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Van Gogh in Copenhagen – For the First Time in 50 Years

Architecture
Denmark
Fine arts/music

Tor Kjølberg

September 21, 2018

Van Gogh in Copenhagen – For the First Time in 50 Years

There’s still plenty of scope for major institutions to continue to explore the life and work of the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853-90). The exhibition at the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Ishøj, Copenhagen is the first major exhibition dedicated to his art in Denmark. Van Gogh in Copenhagen – for the first time in 50 years.

It is more than 50 years since the Danish public has been able to experience a large exhibition devoted exclusively to van Gogh’s paintings and drawings. In a unique collaboration with the Kröller-Müller Museum, The Netherlands, ARKEN has opened its doors for a wide-ranging exhibition of van Gogh’s works with a focus on the relations among art, humanity, nature and religion.

Related: Art and Design in Copenhagen

Van Gogh in Copenhagen – For the First Time in 50 Years
The exhibition consists of 28 paintings and 11 drawings from the Kröller Müller Museum in the Netherlands depicting hard-working farm laborers and captivating landscapes in French Arles expressing the divine in nature and mankind at a time of new departures in society when traditional faith was coming under pressure from modern philosophy and science.

The son of a protestant pastor, Van Gogh spent many years aspiring to become a priest, only to be rejected by the Dutch Reformed Church. Early in life he lost his faith in the church as an institution, although he did not lose his faith in God. He was convinced, in fact, that he could do good deeds by creating beautiful paintings.

Related: Art in Copenhagen

Vivid landscapes from Arles
Van Gogh spent only ten years of his life as an artist, from 1880 until his death. During that short time, in intense, fervent works, he was able to develop an original visual language, one that expressed his personal, spiritual approach to nature and the creation of pictures.

Van Gogh is best known for his time spent in Arles in the South of France, where he painted vivid landscapes using thick, frenetic brushstrokes. These works betray van Gogh’s close interest in nature, which can be traced back to his youth.

On 23 December 1888, when Vincent van Gogh cut off most of his left ear during a psychotic episode, he was still entirely unknown as an artist. He had no idea that this violent action would help define the framework for the mythmaking that would later surround his life and art. A less well known but quite crucial dimension in Van Gogh’s life, however, is his religiosity.

Moving paintings and letters
Van Gogh is loved for his moving paintings and letters, which give us intimate insights into his life and thoughts. For Van Gogh life and art were a hard struggle. Yet he was able to create an original artistic idiom that demonstrates his profound belief in the cosmic unity of man and nature.

“What am I in the eyes of most people? A nonentity or an oddity or a disagreeable person — someone who has and will have no position in society, in short a little lower than the lowest. Very well…, then through my work I’d like to show what there is in the heart of such an oddity, such a nobody,” wrote Vincent van Gogh in a letter to his younger brother Theo van Gogh in July 1882.

The Van Gogh exhibition at Arken Museum of Modern Art, runs through Van Gogh 20 January 2019.

Van Gogh in Copenhagen – For the First Time in 50 Years, written by Tor Kjolberg

Discover the Danish Region of Gastronomy

Denmark
Food/Drink

Tor Kjølberg

September 20, 2018

Discover the Danish Region of Gastronomy

In 2017, Aarhus was awarded both the European Capital of Culture and the European region of gastronomy. The city has Denmark’s youngest population, with an average age of 38 years. Tourists from all over the world are enjoying their time in the city. Discover the Danish Region of Gastronomy

Denmark’s second largest city Aarhus has along with the Central Denmark Region fast been gaining a worldwide reputation as a center of Gastronomy. If you are into food, culture and experiences, this Central Denmark Region is the right place to be.

Discover the Danish Region of Gastronomy
The region has allocated 1 million euro over three years to secure the 2017 title. This initiative will be run from 2018 until the end of 2021. As part of the region’s Growth Plan 2016-2020, the European Region of Gastronomy program has a strategic role in supporting regional sustainable development by strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration between gastronomy, culture and education with the aim to develop Central Denmark Region as an international gastronomic hub.

