Samtidskunsten i møtet med historiske kirker

Domkirken2025 Invites You to a Seminar

We will present various perspectives on integrating new art into historically significant church spaces. Church administration and authorities, preservation authorities, professionals from the art field, and anyone interested in the topic are welcome.

PROGRAM

09:00 Registration/Coffee 09:30 Welcome by Britta Goldberg, Project Manager Domkirken2025 09:40 - 10:20 What Does Art Do in the Church Space? Oddbjørn Sørmoen 10:20 - 11:00 New Art in Old Churches Elisabeth Andersen, NIKU

Questions and comments 11:15 - 12:00 Lunch 12:00 - 12:40 Contemporary Art in British Churches and Cathedrals Laura Moffatt, Director of Art and Christianity 12:40 - 13:00 New Art in Older Church Spaces – Experiences from the National Heritage Board Olaf Steen, Riksantikvaren

Questions and comments 13:15 - 13:30 Break 13:30 - 14:10 Why Contemporary Art in the Church? Hanne Beate Ueland 14:10 - 14:50 Artist with Experience Working in Churches (to be announced!)

Questions and comments 15:00 - 15:15 Break 15:15 - 16:00 Discussion (in English) Moderated by Oddbjørn Sørmoen Elisabeth Andersen Hanne Beate Ueland Laura Moffatt Øivind Holtedahl, Vicar of Stavanger Cathedral 16:15 Site Visit to Stavanger Cathedral With Project Manager Britta Goldberg and restoration architects Per M. Schjelderup and Live Gram

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Oddbjørn Sørmoen holds a Master's degree in Art History from the University of Oslo (1993), further education in Restoration Art at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm (1996-97), and a Master's in Inclusive Architecture from Aalborg University, Copenhagen (2023). Sørmoen is now an independent cultural heritage consultant, having worked for over 30 years at the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, English Heritage, the Church of Norway Council, and others. His extensive work with church buildings and cultural heritage has focused on the dynamics between historical spaces and contemporary expressions and art. For a decade, he was part of the community surrounding the annual conference on liturgy, art, and architecture at Monastero di Bose in Piemonte.

Elisabeth Andersen is an art historian and researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) in Oslo. She works with art and furnishings in Norwegian churches, has published numerous articles and books, and gives lectures on church art and interior design. She has written about altarpieces, wall paintings, bridal benches, and baptismal angels.

Laura Moffatt is the Director of Art and Christianity – the UK's leading organization in the field of visual art and faith – and the Editor of its quarterly journal. She recently led a series of symposia titled "Visual Communion: the art, architecture, and craft of the Eucharist" and is co-editor of an upcoming book on the same topic, to be published by Brepols in 2025. Laura has also co-edited "Contemporary Art in British Churches" (ACE, 2009) and co-authored "Contemporary Church Architecture" (John Wiley, 2006) and writes on art and architecture for various publications. She is a member of the Church Buildings Council for the Church of England and the London Diocesan Advisory Committee, both of which require a rigorous assessment of historic church buildings while understanding what makes them work for and inspire their congregations and communities. She has studied Fine Art (BA), Arts Criticism (MA), and Theology (Grad. Dip.), and considers growing up in a Vicarage part of her education.

Olaf Steen is a senior advisor at the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage's Church Section. He is an art historian specializing in early Italian medieval church art but has also worked extensively in the art field, including contemporary art.

Hanne Beate Ueland is the Department Director of the Stavanger Art Museum, MUST. She holds a Cand. Philol. degree in art history, with a thesis examining exhibition design and institutional history. Ueland's background in Norwegian art museums includes roles as an education officer at Bergen Art Museum (2001-2003) and curator at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art (2003-2014). She has curated several exhibitions, both thematic and monographic. In recent years, she has curated exhibitions such as "Waves and Moons – Siri Aurdal and Synnøve Anker Aurdal" (2024) and "The Forbidden Forest – Andreas Siqueland and the Halvdan Hafsten Collection" (2023). Ueland has contributed to the publication of several exhibition catalogs.