Momentum 2009
5th Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art
'Favoured Nations'
Curated by Lina Dzuverovic (Electra) and Stina Högkvist
(National Museum of Art Architecture and Design, Oslo)
Participating Artists:
A Kassen, Mats Adelman, Roger Andersson, Asmundur Asmundsson,
Fia Backström, Maja Bajevic, Petra Bauer & Annette Krauss, Nina Beier & Marie Lund, Maja Borg, Liv Bugge, Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, Jacob Dahlgren, Ida Ekblad, Marte Eknæs, Andreas Eriksson, Jan Freuchen, Carl Michael von Hausswolff/ Juan Pedro Fabra/ Jan Håfström, Hannaleena Heiska, Saskia Holmkvist, Karl Holmqvist, Lars Laumann & Benjamin A. Huseby, Klara Liden, Darri Lorenzen, Josefine Lyche, Eline McGeorge, Are Mokkelbost, Jani Ruscica, Marthe Thorshaug, Helgi Thórsson, Salla Tykkä, Gaeoudjiparl featuring Martha Hviid & Tordis Berstrand
29 August - 18 October
Opening Saturday 29 August 14.00
Press preview Thursday 27 August 11.00 - 16.00
Momentum Kunsthall and Galleri F15
Moss, Norway
Punkt Ø proudly presents Favoured Nations, the fifth edition of Momentum, focusing on the work of artists with a background from, or a connection to, the Nordic region. The exhibition features 31 artists and groups spread across two outstanding and strikingly different venues - Momentum Kunsthall and Galleri F15.
Favoured Nations is a legal term borrowed from international trade agreements, which is used in contracts to request equal treatment for all parties. In the context of this biennial the term acts as a springboard for highlighting issues around equality, access and the ways in which those involved in artistic production are treated. Highlighting infrastructural issues such as artists' salaries and hierarchies involved in curatorial decisions, the curators have used the title as a working method rather than a theme. Is there such a thing as 'fair treatment' in a biennial context and if so, what might this mean?
In the context of a Nordic Biennial the term Favoured Nations also points to ideas often associated with Nordic countries - the belief that artists from this region of economic prosperity enjoy privileged treatment, a life filled with opportunities, grants and, we are often told, salaries to be an artist. The curators have made a decision to work with artists they have come across during their research trips in the five Nordic countries - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland as well as Nordic 'satellites' (Berlin, London, New York) - cities which are home to many artists from the region.
About Momentum:
Previous Momentum's have been curated by Lars Bang Larsen, Daniel Birnbaum and Atle Gerhardsen (Pakkhus, 1998), Jonas Ekeberg,
Paula Toppila, Jacob Fabricius and Ina Blom (Park, 2000), Caroline Corbetta and Per Gunnar Tverbakk (Momentum 2004) and Anette
Kierulf and Marc Sladen (Try Again, Fail Again, Fail Better, 2006).
Curators 2009:
Lina Dzuverovic is the Founding Director of Electra, a London-based contemporary art agency established in 2003. She is currently
curating the exhibition 27 Senses about the life of Kurt Schwitters in Norway, at Kunstmuseet KUBE, Alesund, Norway. Selected
projects include co-curating Art Now Live performance program at Tate Britain (2007), Transcommunication Lab (as part of Radio
Gallery Series 2006), Her Noise (South London Gallery, 2005), Perfect Partner by Kim Gordon, Tony Oursler and Phil Morrison
(Barbican Centre, London) and devising and teaching on the lecture series Sound And The Twentieth Century Avant Garde (Tate Modern,
2004/05).
Stina Högkvist is a curator of Contemporary Art at the National Museum of Art Architecture and Design in Oslo, Norway. In 2009 she curated Hypocrisy: the site specificity of morality together with Koyo Kouoh. For the summer of 2009 she is planning an exhibition with assume vivid astro focus. She is also working on a research project at the museum titled Dark secrets: representations of Africa in the museum collection.
Momentum at the Venice Biennial:
5 June from 9am - 11.30 am
Angiò Pub and Winebar
Riva di San Biagio
(Arsenale boat stop)
October 17: Public meeting in Moss
Momentum and Galleri F15 are organized under the administration of
Punkt Ø AS - Østfold County Galleries
Punkt Ø AS
Postboks 1033 Jeløy
N-1510 Moss
For more information visit www.momentum.no