With outstanding fresh ingredients and new restaurants, bars and food markets adding to its culinary prowess, the region continues to gather international acclaim for its Michelin star restaurants and annual Aarhus Food Festival which has grown to become the largest in the North.

Focus on local gastronomy
Historically, Aarhus has been sidelined by the culinary might of its capital, Copenhagen, the home of the “New Nordic” movement and chef Rene Redzepi’s restaurant Noma. The region’s strategy has now a focus on local gastronomy and food produce as a means to create more and better food experiences for citizens and visitors that will contribute to generate local revenue and boost an integrated development of the region’s urban and rural areas. Innovation will be at the center of the project’s efforts addressed to an increasing convergence of gastronomy, culture and tourism with other sectors such as climate, the environment, health, mobility, education, and energy solutions.

Denmark’s second largest city Aarhus has along with the Central Denmark Region fast been gaining a worldwide reputation as a center of Gastronomy — Michelin star restaurant Substans

Supported by passionate farmers and producers and a creative bunch of food entrepreneurs, the region has an ever-developing food scene, continuously rethinking and redeveloping gastronomy and products. Therefore it came as no surprise to the locals that the Michelin Guide levelled the playing field by awarding three Aarhus restaurants, Fredrikshøj, Gastromé and Substans, a coveted star rating in its first Nordic cities guide.

Appetite for Michelin-style food
Wassim Hallal, owner of the Michelin Star Restaurant Frederikshøj and Ambassador for European Region of Gastronomy 2017 commented: “My job is to spotlight Danish gastronomy and promote Aarhus and Denmark internationally in this respect.”

Related: Michelin Stars in Scandinavia

That there is an appetite for Michelin-style food is clear from the presence of Nordisk Spisehus in the smart Frederiksbjerg borough, just south of the city center. It is, to our knowledge, the only restaurant in the world that recreates (with permission) signature dishes and menus from Michelin-starred establishments around the world.

Plenty to try
With plenty to try, skip all additives and enjoy the pure philosophy of newly opened deli and restaurant SÅRT where only organic locally farmed and sourced ingredients meet traditional techniques to create exceptional seasonal food; go for a Michelin star at Restaurant Gastromé where the two innovative chefs serve the food they personally love – gourmet country-inspired cuisine; or more casually relax in the bistro styled Pondus Restaurant where the best of fresh Danish cuisine is served at affordable prices. Adding to its vast stable of fine eateries, try the Danish farm shop chain Landmad which has recently set up shop in a 300 year old merchants house in the heart of the Latin Quarter or head down to the harbor to the Danish wine and tapas bar VinDanmark to enjoy a bit of bath tub dining!

Candidates and awards to Regions of Gastronomy is guided by IGCAT.

About IGCAT
IGCAT is a non-profit institute established in 2012, working with regional stakeholder consortiums in the fields of gastronomy, culture, arts and tourism. It counts on the expertise of a worldwide network of experts and works in partnership with specialized intergovernmental organizations.

IGCAT aims to empower local communities by guiding, facilitating, and supporting leaders in regions to understand the potential of their distinct food, culture, arts and sustainable tourism assets.

Discover the Danish Region of Gastronomy, written by Tor Kjolberg

Capital Sports in Norway

Architecture
Norway

September 19, 2018

High on the hills offering splendid views of Oslo, the capital of Norway, is the Holmenkollen Ski Facility all year; free except during ski meets. Experience capital sports in Norway.

Holmenkollen boasts a spectacular World Cup arena, rebuilt for the 2011 Nordic (Trial) World Ski Championships. This prestigious winter sport event started in 1892 and is the oldest in the world, drawing huge crowds for the more than 20 different competitions. A few weeks later the Great Ski Jump is held, which also traditionally draws a huge crowd.

Capital Sports in Norway
The centerpiece of the arena is the impressive Holmenkollen Ski Jump, which is part of a complex that includes the world’s oldest ski museum and a ski-simulator, where you can experience how it feels to speed down the world’s toughest slopes. The Ski Museum, which is situated within the ski jump, reopened in summer 2010.

