The development corporation Bjørvika Utvikling AS and the City of Oslo's Agency for Planning and Building Services cordially invite the public to attend the open seminar:

What Are the Roles of Art in the Urban Development Process?

Bjørvika is one of the most important urban development projects in Norwegian history. The redeveloped Bjørvika area is the result of several initiatives, such as the rerouting of the E-18 highway through a sunken tunnel, the transfer of the port installations and the City’s decision to build the opera house in this new city district. Their purpose has been to rationalize the infrastructure and to allow for a redesigning of the capital’s urban space. We are looking at an entire district that will be designed according to coordinated guidelines. One main principle is to utilize traditional Norwegian urban figures, such as "the allmenning", to accentuate the capital's new landscape.

In our times, there are clear connections between urban development and a focus on art. In Bjørvika, this will take the form of commissions that provide the artists with funds and access to public spaces. Such initiatives often involve the expectation that the artwork will confer an identity to the locality while also having a unifying function, i.e. promoting values to which everybody can agree.

The Bjørvika development represents a new beginning and a departure from everything the area once was. The artworks are intended to generate attention and enliven a context that still only exists as an idea. At what stage in the process and how should the encounters between artists, developers, architects and contractors occur? Can the artworks be part of the development of a new neighborhood and still function on their own terms? What is the extent of artistic freedom in such situations, and what is the role and function of art?

The city regulation plan for Bjørvika includes a design manual, a cultural activities program and an environmental program. The design manual expands upon the quality requirements established in the regulation provisions for the designing of urban spaces and streetscapes in Bjørvika. Individual booklets elaborate on the main themes addressed in the design manual. These publications have been prepared by Bjørvika Utvikling AS, a development corporation founded by the landowners in the area. Four booklets have been published to date: Urban Spaces and Streetscapes; Lighting; Buildings; Street Furniture and Equipment. The final pamphlet will be dedicated to the topic of art.
Bjørvika Utvikling AS has organized a work group charged with the preparation of this guide on art in Bjørvika. It is in the context of these efforts that the work group extends this invitation to an open seminar. Our objective is to engender a public discussion on the principal issues surrounding the coupling of art and urban development.

The work group consists of Per Gunnar Tverbakk, Tone Hansen, Marius Grønning, Anne Beate Hovind/Bjørvika Utvikling A/S og Therese Staal Brekke.

Speakers:
Riccardo Caldura (Italy), a professor at the Fine Art Academy of Venice, has been active as a curator since 1990. In recent years, he has organized several projects in Venice focusing on the relationship between contemporary art and urban space.

Per Hasselberg/Kunsthall C (Sweden) is a visual artist. He lives and works in the Stockholm metropolitan area. His artistic practice is based on and explores conceptual ideas underlying architecture and community planning. Hasselberg was the initiator of the Kunsthall C arts center in Hökarëngen in 2003.

Astrid Wege/European Kunsthalle (Germany) in Cologne was founded in 2005 by the activist group Das Lock in direct reaction to the demolition of the publicly funded arts center. It is defined as a nomadic institution that can enter into collaborations with several local and international institutions.

Stefan Schröder (Germany/Norway) is trained in construction engineering and has studied fine arts in Germany and the Netherlands. He is active as an artist, project organizer, curator and workshop manager focusing on projects in or related to public spaces.