What’s On?

Hvileåret: Rest, Growth and Activism is an 18 month long participatory and artistic-research project housed at Storeteigen bygdatun in Øystese developed by Bergen based artist, Amber Ablett. It aims to create a collective space to investigate, learn about and question the role of rest in growth. 

Hvileåret focuses on rest within activism and those who fight against oppression through collective thinking, writing, sound, workshops and interventions in the grounds of Storeteigen.

Storeteigen is run by Kunsthuset Kabuso as an alternative space to work with participatory and research based projects. The project began in February 2022 and will run until the summer of 2023.

Hvileåret uses the traditional farming method vekselbruk (crop rotation) and the importance of the hvileår (in English known as the fallow year- a year which allows the soil to replenish its nutrients) as an analogy for the importance of pausing and reflecting in our work for societal change. 

Rest can be seen as an act of resistance in a society that pushes us to be productive at the expense of our well being; becoming overwhelmed and exhausted can actually hinder the changes we want to see- exhaustion can also been since as a tactic to maintain the status quo- that only benefits the few privileged in our global society. The writer, professor, and civil rights activist, Audrey Lourde said: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare”. Whether these changes are in how we view our resources or the structures that privilege a few and oppress others, this project turns to methods of farming that are in tune with the natural cycles of growth to learn how we can view rest as an active tool for change.

Holding this project in a bygdatun has special significance beyond the link to farming. The bygdatun is a collective space: one you work, live and socialise around and so informs the framework for this participatory project that will encourage shared thinking, learning and play.

Amber Ablett is an artist and writer based in Bergen, Norway. Using performance, text, sound and re-enactment, her work looks at the importance of belonging to how we be together, with an focus on how our society shapes, reflects, controls and limits our multifaceted identities. Ablett uses her own position, as a mixed race woman living in Norway, as a starting point to create a space for questioning communality and shared thinking; she is interested in how we learn about ourselves through learning about other people. Stepping away from spectacle, Ablett often uses workshops and gatherings as a platform to share and open up her practice. 

>>> Storeteigen website – information on workshops and gatherings

The permanent lightwork by the American artist James Turrell: Hardanger Skyspace is available at dusk and dawn.

> Tickets and timetables here

The museum that houses sculptor Ingebrigt Vik’s (1867-1927) work is situated right beside Kabuso in Øystese – and entrance is included in the Kabuso exhibition ticket.

The artist Vik left the collection to his native Øystese, and the museum was the first sculpture museum to open its doors in rural Norway in 1934. The museum in the unique octagonal building houses works by Vik in bronze, plaster, clay and marble, from working models to signed works.

Vik is known for his subtle and precise portrayal of the human body, with undertones of melancholy. He was one of the foremost sculptors in Norway in the first half of the 20th century, and his sculptures won awards when they were shown in Paris, where he lived for many years. Vik’s sculptures are found in a number of large art collections, such as the National Museum and Kode Bergen. His portrait statue of Edvard Grieg (1917) has a prominent place in Byparken park in Bergen, while Ynglingen (1913) stands in Teaterparken park in the same city.

See the sculptures at close range at Ingebrigt Vik Museum.

Ask at Kabuso if the door is locked. You can also see a film about the sculptor, ‘Han skapte liv’ (He created life) (26 minutes) at Kabuso.

Social media:
#ingebrigtvik #ingebrigtvikmuseum

Opening hours this summer:
June 12-June 17: Wednesday-Friday 11-15, Sat-Sunday 11-16 
June 18-August 18: Tues-Sunday 11 AM-5 PM
August 15-September 4: Wednesday-Friday 11-15, Sat-Sunday 11-16

Prepare to be charmed by these young talents from Kvam cultural school!

Twice every six months, the cultural school in Kvam invites the public to a concert in Kabuso to let you see what they are up to.
Sit back and hear everything from the most beautiful singing to the coolest guitar solo.

We guarantee you will be impressed, touched and charmed – the cocoa concerts always have a good element of surprise about them!
Before and after the concert, you can enjoy the café, which of course serves hot cocoa and other treats.

Please note! KabusoFriend discounts do not apply to the cocoa concerts

Prepare to be charmed by these young talents from Kvam cultural school!

Twice every six months, the cultural school invites the public to a concert in Kabuso to let you see what they are up to.
Sit back and hear everything from the most beautiful singing to the coolest guitar solo.
We guarantee you will be impressed, touched and charmed – the cocoa concerts always have a good element of surprise about them!
Before and after the concert, you can enjoy the café, which of course serves hot cocoa and other treats.

Please note! KabusoFriend discounts do not apply to the cocoa concerts since other discounts already apply.