The event is free and open to everyone. We still appreciate if you sign up in advance, so we get an overview of how many people are coming.
Seminar and workshop on non-institutional approaches to art in public space.
How do we change the city creatively? Street artists, graffiti writers and art activists transform the city every day through their creative actions. These art forms continue to elude precise definitions, are constantly evolving and remain the subject of lively public debate.
Street art and graffiti are often located in the physical spaces of the city, and consistently between changing social, cultural and political spaces. By bringing together academics, artists, practitioners and the public, this event aims to create a better understanding of the conditions that make street art and graffiti happen… or not happen.
Based on Oslo's action plan for street art (2016-2020; 2022-25), the seminar examines how art makes (and takes!) a place in the city. We will hear from experts about the contradictions and possibilities of politics; learn about the practical side from artists and organisers; and involve the public in a workshop that looks at how they can creatively change the city.
The seminar is suitable for anyone with an interest in street art, graffiti and non-institutional approaches to art in public spaces, and is part of the program for Løkka-Lykke gatekunstfest - Oslo's first annual street art festival. It will include lectures by Dr. Emma Arnold (University of Oslo), James Finucane (Street Art Oslo), Laima Nomeikaite (Roskilde, University and University of Southeast Norway), and workshops led by artists and experts from Oslo's street art and graffiti environment.
The seminar is held in English. Light refreshments will be provided.
Welcome!
0830-0900 Registration and coffee
0900-0905 Welcome
0905-0910 Opening words from Omar Samy Gamal (Byråd for kultur, idrett og frivillighet)
0915-0945 Emma Arnold: ‘Changing approaches to graffiti and street art in Oslo, and why it matters’
Emma Arnold (PhD) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and leader of the creative laboratory LAX LAB at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo. Using creative methods, Emma has over ten years of experience researching the arts of urban transformation. She has studied zero tolerance policy against graffiti and the new Street Art Action Plan in Oslo, the problematics of outdoor advertising, and the artful civil disobedience of urban climate activism.
0945-1015 James Finucane: ‘“Do you have permission to do that?” An introduction to street art & graffiti working practices’
James Finucane is a writer, curator, producer, gallerist and artist specializing in street, graffiti and outsider art. He is the founder and creative director of Street Art Oslo and Løkka-Lykke gatekunstfest, and co-founder of Subvertising Norway, a non-profit collective of artists, activists and designers dedicated to questioning who has the power and authority to communicate messages and create meaning in public space.
1015-1030 Coffee
1030-1100 Laima Nomeikaite: ‘Street art as heritage – legal and illegal paradoxes’
Laima Nomeikaite is a human geographer and currently PhD candidate in cultural studies at Roskilde University in Denmark and University of South-Eastern Norway. Her research interests center on the interplay between arts, street art, heritage, city and space/place. In recent years she has worked on a variety of projects related to culture, heritage research and urban planning. Together with her friends she has led the festival ‘Matgilde mot Hungersnød’ (Feast against Famine) for several years in Bergen. Nomeikaite engages actively in political art and city debates through artistic, popular and scientific expressions.
1100-1200 Lunch
1200-1300 Workshop on how to creatively change the city
Participants will work together to plan a street art project with the guidance of experts from Oslo’s street art and graffiti environment. Workshop groups will be led by Emma Arnold, Hanne Ugelstad, Laima Nomeikaite, and James Finucane.
Hanne Ugelstad is a social pedagogue, educator and writer specialized in working with marginalized youth groups and urban subcultures. She works with art, project management and communication as daily manager for Street Art Oslo, and festival manager for Løkka-Lykke gatekunstfest.
1300-1400 Reflections on workshop and conclusions
About the organisers
The seminar is a collaboration between Street Art Oslo and LAX LAB. Street Art Oslo is run by director James Joseph Finucane and general manager Hanne Ugelstad. LAX LAB is led by Dr. Emma Arnold at the Department of Sociology and Cultural Geography at the University of Oslo. LAX LAB is part of the project AdaptationCONNECTS, which investigates climate adaptation through transformation, funded by the Research Council of Norway.
Practical information:
If you need a lift or other form of accommodation when you visit us, call this number: 90 13 17 55.
About Domus Bibliotheca:
On Universitetsplassen in the center of Oslo there are three beautiful old buildings, and the Domus Bibliotheca is built on the left. Domus Bibliotheca is the University of Oslo's dialogue and dissemination arena. Here you can participate in debates, conversations and listen to exciting lectures.
