November 7, 2024

Nominees for Gulljerven 2024

Gulljerven 2024 is awarded by Scenekunstbruket during this year's Showbox festival. Here are the nominees.

NEW ARRIVALS OF THE YEAR

Who has made a name for themselves in the performing arts for young audiences in recent years? Do you see a creative or performing artist who could be the new big thing in the field, and who we need to pay extra attention to?

Nominees:

Jawad Aziz

Aziz has done so much in the past year that it doesn't fit into a few sentences. Aziz graduated in 2023 from NBX and works as an actor, interdisciplinary artist, communicator and lecturer. He has demonstrated his versatility as an artist in performances such as 56 Hope Road at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, in Mine Nilay Yalcin's Sirkus Grønland, and as a great talent in working with children, youth and young adults at Melahuset, Vega Ung and Det Andre Barneteatret. Aziz is a hard-working and devoted artist, who is known to spread a lot of joy in the workplaces he is associated with, both to the audience and colleagues.

Shelmith Øseth

In recent years, Øseth has distinguished herself as an exploratory dancer who is constantly searching for new artistic inspirations in contemporary dance and theater. After participating with contemporary dance in Norwegian Talents in 2017, she has trained and gained experience from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and developed her own interest in improvisation, contemporary art and African dance genres. She is one of the dances in Panta Rei's talent development program Tilt Grow for 2024. Øseth is based in Bergen, and will make her mark as one of the new stars on the dance scene in Norway in the coming years.

Anders Engebretsen

Engebretsen has made his mark on the performing arts for children and young people over the past year, both as a performing and creative dance artist. After graduating, he has been active in several productions. As a dancer for babies in Ida Utvik's Rock-a-bye and Himstregimser og andre duppeditter, and for young people in Carl André Johansson's Hav. He has designed his own performance Stjerneskudd, which has toured kindergartens, primary schools - and vgs (!). Engebretsen has his own immediacy when meeting young people, and has made a name for himself for refining contact with the audience.

Amalie Sasha Schanke

Schanke has really made her breakthrough in the past year. She graduated from NBX in 2022 and has had several assignments in both institutions and the independent field. She appeared in Nordic Black's Maya Angelou Black Woman Rising, and in Mine Nilay Yalcin's Sirkus Grønland in 2024. She has performed for kindergarten children in Brageteatret's Snow, and for adults in Tani Dibasey's Saykoluhjee. Schanke is an active member of the dance collective B16, which recently performed Sensing the deep at Astrup Fernley, where dancers respond to the exhibition's themes of geological time, blackness, Afrofuturism and memory. Over the past year, Schanke has shown himself to be a rare versatile actor and dancer.

Nora Louise J. Andvig

Andvig is nominated for her interpretation of the role Lily in the production Dragen (Gro Dahle) by Tigerstadsteatret and Turnéteatret i Trøndelag. From the moment Andvig enters the performance, the audience gets to see in a few minutes how complex Lily is, how funny, happy, scared and brave one can be at the same time. The audience gains real sympathy with the main character, whom children cheer for and adults want to protect. The show has been performed for several thousand children, and Andvig has been just as brave in her encounters with the audience in every performance. In her interaction with the other two characters on stage, she demonstrates an impressive range of acting skills, and is certainly someone we will be seeing more of.

OLDEST CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

The award goes to an artist or group that has worked with performing arts for children and young people for a long time, and which through its artistic work has provided many good art experiences to the young audience.

Nominees:

Kenneth Dean

Already in the 80s, Dean started Teaterverkstedet at Torshov, Norway's first private college-approved acting school, and then a theater. In the early 90s he started Teater X, then Kenneth Dean Productions. And just over 10 years ago: Robsrud & DeaN. This man has been making theater for more than 40 years, and for the last 30 years has been very dedicated to the young audience. He has been behind small and large performances, several of which have been selected for The Cultural Rucksack and played in hundreds across the country. For decades, Dean has made an effort to convey unorthodox and popular theater traditions and thus show a diversity of performing arts for young people.

