If all the bridges close: Art, education and institutions
Friday 28th of November, 17:00-18:30 Atelier Kunstnerforbundet Loft (Kjeld Stubs gate 3, 0160 Oslo)
We invited three art professionals who moved to Norway under a student permit in different years [Kiyoshi Yamamoto - KMD 2013, Mariam Gviniashvili - NMH 2020, Ghazaal Nasiri - KHiO 2024] to discuss the conditions that made possible or difficult the flourishing of their artistic practices in Norway. We will talk about allyship, mobility justice, art institutions and accountability. How can artists living in –or considering moving to Norway– be better equipped to react to unfavorable panoramas in education, budget cuts and migration?
Kiyoshi Yamamoto
Kiyoshi Yamamoto is a Japanese-Brazilian artist based in Bergen. A graduate of Bergen National Academy of the Arts, London College of Fashion and Escola de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro, Yamamoto has made a name for themselves with their work in textile art, performance and installation. They have previously exhibited at the Röhsska Museum, Stavanger Art Museum and Kunsthall Oslo, among others, and their work has been acquired by several key art institutions. Yamamoto is Associated Professor at Bergen University. The main key of the artistic research is “Colour as Identity”. Kiyoshi Yamamoto is currently working on a new commission work at the Oslo Courthouse and the new Norwegian High Security Psychiatric Hospital.
Mariam Gviniashvili
Mariam Gviniashvili is a composer and sound artist working at the intersection of electroacoustic music, 3D sound, and multimedia performance. Her work explores the physical and emotional dimensions of sound and space, often integrating visuals and live performance. Originally from Georgia, Mariam’s musical journey began in early childhood with singing and piano, eventually leading her to composition studies at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, the Liszt Academy of Music, and the Norwegian Academy of Music. Her work has been presented at festivals, venues, and radio broadcasts worldwide, including INA GRM, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Ars Electronica, EMPAC, New York Electroacoustic Music Festival, BEAST FEaST, Virginia Tech, Transitions at CCRMA, MA/IN, ICMC, Mixtur Festival, Klingt Gut, In Situ Festival, Heroines of Sound, Ultima Festival, and BBC Radio. Mariam is the recipient of two Honorary Mentions from Prix Ars Electronica (2021, 2023), the PRIX CIME, and the Work of the Year Award (NKF)
Ghazaal Nasiri
Ghazaal Nasiri (b. 1999, Shiraz, Iran) is a visual artist living and working in Oslo, Norway. She studied for her bachelor's degree in painting at the Shiraz University of Arts in Iran and received an M.F.A. at the National Academy of Arts in Oslo. Ghazaal’s artistic practice is rooted in drawing, embroidery, and traditional craftsmanship, often merging mythical storytelling with personal history. Through her work, she explores themes of cultural memory, psychological trauma, and the lingering effects of suppressed emotion. These themes often emerge instinctively, shaped by the materials she chooses and the slow, repetitive gestures of making. As an Iranian immigrant, myth is not only a reference from her upbringing but also a framework through which she navigates and expresses the complexities of identity, silence, and loss in the present.
Stacey De Voe
Stacey de Voe, b. 1988, New York, is a visual artist based in Malmö, Sweden. Through a research oriented approach her practice uses site specificity and the archive to investigate broader issues of historicity, class politics, collective memory, feminized labor and friendship. She employs mediums such as installation, video montage, performance and publication; stitching together archival material, personal accounts and fiction to create new narratives. She uses the archive to restage and modulate historiography through a relational process, developing a certain intimacy to the people and places she inquires.She has exhibited and performed work at SIMIAN, Nitja Senter for Samtidskunst, Skēnē – rum för samtida konst, Skånes Konstförening, LCCA/Latvian National Museum of Art, Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus, Oslo Kunstforening and BAK basis voor actuele kunst, amongst others. Portrait photo by: Djoana Gueorguieva.