The exhibition traces 4,000 years of skiing history in Norway, and has added new films which feature downhill racing and ski jumping. Panoramic views of Oslo can be seen from the observation deck on top of the jump tower.

Related: Queen of Skis

Norwegian dishes
There’s a café serving smørbrød, and the Holmenkollen Restaurant serves good Norwegian dishes. The walk down to Holmenkollen metro station takes 10 minutes, and within half an hour you are back in the city.

Capital Sports in Norway, written by Tor Kjolberg

750 Years of Art and History in Kolding, Denmark

Architecture
Denmark
Fine arts/music
History

Tor Kjølberg

September 18, 2018

750 Years of Art and History in Kolding, Denmark

Kolding, located in Southern Jutland, Denmark is often overlooked by tourists. The city has, however, plenty of things to offer- especially when it comes to art, design, nature and history. Experience 750 years of art and history in Kolding, Denmark.

Kolding is in fact the home of the most interesting tourist attractions in Southern Jutland. The city is located in the mouth if Kolding Fjord which has a host of outdoor activities. In and around Kolding you will also find a great variety of historical attractions. An added benefit in visiting Kolding is its very central location within Denmark, which makes it an ideal home base for the many interesting attractions within the region.

750 years of art and History in Kolding, Denmark
The two primary attractions in Kolding are the impressive Kolding Castle (Koldinghus) and Trapholt Art Museum. Visitors to Kolding should definitely make effort to visit both of these fine attractions. This year, the old castle Koldinghus has been a central part of Denmark’s history for 750 years, and the momentous occasion is marked with the anniversary exhibition The Splendor of Power, which tells 750 years of history through royal jewelry, medals and insignias from the halls of power. The exhibition runs through 21 October 2018. However, the castle can be explored all year round.

The Geographical Garden in Kolding has its 100^th anniversary this year and is celebrated with a variety of events. The Garden is a combination of experience park and botanical garden.

Related: Art and Culture in Denmark

For nature lovers a visit to Skamlingsbanken is a must. The area offers a wonderful view of the Kolding area and Lillebælt, as well as beautiful beach forests.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Christiansfeld
The nearby town of Christiansfeld, which was built 245 years ago by an independent German Christian congregation and displays a very harmonious style of architecture has since July 2015 been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town is considered one of the best preserved of its kind, and guided tours are given throughout the summer.

Feature image (on top): Christiansfeldt

750 Years of Art and History in Kolding, Denmark, written by Tor Kjolberg

The Magical Book Town in Norway

Architecture
Books
Norway

Tor Kjølberg

September 17, 2018

Located where the Sognefjord meets the Jostedalsbreen Glacier with its white and blue arms hanging down steep mountains, you’ll find Fjærland with almost 300 inhabitants. It is Norway’s official international Book Town! Visit the magical book town in Norway.

This remote small village of Mundal in Fjærland turns abandoned buildings into bookstores. The 10 second-hand bookshops in enchanting waterfront wooden houses, former ferry waiting rooms, stables, local banks and post office, below towering mountains and impressive glaciers as well as its reading material will undoubtedly charm visitors. There are more books and pine trees there than people – and the people are mighty nice.

You may also like to read: Strange Facts About Scandinavi

The Magical Book Town in Norway
Bokbyen (the Book Town) is home to a collection of whopping 150,000 used books, but they’re no ordinary libraries. If you lined the shelves up side-by-side, the town’s library would span 2.5 miles of secondhand books.

The village of Fjærland can be reached by two ferries from Bergen (or a long bus haul from Oslo). In Bergen there’s a big, modern info center at the harbor where you can buy tickets). In Fjærland there are a variety of possibilities for accommodation, food and things to do. Like old fashioned wooden hotels, a glacier museum, restaurants just beneath the glacier and next to the fjord, beautifully placed cabins for rental and activities second to none such as glacier walks, hiking and kayaking.

You may also like to read: The Most Remote Hotel in Norway

Accessible by fjord and road
Ten years before the booktown became the reading hub it is today, you could only get to Fjærland by boat. The first road to the valley was built in 1986, and now there are bus routes to get in from the north or the south. In 1995, Mundal officially became the first “booktown” in Norway.

