Three perspectives from the artists of the Østlandsutstillingen, seminar on September 20, 2025, from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
The seminar highlights three artworks that thematically move within the spectrum between alienation and belonging, where our senses play a central role. These works form the basis for a collective discussion among all seminar participants, facilitated by the Nansen Center for Peace.
Registration for the seminar and round-trip bus from Oslo via the ticket link (above).
Prices: Free for Østlandsutstillingen 2025 artists, 100 NOK for artists, 200 NOK for others. Prices include lunch and coffee.
Bus: Round trip Oslo - Lillehammer. Departure from Oslo S (outside Thon Hotel Opera/taxi stand, Dronning Eufemias gate 4) at 09:00. Return from Lillehammer train station at 17:00. Number of seats: 20.
INTRODUCTION:
Our physical sensory apparatus is significant and holds power over us, as we instinctively respond to the world through how we perceive it. These processes are such an integrated part of our being-in-the-world that our reactions often occur on a subconscious level. Affinities and aversions are formed, and our emotional registers are activated. The way we sense the world triggers fundamental experiences such as feeling alienated or belonging.
In a time when the digital, screen-based reality increasingly consumes our attention and time, the pull toward the sensory world becomes a kind of existential rebellion. Three perspectives from the artists of Østlandsutstillingen invite us to explore the sense of smell, taste, language, and more-than-human subjects within the framework of alienation and belonging.
The senses enrich our lives, but they can also seduce, deceive, or confuse us. Talking about our personal experiences—such as in relation to art (sensing)—is a way to process and expand our own understanding. At the same time, it makes us aware of others’ experiences and allows us to build bridges between our own and others' perceptions.
With this seminar, we aim to let contemporary art open up a shared dialogue rooted in individual experiences. What kinds of reflections and experiences are sparked by the three artistic practices and their works?
With the support of the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue, a so-called “Public Dialogue” will be held, in which all seminar participants are invited to take part in conversations revolving around the relationship between alienation and belonging. The goal is for this dialogue to strengthen the understanding of our own and others’ experiences in a daily culture shaped by overwhelming amounts of information—and, in this way, allow art to inspire exchange of ideas and broadened perspectives.
PROGRAM:
Language: The seminar will be held in Norwegian and English.
11:30
Welcome and introduction by Vilde Andrea Brun (Oplandia Center for Contemporary Art) and Josephine Lindstrøm (Østlandsutstillingen).
12:00 – 12:30
Shwan Dler Qaradaki: Artist presentation on the work Fragrant Deceit.
12:30 – 13:00
Sarah Kazmi: Artist presentation on the work Clapping Hands on the Dastarkhwan by the Fjord, photo installation.
13:00 – 13:45
Lunch – Pakistani style.
13:45 – 14:15
Viktor Pedersen: Artist presentation on the works You Are Here All the Time and Around the House, sculptures.
Each presentation will conclude with questions from the audience.
14:15 – 14:30
Coffee break.
14:30 – 16:00
Joint discussion (Public Dialogue).
The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue in Lillehammer facilitates a guided conversation on the themes of belonging and alienation, together with the artists, the audience, and two facilitators:Jane Bruslund Jensen and Anita Rapp
16:30
Closing.
CONTRIBUTORS
The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue in Lillehammer
One of seven peace and human rights centers in Norway, funded through the national budget via the Ministry of Education and Research. A meeting place for dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution. A place where people are moved, bridges are built, and dialogue is promoted in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation.
Shwan Dler Qaradaki, Visual Artist
Shwan’s artistic practice emphasizes themes such as identity and multiculturalism through his diverse body of work. His piece Duftende bedrag (Fragrant Deception) consists of 12 drawings depicting images of apple, garlic, and mustard flowers. The works are symbolic memories of the 1988 genocide against the Kurds under Saddam Hussein’s regime. The chemical gases used in the attacks were laced with fragrances to lure people into inhaling them. The drawings honor Shwan’s twelve family members who died in the attacks and use flowers as symbols of both beauty and destruction. The goal is to challenge established visual norms and reveal a hidden side of violent imagery.
Sarah Kazmi, Visual Artist and Writer
Sarah’s interdisciplinary practice spans research and visual production, where she explores the relationship between food, language, and politics. In her photo installation, Sarah Kazmi explores the history of immigration from Pakistan to Norway in the 1960s and 70s. With food and food traditions as central themes, her work questions how the story of Pakistani immigration has been experienced, written, and conveyed. Kazmi examines public archives to understand working conditions, leisure activities, and the encounters between migrants and Norwegian society. In dialogue with sources like Aud Korbøl’s book Den kritiske fase (The Critical Phase) and the Norwegian Folk Museum’s archive Norsk i går, i dag, i morgen? (Norwegian Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow?), Kazmi’s project can be described as a "counter-archive." The artist aims to open up existing histories and formulate alternative ways of reading the past.
Viktor Pedersen, Visual Artist
In his artistic practice—moving between video, text, sound, and sculpture—he seeks to approach more-than-human subjects to challenge the power dynamics between humans and other life forms in nature. The sculptures Du er her hele tiden (You Are Here All the Time) and Rundt i huset (Around the House) are made of silicone and human hair, cast from various vacuum cleaners. The artist finds dust fascinating as a connection between humans and the environment. Human origin is said to come from cosmic stardust, while we continually generate dust through dead skin cells—a natural byproduct of our existence. Pedersen aims to translate this idea into sculpture in a poetic way while giving ordinary household objects a more bodily quality. He therefore chose pigmented silicone and human hair—materials that can evoke sensory and physical associations.
The seminar is supported by FRITT ORD, the BERGESEN FOUNDATION, Lillehammer Municipality, and Innlandet County Municipality.
Welcome!
Image: Shwan Dler Qadaraki, Duftende fradrag (Fragrant Deception), 2023, mixed media on paper, 135 x 195 cm.
Also check out other Arts events in Lillehammer, Workshops in Lillehammer, Fine Arts events in Lillehammer.
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