Since the 1990s, North Norwegian Art Centre has had a dedicated program for funding art projects in the region. The Artist Initiated Project Grants are part of the centre’s regional initiatives, aiming to bring art to a wider audience – including artists, the public, and local communities across Northern Norway.

The program is designed to encourage unconventional methods, platforms, formats, and working practices while providing artists with the opportunity to engage in long-term and experimental processes. This year, North Norwegian Art Centre received 11 applications – four connected to Finnmark and seven to Nordland.

Previously, the grant was funded both through the centre’s own resources and delegated funds from the Relief Fund for Visual Artists, which we applied for annually. As of 2025, these grants have been separated, and the Relief Fund for Visual Artists are now awarded independently under the name Miscellaneous Grant for Artists in Northern Norway (application deadline: May 1st).

In 2025, we are awarding NOK 200,000 from our own funds to artist initiated projects. The jury consisted of Nina Tsybolskaia (Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts, Northern Norway), Silje Figenschou Thoresen (Northern Norwegian Visual Artists Association), and Adriana Alves (North Norwegian Art Centre). The funds have been distributed across five projects:

Annike Flo is awarded NOK 50,000 for Jærtegn.
Jærtegn exploress oil and research as a meeting point between reality, fiction, and the unknown. The work consists of three parts, linking soil and nematodes to human experiences through themes of scale, haunting, and belonging.

A nomadic textile piece will travel to nine locations in Sør-Varanger over nine days in August 2025. Simultaneously, a video workr elated to the textile piece will be show non TV screens at Sør-Varanger Library, while an accompanyingzinewill "haunt" thelibrary’scopymachine.

The project is linked to Svanhovd Research Station and curator Hilde Methi's three-year project Tre-Tre-Tre, with a dedicated outreach program being developed around the artwork.

Kjetil Ingvar Berge is awarded NOK 30,000 for Time Bent Nettopp (working title).
Time Bent Nettopp is an open workshop aiming to collaboratively create a large-scale net. The net refers to something used for gathering or trapping and explores themes of capture, traps, defense, connections, and interaction.

The public will be invited to contribute to the production of a site-specific artwork made from recycled materials from the aqua culture industry. The process will be simple and intuitive, allowing everyone to participate. The workshop will take place during the Midnightsunscream Festival in Kvalnes, Vestvågøy, in 2025.

The workshop is initiated by Ella Aaland, Sigrid Høyforslett Bjørbæk, and Kjetil Berge.

Kjersti Andvig is awarded NOK 40,000 for The Exile.
The Exile is a large-scale sound installation consisting of thousands of handcrafted speakers made from cardboard and paper. The project draws parallels between the experiences of queer individuals – both within and outside of Western realm– and the drastic decline of several important bird species.

The piece is developed in collaboration with classical pianist and sound artist Ioana Mandrescu. The sound composition is based on recordings of migratory birds, intertwined with two hymns:Ode to Joy (the final movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony) and Go West, covered by Pet Shop Boys.

The installation will premiere at Vågan Church in November, 2026.

Lars Laumann is awarded NOK 40,000 for an art festival in Brønnøy.
In 2025, Lars Laumannwill be theRoots Artist at theRootsfestivalen. Established in 2021, the festival has a strongcommunityfocus. The upcomingeditionaims to expandthefestival’sartistic program beyonditsusualvenues to new locations, including Galleri Hullet, Brønnøy Library, Ea Galleri (Boathouse), and Ea Galleri (Barn).

The festival combines low-threshold participation and volunteer efforts with exhibitions of invited artists – both local, national, and international. In addition to Laumann’s own work, the festival will feature new pieces by: Kjersti G. Andvig, Jurgen Ots, Lina Viste Grønli, Benjamin A. Huseby, Brønnøy Kameraklubb, Camilla Orvik, Ørjan Elias Ebbesen, and Sømma Malerklubb.

The program also includes performances and presentations by district musician Gunn Sæter, poet Camilla Orvik, writer Michael Van Den Abeele, musician Sofia Andersen, and visual artists Matti Aiko and Ilavenil Vasuky Jayapalan. The festival will also feature a new sound piece by Ioana Mandrescu.

Marianne Bjørnmyr is awarded NOK 40,000 for Cupaloy (working title).
Cupaloy is the working title of Marianne Bjørnmyr’s upcoming photo book, which will be published by a Dutch publisher in autumn 2026. The book explores dilemmas related to archives, historical narratives, behavior, and chance – and howworldhistorycould have taken alternative directions.

The book is structured as an archive containing 200–300 "events that almost happened", including failed experiments, cosmic explorations, extinct species, and misunderstood phenomena.