You may also like to read: Waffle Hearts: A Brilliant and Big Hearted Book From Norway

Some of the stores are large and let readers spend hours browsing the massive library. Others are humble outdoor shelves, relying on the honor system for bookworms to pay for their new reads. The book town is officially open for business from May through mid-September, though you can buy from its extensive library online all year.

The Magical Book Town in Norway, written by Tor Kjolberg

Ibsen Festival in Oslo 2018

Books
Fine arts/music
Fine arts/music
Norway
Sweden

Tor Kjølberg

September 14, 2018

The Ibsen Festival is Norway’s biggest theatre festival which celebrates and discusses Norway’s most important playwrights and poets at all time. And if Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) truly saw anyone, he saw women.

Among other works this year, the festival presents three versions of the lyrical play Peer Gynt; one French, one Swedish and of course one in the original language Norwegian. Since 1876 there have been 3,086 productions of Peer Gynt globally.

Henrik Ibsen wrote modern, realistic dramas, and many of his later works were ahead of the curve for the development of modernist and expressionist theatre. It is hard to overstate the importance of Henrik Ibsen’s work to Norway’s cultural heritage; but then, as an Ibsen-filled autumn reminds us, his status is just as high on the world stage.

Great influence on the present generation
Ibsen grew up in the small coastal town of Skien, located in Telemark, on the west coast of Norway: the oldest of five children. An affluent family, his father was a successful merchant and his mother painted, played the piano and enjoyed trips to the theatre. From an early age Ibsen himself expressed an interest in becoming an artist.

Ibsen left Norway in 1862, eventually settling in Italy for a short period. While he was there he wrote Brand, a five-act tragedy about a clergyman whose feverish devotion to his faith cost him his family and ultimately his life. This was the play that made him famous in Scandinavia. Two years later, Ibsen created one of his masterworks, Peer Gynt, a modern take on the Greek epics of old.

“Ibsen has been the greatest influence on the present generation; in fact, you could say that he formed it to a great extent,” wrote (a very young) James Joyce in 1900.

Ibsen Festival in Oslo 2018 presents French, Norwegian and Swedish versions of Peer Gynt
The Ibsen Festival 2018 offered several productions of Peer Gynt. One Swedish, from Dramaten, directed by Michael Thalheimer, and one French, from CDN de Normandie-Rouen directed by David Bebée. In addition, the festival collaborated on a co-production at the Norwegian Theatre, starring Thoralv Maurstad.

Peer Gynt is called a Nordic Faust and the German star director Micael Thalheimer, one of Europe’sd most renowned directors, moved his production of Peer Gynt from Dramaten in Strockholm to a performance at the National Theatre in Oslo during the Ibsen Festival 2018.

Michael Thalheimer has directed a number of major European theaters and is a regular director at the prestigious Berlin Ensemble in Berlin. His first visit to Dramaten was a guest play with Goethes Faust on the Big Stage 2006.

We were privileged to watch the Dramaten version of Peer Gynt, which through light and mysticism and Olaf Altmann’s scenographic solutions, never showed the actors make an entry on stage, they only were there, in our heads and in Peer Gynt’s head. For a Norwegian like myself, I must admit I felt the scenery somewhat too minimalistic and Peer in Erik Ehn’s adaption became never really admittedly old. I was also not always able to follow neither the spoken Swedish or the literal translation into English, partly due to noises on the stage.

Universal themes
However, Ibsen’s works have held up over the years because he tapped into universal themes and explored the human condition in a way unlike any of those before him. To this day, his plays continue to challenge his audiences. Author James Joyce once wrote that Ibsen “has provoked more discussion and criticism that of any other living man.”

Feature image (on top): From muchael Thalheimer’s Peer Gynt at Dramaten, Stockholm

Ibsen Festival in Oslo 2018, written by Tor Kjolberg

Holocaust Museum to be Built in Sweden

History
People
Sweden

Tor Kjølberg

September 13, 2018

In memory of Holocaust survivors from Sweden, the country plans to launch a museum in Malmö including a center devoted to the diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Last week Swedish Minister of Social Affairs and Sports, Annika Stranhall, said on Twitter that “it feels more important than ever.”

