Bergen School of Architecture (BAS) will host will host two events organized by Working Art Space and Production, a cultural organization from Romania.
The first event is the opening of the multimedia exhibition “Multispecies”, which brings together integrated works in a visual, auditory and sensory experience that invites the audience to reflect on subjects that transcend human perspectives.
The exhibition, produced by WASP Studios from Romania in collaboration with Architect Cristian Ștefănescu (a-works) will present the inaugural exhibition of the Emerging Towards (Future) program, entitled “Multispecies.” The exhibition will open its doors on September 7 2023, at 19.00, in the Silo Basement Space of BAS Faculty of Architecture and later it will be presented at WASP Studios from Romania, in October.
This innovative showcase explores the intricate relationship between nature, visual arts, and architecture, brought to life by ten multidisciplinary artists from Romania and Norway. The exhibition seamlessly blends the artworks into a sensory experience that engages the audience visually, aurally, and emotionally, prompting contemplation on the challenges surrounding the Multispecies theme.
The event highlights a particular way of thinking at the crossroads of social, visual, and natural sciences, emphasizing the coexistence with diversity and its exploration both on an individual and collective level. This intersection of emerging forms of art, architecture, and design finds its inspiration in sustainable and enduring approaches. By analyzing and aligning with various life forms and their regenerative potential, a balanced and responsive mindset is recovered.
“Multispecies” is not just an artistic endeavor but a response to a resilient reality. In an era where the limits of anthropocentric thinking are being questioned, this project aims to foreground the possibilities of learning from complex natural systems and encourage a more fluid and open perspective on the surrounding world.
The second event, the „Cross Fields” conference, will take place on September 8 2023, at 14:00 in the Large Auditorium Space of BAS. The symposium is focused on the relationship between contemporary visual arts and architecture. The conference will place particular emphasis on public spaces and representational areas, which generate diverse situations and reflections of contemporary existence.
Architects, artists and curators introduce possible models of sustainable and creative tools, noting, on the one hand, the need for a physical practice of theories related to architecture and on the other hand, the need to emphasize those aspects of architecture that can favor the development of new and meaningful areas of experience. Such synergistic practical research can have a strong social impact by opening up to the public and to new audiences from the fields of reference (art and architecture). These instances can be used as a tool for urban regeneration because it can involve communities in redefining the meaning of public space. Architecture regains new public voices for sustainable development.
These initiatives are part of the Emerging Towards (Future) project, situated at the convergence of art, ecology, and architecture. Through contemporary art and its related fields, the project highlights the need for collaborative, intergenerational, and trans-sectoral actions in research, production, and dissemination processes, adapted to both current and future contexts.
Group exhibition
Curators: Andreea Căpitănescu ( RO) & Cristian Ștefănescu (NO)
WASP Studios
WASP Studios is a cultural organization founded in 2015 to respond to the need of supporting artistic creation and production in Romania, in the alternative space WASP – Working Art Space and Production in Bucharest and in collaboration with national and international organizations and institutions. WASP Studios supports the continuous training of Romanian creators through networking opportunities and promotion of contemporary creation. The directions of activity include dance and performance, transdisciplinary collaborations in visual arts, architecture, film, music, new media, opening to other areas of knowledge such as literature and creative industries. In 2019 WASP produced 9 performances for the performing arts program of EUROPALIA Romania, presented in Belgium at BOZAR, Kaaitheater, KVS, Concertgebow, and currently WASP pays increased attention to the development of curatorial projects in art in relation to new media, literature and architecture.
BAS
Bergen School of Architecture (BAS) is a private and academically independent educational institution within Norway that promotes an open, plural and diverse approach to architecture and urbanism that is strongly influenced by art, activism, social anthropology and ecology – an approach that is often applied through direct, hands-on and on-the-ground engagements within real situations. The teaching is anchored in a Nordic west coast climate with emphasise on learning from tradition both in regard to material knowledge and contextualization in landscape and situation.
CRISTIAN STEFANESCU ARCHITECT (a-works)
Cristian Ștefănescu is a Romanian/Canadian architect based in Bergen, Norway. Since 2013 he has been leading his own architecture and art projects in his own company CRISTIAN STEFANESCU ARCHITECT (a-works | architecture + art), in parallel with his work as a professor at the Bergen School of Architecture. His works have been exhibited at Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen Norway, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Romania and at Architekturzentrum Wien as part of the Vienna Biennale and most recently in the Romanian pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale in the group exhibition Fading Borders. His contribution to Hardanger Skyspace, commissioned by Kunsthuset Kabuso received 2nd place in Betongtavlen 2017, Norway’s highest award for concrete architecture. In addition, the participatory project Pyramid Park, the design and construction of a public park, won 1st prize in Romania’s national public space design competition, Urbaniada.
This project is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme.
The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion. More details are available on: www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro.
RO-CULTURE is implemented in Romania by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit. The Programme aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The total budget amounts to almost 34 million EUR. For more details access: www.ro-cultura.ro.
