How can we understand, read and talk about the city? Østfold Internasjonale Teater and Alexandros Mistriotis invite you to the event series Samtaler om byforståelse – conversations on Urban Literacy.

Cities are becoming more and more important, as they become more complex, with the result that it is ever more difficult to participate in their evolution. How do we talk about the buidling blocks of the city without limiting the discussion?

ØIT and Alexandros Mistriotis are initiating Samtaler om byforståelse, an exploratory program about Urban Literacy. ØITs Urban Literacy program is a part of Alexandros Mistriotis artistic project The Reception (premiering in Fredrikstad June 2024), the urban walk whereby we invite the inhabitants of Fredrikstad to be travellers in their own city.

The research and development activities that contribute to the creation of The Reception and the Urban Literacy program are all elements of a larger undertaking with the goal of better understanding our cities and how we may participate in their development. The underlying premise is that Fredrikstad – as indeed every place – is the centre of the world. Can we talk about this?

Urban Literacy vol. 1: Understanding the City

Vol. 1 will begin a process which will investigate possible models and platforms that the Urban Literacy program can utilize. With a diverse group of special guests we will begin the evening with a couple short presentations. These will set the table for an open dialogue where everyone present is welcome to contribute. As part of the conversation we will have the possibility to use objects, to draw, or other alternative methods to illustrate the questions and ideas that are shared.

ØIT specializes in creating and presenting art in public space that engages society at many different levels, and in many different phases of the process(es) of research, creative development, and implementation. The meetings between artistic practices and other practices often generate constructive insights and strategies that are useful across disciplines. We would like to invite more people – with specialists and non- specialists to join these conversations, to contribute to a mutual understanding and enrichment.

The results of this first event will contribute to the design of the following two Urban Literacy events, coming up August 20th and September 17th.

Key participants

• Erling Gunnufsen, City planner, Fredrikstad kommune
• Anne-Kristine Kronborg, Architecture historian, Associate professor NMBU Department Urban and Regional Planning.
• Marius Grønning, Urbanist, Associate professor NMBU, ØIT Associate Citizen for (UN)COMMON SPACES
• Stine Ferguson, previous City center leader in Fredrikstad 2014–2017
• Alexandros Mistriotis, Artist, The Reception
• James Moore, curator-producer Østfold Internasjonale Teater

More:

>> Artistic Acupuncture – using creative methods in urban development
>> In Search of Democracy 3.0; Drawing ideas for Future Fredrikstad
>> Uncovering lost meaning: The Reception in Moss i 2020