Holocaust Museum to be Built in Sweden
The museum is tentatively ready to open in 2020 in Malmö, a city of approximately 350,000 inhabitants where dozens of anti-Semitic incidents are recorded annually.

First- and second- generation immigrants from the Middle East make up one-third of the population in Malmö. Several hundred Jews live there. The museum is expected to attract international visitors.

Related: Stumbling Stones in Norway

Documenting surviving Swedes
The museum will focus on surviving Swedes and collect items, interviews and documents about their experiences. Many of these objects are now scattered at museums, archives and private homes.

Jews in Sweden
During 1933–39, some 3,000 Jews migrated to Sweden to escape persecution in Nazi Germany. Because Sweden was neutral during World War II, it became a place of asylum for Jews from occupied Europe: in 1942, 900 Norwegian Jews were given asylum from Nazi persecution and, in October 1943, almost the entire Danish Jewish community, some 8,000 people, was transported to Sweden. Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg also saved thousands of Hungarian Jews in Budapest by providing them with “protective passports”. He also rented 32 buildings, funded by the United States, and declared them Swedish diplomatic facilities, thus bringing them under protection of diplomatic immunity.

Feature image (on top) shows the Malmö Synagogue

Holocaust Museum to be Built in Sweden, written by Tor Kjolberg

Norwegian Pop Singer Wearing Nothing

Fine arts/music
Norway

Tor Kjølberg

September 12, 2018

28-year-old Norwegian pop singer Dagny Norvoll Sandvik, better known as Dagny, hails from the northern city of Tromsø. She is the daughter of jazz guitarist/composer Øystein Norvoll and jazz singer Marit Sandvik. Dagny relocated to London, England in her twenties before her debut single, “Backbeat,” appeared in September 2015. The “Wearing Nothing” single was issued in 2017, with the atmospheric “That Feeling When” following in early 2018. However, Norwegian pop singer wearing nothing, doesn’t literarily means she is naked.

Dagny broke through in 2016 with her killer single ‘Backbeat’. To say it was successful might be a bit of an understatement (it got a premiere from Zane Lowe, and has been streamed a whopping 30 million times), putting huge momentum behind her debut EP ‘Ultraviolet’.

Touring the U. S.
Last year she toured the U. S. for the first time after having released her “first proper love song”, something she believes is “a little overdue” and claiming she has lots of new music she’s ready to share with the world.

In Dagny’s latest single ‘Wearing Nothing’ she is laying it all bare. It is a bona fide pop belter, packed with upbeat electronic percussion and funk-tinged bass that combines with explosive force as she repeats “when I’m with you I feel like wearing nothing”.

Norwegian Pop Singer Wearing Nothing
However, just because she’s talking about being naked though doesn’t necessarily mean she’s actually naked. It’s more of a metaphor for being so at ease with someone else that there’s an extreme sense of closeness.

Speaking of the track, Dagny explains: “The song is called ‘Wearing Nothing’ but it’s not just about wanting to be naked with someone. It’s about wanting to be completely bare together with someone and be as close as possible both emotionally and physically even to the point where a piece of clothing feels like too much in-between. I believe it’s my most intimate song to date”.

Norwegian Pop Singer Wearing Nothing, written by Tor Kjolberg

World’s First Dog Centric Apartment House – in Denmark

Architecture
Denmark
People

Tor Kjølberg

September 11, 2018

World’s First Dog Centric Apartment House – in Denmark

A new apartment building located in the Frederikssund Municipality in northern Zealand, Denmark will be filled exclusively with dog owners. Not surprisingly, it’s called “Hundehuset” or “The Dog House”. This is the world’s first dog centric apartment house – in Denmark.

Many potential homeowners looking for an apartment building that allows furry companions, know how difficult it may be. Sellers of apartments at Hundehuset, however is faced with a new demographic of customers: dog owners. This apartment building was made specifically with dog owners in mind.

