With KunstFest vol. 5: Artivism, ØIT and a dream team of international artists invite you to an evening all about art and activism.

The event is sold out, but some additional tickets (50,-) for the last part of the program will be available on site from 21:00!

Artivism = art + activism. Artivism could be explained as using art as a protest or to raise awareness about societal challenges, often of global concern. In parallel with declining trust in existing social systems internationally, this form of expression has become increasingly common in recent years.

«This passion has all the ingredients of activism, but is charged with the wild creations of art. Artivism—where edges are pushed, imagination is freed, and a new language emerges altogether..»
Eve Ensler

In a globalized world, we face common problems that require common solutions. Creative expressions can both point to what is not working in our way of organizing the world and to alternative ways of thinking. Artivism is about taking social responsibility and engaging with society in a creative way.

At this fifth KunstFest at Østfold International Theatre, you will meet international artists who do just that.

18:00
Direct Action Theatre
Serve and Protect – an audiovisual dance performance

Direct Action Theatre (D.A.T.) is an international performance group working in the intersection of art and activism. The stage version of their performance Serve and Protect will have its world premiere at KunstFest!

Their work ranges from interventions in public space to performances and exhibitions in theatres and galleries. Playing with symbolic values is used as a powerful tool in D.A.T.’s interventions, which often adress current socio-political or environmental issues.

In the series entitled Serve and Protect, which is a variation on the motto of the North American police, D.A.T. uses riot police uniforms as its main visual and symbolic material. By placing the uniforms in absurd or unusual situations, the artists playfully question power relations. The group states that their aim and purpose is to “serve and protect the people, nature, joy, beauty and life itself”.

The performance Serve and Protect shown during KunstFest vol. 5 is a culmination of the series of the same name. Based on D.A.T.’s public interventions, the performance will twist the traditional power roles in society. Working with the energy of violence and protest, the group will touch on themes such as environmental sadness, war, uniformity and mass brutality. But, audiences can expect to see the deeply human behind the uniforms and serious themes.

-You may laugh, get angry or cry: The full experience of being alive on this planet, says D.A.T.

Read more at oit.no/produksjon/direct-action-theatre/
D.A.T. on Instagram: instagram.com/directactiontheatre/

20:00
Panel session

There will be a panel session with the participating artists, moderated by Emma Arnold. Arnold is a social scientist and artist who currently leads The Institute of Art & Enviroment, an independent research institute exploring the connections between art, climate change and public space. She will also give an introduction to artivism.
https://www.emmaarnold.org/

22:00
Rosemary Loves A Blackberry

Rosemary Loves a Blackberry is the solo project of artist and activist Diana Burkot: A multigenre project focusing on music, without formal or stylistic limitations.

Burkot first became known to a Norwegian audience through legendary Pussy Riot . From 2011, the art collective caused a furor both in and outside Russia with their guerrilla performances. Dressed as feminist superheroes in colourful balaclavas, they loudly protested against reactionary leaders, Putin’s ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, and later against Trump. Since then, the collective has somewhat changed genre, but is still very much active.

In parallel, Burkot has established herself as a solo artist with an impressive track record, both musically and academically. As well as a bachelor’s degrees in public relations and jazz, she has completed a master’s degree in contemporary art with an emphasis on multimedia at the University of Moscow, and is currently working on a European master’s degree in music at the University of Reykjavik. In 2023 she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters at the University of Kent.

Rosemary Loves a Blackberry’s fourth album, +4, was released in February 2022 and is described as “A hybrid of electronics and academic instruments – cello, violin, piano, flute, trumpet. […] a soundtrack to creepy but dreamy fairytail” (bandcomp.com).

youtube.com/@rosemarylovesablackberry

17:10, 21:10, 21:57
Thomas Østbye:
Civil Disobidience (film)

Thomas Østbye will screen his documentary film “Sivil ulydighet” (Civil Disobidience).

Østbye is a documentary film maker who has been nominated for and won numerous Norwegian and international awards. He runs his own production company, PlymSerafin, and is known for original documentaries that deal with contemporary political dilemmas. In 2021, he premiered Enhver har rett til, which provides a unique insight into Norway’s first climate lawsuit. The sequel Civil Disobedience is an intense and empathetic snapshot of the fight to stop Norwegian CO2 emissions. The film inquiers: What is driving ordinary people across generations to engage in the climate fight and defy powerful forces in the fossil fuel society?

Other films by Østbye include Imagining Emanuel, HUMAN and In your dreams, which have been purchased by the Arts Council of Norway and screened at NRK and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In addition to documentary film, Thomas works with photography and installation art. He has worked with performing arts institutions on several occasions, including De elendige, a co-production between Teater Innlandet and Artilleriet Produksjoner in 2018. During the corona lockdown in 2020-2021, he produced Tyngde – a film poem, later released in revised versions as Tyngde and Første stemme, in collaboration with Østfold International Theatre.

https://www.plymserafin.com/about/

DJ Bjørn

DJ Bjørn (Otten) will spin records from Turkey, the Levant, North Africa, East Africa, West Africa and East Asia!

Artists and contributors

Diana Burkot
Thomas Østbye
Direct Action Theatre with
Jan Hajdelak Husták
Nela H. Kornetová
Øystein Elle
Ellen Røhr-Staff
Björn Honsson
Arnt Christian Hellum Teigen
Per Magnus Barlaug
Guillermo John Magno
Mohammed Elyas Lehry
Daniel Halvoník
Annalisa Dal Pra
Kristin Honsson
Trymm Flike
Henrik Olsson
Serafina Wexels-Moore
Amelia Oliver 

Producer: Malin Østli
Poster: Vegar Bakken, Page Black

Sponsored by: Direct Action Theatre har received support from T.I.T.S. Performance Group, Projektor Pøblene, Grenland Friteater, Østfold International Teater, Nová Síť, EEA Grants, Kulturrådet, Kulturkontakt Nord, Performing Arts Hub Norway.