Lofoten International Art Festival - LIAF will shift its upcoming edition from 2026 to 2027, marking the beginning of a new chapter under the guidance of a newly appointed Steering Committee.

- It’s an exceptionally skilled group we’re entering into collaboration with, and the team is eager to get started, says Luba Kuzovnikova, Director of the North Norwegian Art Centre, which has produced the festival since 2009.

As Scandinavia’s oldest art biennale, LIAF’s Steering Committee carries the artistic responsibility for the festival’s overall direction and appoints the curator for each edition.

Karolin Tampere was elected Chair during the committee’s first meeting and expresses strong enthusiasm for the coming edition:

- The new committee and I approach this with great excitement. We bring diverse experiences from across the art field — and several of us have been involved in previous editions of this important festival rooted in Sápmi and Northern Norway.

The 2027 Steering Committee
At its inaugural meeting, Karolin Tampere was elected Chair, with Camilla Fagerli as Deputy Chair. Hanne Hammer Stien joins as deputy member.

Karolin Tampere (Tromsø/Romsa) is a curator and artist whose practice often engages with site, sound, and social contexts. She co-curated Lofoten Sound Art Symposium and LIAF 2019, and participated in The Gift at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022). She serves on several national art committees and is currently a PhD Fellow at the Art Academy, UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Camilla Fagerli is a curator and Artistic Director of Tromsø Kunstforening – Romssa Dáiddasiida. A former co-director of Kurant Exhibition Space, she has co-edited the anthology Dream Academy (2023) and the forthcoming Dovenskap, fantasi og fellesskap (2025).

Sverre Gullesen is a visual artist whose sculptural practice explores form, surface, and materiality. His works include public commissions and solo exhibitions across Norway. He currently serves on the board of Kunstnerforbundet and has previously chaired Nitja Centre for Contemporary Art, UKS, and Kunstnernes Hus.

Jesse James is a curator and cultural producer based between the Azores and Lisbon. He is the founder of several international platforms, including the Walk&Talk Biennial (Portugal), Fabric Arts Festival (USA), MOVA – Movement for Art and Culture in the Azores, and Anda&Fala.

Tonje Plur, textile artist, works across sculpture, knitting, and textile techniques to explore dress and embodiment in expanded form. Her works are included in the collections of the National Museum of Norway and Equinor Art Programme, and she is a board member at SKOG art space.

Hanne Hammer Stien, art historian and curator, is Professor at the Art Academy, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Her writing focuses on northern contemporary art, visual culture, and photographic history. She serves on the art committee for Norway’s new Government Quarter and is Assistant Editor of Curator: The Museum Journal.

About LIAF
Founded in 1991, Lofoten International Art Festival is a biennale for contemporary art in Northern Norway — a key event in the Norwegian art calendar and an international meeting place for artists, curators, and audiences. Each edition is developed by invited curators with distinct backgrounds, ideas, and approaches. Since 2009, the festival has been produced by the North Norwegian Art Centre, based in Svolvær, Lofoten.