May 2009

The Great Escape festival showcases more than 300 local and international new artists over three days in Brighton, and a total of eleven Norwegian artists and bands will be playing. Following 2008’s Norwegian extravaganza at the festival, this year’s edition will once again give both seasoned fans and new listeners the opportunity to experience Norway’s blossoming music scene live. [+] Read more

Norwegian galleries Galleri Format and Kunst1 will both be represented at this year’s Collect, the international art fair for contemporary objects, which is presented by the Crafts Council at London’s Saatchi Gallery. Bringing together selected galleries from around the globe, Collect showcases the very best in decorative and applied arts. [+] Read more

World-famous violinist Anne Sophie Mutter will perform Mendelssohn's much-loved violin concerto in E minor with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste in the Barbican on 20 May as part of the Barbican's Great Performers 2008-2009 season.
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One of Norway’s most popular female musicians, Ane Brun, once again returns to London’s Union Chapel for a concert on 20 May. Brun, who played a number of British venues last year, has also just released her critically acclaimed album, ‘Changing of the Seasons’.  
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A production of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece ‘Peer Gynt’ by the National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Ensemble, described as a theatrical roller-coaster ride, will now run at London’s Barbican. An exhilarating tale of a life lived on the edge; this production promises a mix of trolls, madmen, dancing girls and live music. [+] Read more

One of Norway’s most celebrated artists, Frans Widerberg, will now exhibit paintings made between 1988 and 2008 at London’s Kings Place Gallery. Widerberg is one of those artistic visionaries who creates an alternative world, and in his paintings events take place in an empty landscape. 
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In May 2009, critically acclaimed pianist Leif Ove Andsnes will join forces with one of Norway’s most distinguished orchestras, The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, on a tour of England and Scotland. Andsnes has recorded more than 30 albums, won the Classical Brit Award in for ‘Best instrumentalist’ in 2007. 
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NorskArt, the annual exhibition showcasing young Norwegian artists who are studying in the UK, takes place in London’s trendy Shoreditch from 6 – 10 May. The exhibition brings together 26 art students who work across a number of art genres, from installations via photography to painting. 
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A favourite with BBC Radio 2, Norwegian singer / songwriter Robert Post now returns to the UK for string of concerts to perform tracks from his brand new album ‘Disarm and let go’. Robert and the band recorded the album at an all-analogue studio situated on the Giske Island on the stormy shores of West Norway. 
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The quirky Norwegian film ‘O’Horten’, by award-winning director Bent Hamer, opens at selected cinemas across the UK in April. The 67-year-old engineer Odd Horten has driven the same train route every day for so long that the rest of his life has become a routine of comfortable rituals, so how will he celebrate his retirement? 
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One of Norway’s most popular singer songwriters, Thomas Dybdahl, will be playing a gig at Borderline in London on 13 May as well as at the Great Escape festival in Brighton on 14 and 15 May. His live performances are always soulful and the press has lauded his concerts on numerous occasions. 
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Norwegian metal band Gothminister, who enjoys a healthy following throughout Europe and recently released their third album, will play three UK gigs in early May. Formed in 1999 by Bjørn Alexander Brem, they released their first album four years later entitled ‘Gothic Electronic Anthems’. 
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‘Northern Stars’, Barbican’s series of Nordic storytelling, takes place over three nights and features some of Scandinavia and Europe’s most accomplished storytellers, including formidable Norwegian storyteller Heidi Dahlsveen whose stories are always frank, full of contrasts and laced with stark, Nordic beauty.
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The Tramps, a Norwegian band with a passion for Irish music, is one of two acts from Norway playing at ‘The Yellow’s on the Broom’ Music & Arts Festival in Scotland at the beginning of May.  They will be performing, along with fellow Norwegian band The Flying Shoes. 
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Norwegian singer / songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg will perform tracks from her latest album ‘Blood From A Stone’ during a gig at London’s Bush Hall. She acknowledges that the likes of Sonic Youth, Cocteau Twins, Pixies and PJ Harvey have all exerted an influence over her new songs.
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