Bø
ART - PLAY - NATURE
On the edge of the open ocean we find Bø municipality. Wind-swept and wildly beautiful, with white chalky beaches, lustrous yellow mountainsides and green pastures. Located in the centre of Bø is Parkvoll, a museum oasis that the municipality and Bø Museum are working to develop as a place for play and experiences of art in the great outdoors. This makes the place particularly suitable for a residency stay with a focus on art, play and nature.
DEADLINE: You are past the deadline
WHAT WE OFFER
Residency: 10 days x 2
First stay: 9 -18 Aug 2021
Second stay: End of Juli 2022 (during Reginedagan)
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Fee: 7,000 NOK each stay for you to have
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The project will cover travel and accommodation costs
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A car can be hired upon request
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Curatorial support and collaboration with local partners
Any professional artist, regardless of gender, region or religion, are welcome to apply. We invite established as well as emerging artists, curators and writers. Also practitioners from any art-related discipline, cross-discipline practices are welcome to apply.
Bø museum (Photo by: Bø museum)
"Mannen fra havet" (Photo by: Alf Oxem)
HIKERS PARADISE
Bø is a fantastic place on the seaward side of Vesterålen boasting hiking trails, the raging open ocean and shoreline islands in all directions. The natural surroundings are quite accessible in Bø, and fantastic experiences of nature are literally at one’s doorstep. The area offers many spectacular rambles along marked trails, and Bø municipality has branded itself a “Hikers paradise”.
PARKVOLL AND THE MUSEUM
Parkvoll was the District Sheriff’s quarters for nearly 50 years, from 1919 to 1966. The sheriff’s office is a small white building built for this purpose. There are several buildings on the museum grounds: private residences, outbuildings, summer cowsheds, rorbu fishermen’s quarters and boathouse, which now feature various exhibits. The last district sheriff lived at Parkvoll until about 1980, when Bø municipality bought the house and made it into a museum.
The museum’s theme is fairy tales, legends and oral storytelling. Storytelling has always been an important part of historical society. To be able to tell a good tale was an important part of daily life. This was a special pastime for children, who would hide under the table to listen to the adults talking together. There was always room for a lively imagination and uncanny events in these stories. We find vestiges of this in Regine Normann’s literature, which ties these elements together.
Regine Normann was born in Bø and spent a part of her childhood and adolescence here. She was an established and well-known author in Norway during the first three decades of the 1900s. Today she is renowned for her fairy tales that depict the rich coastal culture, fantasy and legends that were a vital part of her upbringing. The annual Regine Days festival is arranged during the last week of July in honour of this fine author. The festival has much to offer families – the fairytale trail, visits to working farms and guided tours to Sinahula, including fairy tales read aloud to the children.
Friluftsgalleriet (Photo by: Øystein Lunde Ingvaldsen)
On the museum grounds we also find one of the most highly profiled sculptures of Artscape Nordland: «Mannen fra havet» [The Man from the Sea] by Kjell Erik Killi Olsen This inspired Bø municipality to Artscape Nordland Outdoor Gallery in 2015, a permanent photo exhibit showing all the artworks in the project. The thought behind the outdoor gallery is in harmony with the very concept behind Artscape Nordland: a collection of contemporary art placed in the outdoors and in the heart of the magnificent North-Norwegian natural landscape.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA
Bø municipality is now working to make the area a cultural hub for local citizens and visitors, including an outdoor stage/outdoor family-friendly space with sculptures, new art playpark, cultural trail to the town centre, and eventually a new museum building. Bø municipality also wants to develop the museum grounds into a public park with art and play as a general theme. We wish to strengthen this area as an attraction for children and families, and our success relies on establishing art experiences as the leitmotif.
WORKPLACE: Museumsområdet Parkvoll / Bø Museum
RESIDENCE: A small, cosy house nearby, in Føre.
Three bedrooms
Relevant links:
The residence at Føre
Photos by: Øystein Lunde Ingvaldsen, Klaus Kudsk Larsen, Jack Roger Lihaug, Alf Oxem, Hanne Fredheim, Katie Hanken