At the same time, we go for a broader scope of queer, as in non-binary thinking and actions to change the established narratives, history, the way society is organized. Further on it will be giving space to where art overlaps with academia and activism, in particular thinking around (queer) bodies in various public spaces — they be virtual, in the history books, or in the street. More specific: Some of the people involved will question which bodies are seen and heard/represented in these public spaces; how our architectures are built and for whom; what is left out of our common narratives; how the body itself can be a tool for activist expressions (dance, performance, choreography).

The participants are both local, national, and international — we've been working with most of them before, some for years. A backdrop for the symposium is also the exhibition by Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz — duo working with queerness and (in)visibility for a substantial time — ‘Walk Silently in the Dark Until Your Feet Become Ears’, at display at Kunstnernes Hus until 25th February. This event is part of a much longer conversational travel. Welcome to a double thought and pleasure session building on a series started at Kunstnernes Hus, fall 2018. Roll out the red carpet.

Produced in collaboration with Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo. Realised with generous support from the Fritt Ord Foundation.

12:00 Part 1:‘“Oh no, is that so ...” On the forgotten and/or neglected narratives’

Doors open, host Mabell Holand.

Writer, freelance editor, and publisher Nina Mauno Schjønsby on the journal Forloren Skildpadde (‘Mock Turtle’), published in 1837 by Camilla Collett and Emilie Diriks, and the book about to be launched (IGWTLI Publishing & Tekstbyrået).

Delphine Bedel, media artist, writer, curator, and publisher based in Amsterdam, on her research on the meaning and status of the term feminism in a historical and contemporary perspective.

Conversation with Nina Mauno Schjønsby and Delphine Bedel moderated by Antonio Cataldo. For years, Nina and Delphine have been digging archives and researching parts of our history that have not gotten the attention it deserves. During this symposium, the two of them will meet for a conversation on history as we know it, and a nuanced perspective on what really happened — and what that could mean today.

13:30 Part 2: ‘In/outside: The body and the virtual’

Writer, software developer, and organiser Lara Okafor in conversation with art historian and curator Liv Brissach on the impact of new media on shaping perception of our bodies, identity, conceptions of visibility and transparency.

14:30 Part 3: ‘The (Queer) Body’

Dancer and choreographer Daniel Mariblanca presents his work with 71BODIES, a transgender inclusive dance and performance company that centers bodily experiences from with/in marginalized communities in its artistic creations while broadening the perspective of dance and performance.

Daniel in conversation with poet and activist Mabell Holand

Further reading about everyone involved.

Karmaklubb* is an autonomous nomadic queer platform, a space for critical reflection, and celebration. Besides club evenings and nights, the programme consists of open conversations, curatorial work, screenings, artist talks, film production, panels, concerts, performance art, Drag, wine tastings, ale, and sometimes food. Things that are nice for the whole being. Since 2018 Karmaklubb* has realised more than 250 projects, among them hosted events of various sorts in addition to launching an extensive number of other projects on- and offline. Karmaklubb* is also a publishing and research platform, the IGWTLI publishing (established in 2018), that exists as essays, letters and gifts, transcripts, experimental written encounters, in addition to listening sets, podcasts, and an archive of ‘thought & pleasure’ — and new forms constantly to be explored. Critical reflections as well as pure joi (sic), anchored in the Karmaklubb* ever morphing and transcending practice with people being part of the travel.

Partners and collaborators include museums, artist driven initiatives, print houses, publishers, a wide range of organisations and individuals working within the fields of arts and culture, rights and freedom of speech, as well as gastronomy and nightlife. Some of the most recent venues and supporters are DePaul Art Museum, Chicago; The National Museum, Oslo; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; The Office for Contemporary Art Norway; MUNCH, Oslo; Preus Museum, national museum for photography, Horten; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes, Bergen; Bergen Kjøtt; Meteor International Theatre Festival, Bergen; Kunsthall Trondheim; Samfundet, Trondheim; Det Gamle Biblioteket, Oslo; BLÅ, Oslo; Ingensteds, Oslo; ØSTRE, Bergen, and many more. Karmaklubb* is organised by Tine Semb.