World’s First Dog Centric Apartment House – in Denmark
The three-story complex, about 45km from Copenhagen, should be finished within the next 12 months and its 18 rented flats will be reserved only for tenants with dogs. Entrepreneur Niels Martin Viuff (57) came up with the idea of a dog-centric building from conversations with local people, so there is, in fact, a market for this.

“There is demand from some dog owners who are tired of there being so many places where dogs are not allowed. We want to meet the needs of dog owners. Many are very lonely,” Viuff said.

You might also like: Norway – The Kingdom of Lakes

Advise from the Danish Kennel Club
In putting the project together, Viuff consulted the Danish Kennel Klub. An advisory group helped decide on dog-friendly features like tough flooring and a dog-bathing area in the building’s gardens.

However, there is a catch. Only dogs weighing just under 100 pounds (45 kilograms) can live in the apartment building. Owners with bigger dogs still may need to keep looking. Owners with multiple small dogs are welcomed though.

Related: On Copenhagen’s Amager Island

Innovative housing development
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Lise Lotte Christensen, a behavioral consultant at the Danish Kennel club, the country’s largest association for dog owners, told a Danish paper. “It’s super exciting, it’s innovative, and we look forward to following the project as it evolves.”

A building devoted to cats is also “on the drawing board,” which we imagine will be significantly quieter.

World’s First Dog Centric Apartment House – in Denmark, written by Tor Kjolberg

50 Years of Living Art in Oslo

Architecture
Fine arts/music
Norway

Tor Kjølberg

September 10, 2018

The Henie Onstad Art Center outside Oslo, Norway opened its doors for the first time in August 1968. At that time the collection consisted of approximately 300 paintings donated by World and Olympic champion figure skater Sonja Henie and her husband, shipping magnate and art collector Niels Onstad. A lot has happened during these 50 years of living art in Oslo.

After 50 years, the collection has grown to more than 4000 works and a new permanent location ‘Hymn of Life’ by Yayou Kusama was inaugurated as a part of the jubilee. Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist elected as the world’s most popular artist last year. Although she makes lots of different types of art – paintings, sculptures, performances and installations, she is and sometimes called ‘the princess of polka dots’.

50 years of living art in Oslo
The art center, designed by Norwegian architects Jon Eikvar and Sven Erik Engebretsen, also contains Sonja Henie’s award collection. In 1994, the building was extended, and a two-story wing with exhibition spaces and technical rooms was added. This project was designed by the same architects—the new wing abuts the main body of the building as an organic extension.

In 2003, another extension was made, this time in the form of an annex that extends into the outdoor park, connected to the main building by a passage leading from the lower level. In addition to six exhibition halls, the Centre also has an auditorium and smaller meeting rooms. The total building area is today approximately 9,500 square meters, of which 3,500 are occupied by exhibition spaces

Related: Kurt Schwitters and Norway

Turn and face the strange
The Henie Onstad Art Center contains beautiful works from the core collection by Picasso, Miró, Ernst, Dubuffet and Matisse in addition to important works from the special collections consisting of Cobra and Fluxus as well as larger deposits from Sparebankstiftelsen DNB with Schwitters and the historical avantgarde.

Related: Art and Culture in Norway

The anniversary exhibit is called “Turn and Face the Strange — 50 years of living art”. It runs until August next year. Weidemann’s exhibit continues until October 14.

50 Years of Living Art in Oslo, written by Tor Kjolberg

Feature image (on top):
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter marked its fiftieth anniversary with the unveiling of a new work by Per Inge Bjørlo. Photo: Kunstkritikk.

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Exploring Scandinavia

Stories Made to Stick

Scandinavian Explorers

Exploring Scandinavia

Scandinavian Explorers

Stories Made to Stick

Van Gogh in Copenhagen – For the First Time in 50 Years

Discover the Danish Region of Gastronomy

Capital Sports in Norway

750 Years of Art and History in Kolding, Denmark

The Magical Book Town in Norway

Ibsen Festival in Oslo 2018

Holocaust Museum to be Built in Sweden

Norwegian Pop Singer Wearing Nothing

World’s First Dog Centric Apartment House – in Denmark

50 Years of Living Art in Oslo