THE NORTHERN BEAUTY: Barents Visual Arts in 1970 – 1980 (KO355)
Funded by Kolarctic ENPI 2007-2013

Objective of the project

The overall objective of the project was to contribute to the people-to-people cooperation and identity building of the Barents region, by establishing cooperation between arts and cultural institutions in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, and therefore to break centre-periphery confrontation by creating new information and vision of art in 1970s and 1980s through research and Barents wide exhibition tour. The specific objective of the project was to build up the network between cultural actors and arts historians for implementing multilateral activities such as exhibitions, workshops and symposiums to increase awareness about rich and diverse arts and cultural heritage of the North.

Main activities

Creating a basic network of art researchers, art and cultural institutions on the Barents region. To do this, a Northern Beauty EXPERT GROUP was established at the very start of the project. The Expert Group acted as a network of researchers, cultural actors, museum professionals and art historians. The project Expert group conducted the research on the Barents visual arts in 1970s – 1980s, discussed and made decisions on the contents of the research and publication, agreed on the content of the Northern Beauty exhibition and other practicalities related to the exhibition & symposium tour and workshops. Implementation of the exhibition tour, research symposiums, and workshops in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. During the project, the NB consortium organised 4 transferable exhibitions and 4 scientific symposiums in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. To sustain time and cost-efficiency, the symposiums were organised either straight after the exhibition opening or at the closing day (as in Karasjok, Norway). In frames of the NB exhibitions, partners organised 27 workshops (guided tours) for young people. Moreover, additional promotional event was organised in Rovaniemi at th end of the 3rd project year. Creation of Future Master Plan The Master Plan was developed through: - exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices and - discussions and agreements on future joint project and research The purpose of the Northern Beauty Master Plan is to outline the best practices and experiences acquired within the project, and to identify the directions for the future cooperation of the partnership.

Achievements

Northern Beauty – Barents Visual Arts in the 1970s and the 1980s was a central graspable outcome of the project. It is a publication to increase the awareness of the rich and diverse visual arts and cultural heritage of the North Calotte. It is also a partly forgotten history of cultural contacts in the North Calotte area. Almost 1500 copies of the publication were distributed widely in order to spread the information on the unique northern art to as wide public as possible. Through collaboration, partners were able to develop activities that draw attention to the cultural heritage of the Barents region: - 4 transferable exhibitions, - 4 thematic symposiums, - 27 guided tours for young people and - 1 additional promotional event. All together, the events attracted over 7000 visitors in partner countries. The project built up a network between cultural actors and arts historians. The partners established strong scientific and professional ties and intend to continue further cooperation within the Northern Beauty network of art professionals and historians. The Future Master Plan is a concrete document regarding this.