What does it mean to be a contemporary art curator in the 21st century? Perhaps subconsciously, it’s about living up to the legacy of Harald Szeemann, a legendary art historian—acting on the impulse to introduce new ways of engaging with art. Follow us to Norway to meet a few of the curators gathering for the 2017 Congress of the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, also known as IKT (Szeemann was a founding member in 1973), hosted by the Office of Contemporary Art Norway and Oslo Pilot. In conversations on how the environment, design technology, consumer culture and geopolitical histories inspire art, they reveal a shared interest in exposing artists’ site specific perspectives through collective exhibitions and publications.

Thale Fastvold and Tanja Thorjussen, the two Norwegian artist curators of Locus Publishing in Oslo tell us about a collective artist book project that investigates how we relate to nature. They introduce their newest venture: “Concerning the Spiritual in Art.” Freek Lomme, director of Onomatopee Projects explains why he stages public interventions in the shopping district of Eindhoven, in The Netherlands. The sonic thread that connects these voices is the sound art of Norwegian artist Margrethe Pettersen.

Sound Editing: Anamnesis Audio | Sound art feature: Margrethe Pettersen, Living Land—Below as Above | Photography: Fresh Art International and Guests, OCA Norway, IKT | Feature photo: Margrethe Pettersen

Related Links: Harald Szeemann, International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, Office of Contemporary Art Norway, Oslo Pilot, Locus Publishing, Onomatopee Projects