a role in the city’s history of change.

More information follows in the competition programme (see the link at the bottom of the page).

JURY

The jury will consist of representatives appointed by:

Bodø2024
Bodø Municipality
The art society Bodø kunstforening
North Norwegian Art Centre
The Norwegian Sculptors Society

The Norwegian Sculptors Society will function as the jury’s secretary. The assignment will be carried out in accordance with the Norwegian Sculptors Society’s competition rules.

IMPORTANT DATES/DEADLINES

16 MAY 2023. The open call is announced.
14 JUNE 2023. Presentation of the exhibition area for competition applicants (Travel expenses are not covered). Registration by e-mail required: nbf@skulptur.no.
15 SEP. 2023. Deadline for submitting proposals.
25 AUG. 2023. We announce the winners and the allotment of sculpture locations.
06 SEP. 2023. Presentation of the sculpture locations for the selected artists (paid travel).
2 AUG. 2024 Deadline for delivery in Bodø of the finished artworks.
14 SEP. 2024. Opening event (paid travel).

MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY

Click here to see the original competition posting.

For more information on the competition programme, click here.

To apply, click here.