The Skien International Ibsen Conference 2009 will be held on 10th - 11th September at Ibsenhuset in Skien south of Oslo.
One of the main lecture topics of this year’s Ibsen conference will be how to use birthplaces to promote an artist, using examples such as Robert Burns’s Edinburgh and Ayrshire and Dylan Thomas’s Swansea. Another central topic will be how to deal with artistic and cultural heritage on a local, national and international level and using this heritage to influence individuals and communities. In addition, the manager of the Hamsun centre at Hamarøy in Northern Norway will share her views on the foundation of the recently opened Hamsun Centre.
The Ibsen conference will also host the award ceremony for the International Ibsen Award 2009 at the National Theatre in Oslo. This year, the award goes to the world-renowned stage director Ariane Mnouchkine, granddaughter of British stage actor Nicholas Hannen. Mnouchkine is famous for having founded the avant-garde stage ensemble Theatre du Soleil.