Student-driven collaboration between Germany and Norway

The idea began when Academy of Fine Art student Julius Carlsson Jeansson was on an Erasmus exchange at KHB Weißensee in Berlin last year. He wanted to make more of his stay by initiating a cross-country collaboration. With two German students and three students from KHiO (Academy of Fine Art and Art and Craft department), and with funding from both academies and the Goethe Institute, they planned for a week of social and artistic collaboration, leading up to an exhibition at Galleri Seilduken.

Two hours before the opening of their group exhibition called Himmel, Julius Carlsson Jeansson (Academy of Fine Art, KHiO), Sarah Mutschler (KHB Weißensee), and Hedvig Högström Dahl (Arts and Craft KHiO) shared insights into their process and reflected on the meaning behind it all.

Creating meeting points

- From the start, it was always more than an exhibition. It was to create meeting points, for both artists and visitors, says Julius, third-year Fine Arts bachelor student at KHiO.
Sarah, who has come all the way to Oslo in a minibus from Berlin with six other German students, looks back on the past week.
— Over the past few days, I’ve learned a lot and made many new friends. It’s been great to get hands-on experience with setting up an exhibition—being in the space, making decisions, dealing with crises, finding compromises, and talking things through. And when you work this intensely for several days, it becomes a meaningful experience that you remember very well. It changes you as a person.
Hedvig, who among other tasks handled the booking of Galleri Seilduken 1 and 2, explains that the experience has made her more positive about collaboration and about making things happen.
— I think it’s important to say that this is driven by a lot of curiosity and energy. The last couple of years I’ve felt a bit pessimistic about creating spaces where people actually meet, because you end up dealing with bureaucracy and long processes. And when you try to organise something here at KHiO, or involve another institution, the answer often becomes that it’s not possible. This project reminded me that things are, in fact, doable. Also, we have made a collaboration between Arts and Crafts and Fine Art Academy here at KHiO, which is super rare, Hedvig remarks as Julius nods in agreement.

Sarah adds that it’s not only important to have someone like Julius who comes up with the idea, but also that others pick it up and help get the ball rolling.

— We continue to do things despite the obstacles. I think it is crucial when being an artist. On another level, if you look at it politically, there’s a tendency for people to become more separated and to fearful of each other. This project shows the opposite — that we’re able to connect with people we barely know.

Stumbling upon the Goethe Institut Norge

As Julius was walking on his way to KHiO one morning, trying to come up with ways of funding the project, his eyes landed upon a venue with signs that read “Goethe Institut Norge”.
- So, I rang the doorbell and told them about the idea. They were very positive! They even came up with suggestions of how to evolve the project into something bigger, by organising trips to Germany from Norway and turn it into a reoccurring happening. They planted the idea of making this into an initiative that can be continued for future students as well, a project that can be inherited and live on.
Funding was essential to bring the German students to Norway, covering costs such as fuel, ferries, and accommodation during their journey through the Nordic countries.
- KHB Weißensee has its own minibus, that we were lucky to get to use. It has the academy’s logo on front, so we did some advertising on our way too, says Sarah.
The Norwegian students spent much time organising and asking around to find housing for all the Berliners. Julius was lucky to have a hospitable homeowner:
- Four of them ended up sleeping in our landlady’s tiny(?) studio. So, the German classmates are really getting to know one another too and building friendships, he says.

 
“Himmel” in Germany and in Norway

The title of their exhibition is no coincidence, Julius explains.
- We tried to come up with a theme or title that works between both languages, and that is something we have in common, a connection between Oslo and Berlin. It was during one of our zoom calls from the bus where I looked at the sky and said the word ‘himmel’, and it just made sense.

Sarah explains that the title works because both countries are under the same sky.
- In winter, the skies here are just grey—not the perfect picture, she adds with a smirk.
- - ‘Himmel’ also suggests a roof, giving each other a home and support. That’s something I love about the art scene in general, that people help each other and work together. The open term makes it an open exhibition. I think in, in each work I can, stand myself in front of I can find a relation to ‘himmel’, she concludes.

Immortal optimism and aspiring for real-life interaction

Julius emphasizes how important it is to have positive attitude for a project like this to succeed.
- I strive to be an immortal optimistic person. If things fail, I want to have the attitude of like ‘okay, whatever, that went bad - well, let's do the other thing. Let's just try, try, try, because we have nothing to lose1.
The students explain how they appreciate having their academies’ facilities and resources, but stress how this would never have worked out without a group of capable people with optimistic attitudes and collaborating skills.
- It is important to work with people that want to take care of the little fire – and that imagine that this is possible, Sarah says.
Another lesson from the project was the value of personal outreach. Sarah and Hedvig handed out invitations to nearby galleries in Oslo, and Hedvig recalls the warm response: - I’ve never done that before, and they were really surprised—so nice to see.
Sarah adds that it was part of the learning process, experimenting and being playful. – We also set up an Instagram account, which gained 200 followers in just two days, showing how quickly visibility can grow. (link to account)

Lastly, they are asked if they feel ready for the opening. Julius has just had lunch and feels ready, Sarah thinks people can start arriving, and Hedvig will be folding the final pamphlets.
I think there will be at least twenty people, Sarah constitutes. Julius hesitates and says – Well, we will se about that, I’m optimistic, but not naïve, and they all share a laugh.