Spotlight on Vardø

Project Spotlight

An initiative by the North Norwegian Art Centre will present a series of commissions and artist projects in Vardø, Norway’s easternmost town.

Creating Land Possible Futures
A long, dark corridor is illuminated by several suspended incandescent light bulbs.

From 2020–2022, the North Norwegian Art Centre is commissioning and presenting a series of art projects in Vardø, a town located in the county of Finnmark in northern Norway.

A long, dark corridor is illuminated by several suspended incandescent light bulbs.
Memorial Hall (2011), designed by Swiss Architect Peter Zumthor (video still).

Vardø (Northern Sami; Várggát, Kven: Vuorea, Finnish: Vuoreija) is the easternmost town of Norway. It has a population of approximately 2000 people and is the only town in Finnmark where you can experience a continuous pre-war architecture originating from before the Second World War. It is the region’s oldest fishing village and was known as the Pomeranian capital, as it was a centre for trade with Russia in the 19th century. In more recent times Vardø is home for the Steilneset memorial and the Nordic championship of snowball throwing (part of the Yukigassen). Vardø is also the origin point of Kystopprøret (the coastal uprising)—a movement that strongly criticizes how marine resources have been privatized and extracted from the region.

Credit: This video was originally published by the North Norwegian Art Centre in 2022. COURTESY NORTH NORWEGIAN ART CENTRE.

This story is part of the Norway Partner Spotlight. View more content from the Spotlight here.