K:13 Performing arts

Steinar Thorsen and Jorunn Lullau have over 25 years of experience in the performing arts. Their company K:13 was founded in 2013, with a particular focus on interactivity and participation in theater for children and young people and in creating theater that reflects social and political conditions. Thorsen and Lullau have been involved in several international projects, including through the network Participate in your life, and have been dedicated to developing their own method in interactive theater. Their innovative staging of Romeo & Juliet has toured in DKS with good feedback from young people. The company is based in Bergen and wants to contribute positively to the art scene in the city. 

The puppet theater workshop

Dukketeaterverkstedet has existed for almost 30 years, and general manager Jan Holden has run it for over 10 years. Dukketeaterverkstedet is a production facility and workshop that since 1996 has provided equipment, tools and materials to create puppets for a variety of stage work. Most people who have seen theater in Bergen, and elsewhere in the country, have seen some of Holden's characters, his lighting, sound or other techniques. Dukketeaterverkstedet collaborates with many in the field of performing arts, and Holden in particular has a reputation for being especially gentle and supportive of artists and institutions that need his help.

CABLE PULLER OF THE YEAR

The award goes to a steady technician who performs solid work before, during and after the performances. It can also go to a dancer, actor or performer who knows how to pull their cable, who shows strong commitment and exquisite precision during the up and down rigging.

Nominees:

Agnar Ribe

Ribe runs Ribe Teaterteknikk, which collaborates with several actors in the independent field. Among other things, he has been affiliated with Grenland Friteater as a sound and lighting technician and lighting designer, and has several assignments for companies and now at Black Box Theater. He is unstoppable when it comes to cracking the codes on a challenging rig, and does not give up until everything works 100%. In addition to being hard-working and very professional, Ribe is particularly nominated for how respectful he is when meeting new performers and for the good atmosphere he creates in the workplace.

Morten Røsrud and Thomas Gallagher

This duo has made a real piece of quality craftsmanship in combining direction with good technical solutions. In the production Agentene og det sjukt farlige oppdraget (Feil teater/Unge Viken Teater), they have developed a performance with a lot of simultaneous technology to work seamlessly, without wires. Visual and sound effects are designed to be processed by the actors along the way, leaving you wondering where the technician sits and does all the work. It takes a lot of imagination and innovation to make technique and direction flow together in this way, which is why Røsrud and Gallagher are nominated for Cable Puller of the Year.

Gjermund Lethigangas

Lethigangas works as a technician and driver for the Tiger bus. The bus weighs close to 27 tons, and Lethigangas maneuvers it smoothly into every schoolyard and small loophole in Oslo's urban space, even where there is only a few centimetres of clearance. He does what most technicians do; arrives first and leaves last, pulls cables and builds up the stage design every single day, and he does this on just eight cups of coffee and a pizza roll. In addition to being a driver and technician, he also has to put on costumes and entertain children while running several shows a day.

SUSTAINABILITY HERO OF THE YEAR

The award goes to an actor who has worked with sustainability in the field of performing arts for children and young people, someone who through their artistic or administrative work has put art and the environment on the agenda. For example, an extra sustainable itinerary, a staff that has been reused in unthinkable combinations, or costumes, props and set design elements that have had adventurous journeys through different performances and groups, or otherwise work to make the field more sustainable.

Nominees:

Kristoffer Nohr Unstad

Unstad is a producer in DKS Nordland and is nominated for his work on the strategy document "Strategy for sustainable events" , which describes how cultural events organized by DKS can be carried out in a sustainable way, in a social, economic and ecological perspective. The strategy is based on guidelines from Nye forgreininger: Cultural Strategy for Nordland County 2023-2027 and Financial Plan 2024-2027 (NFK). DKS Nordland is dependent on traveling performers, and in order to have a diverse offering of performing arts in the north, Unstad's work shows how they can strive for greater sustainability at the same time. And not least, he shows how individuals in small administrations can positively influence work and improve systems.

SHIFTIT - center for circular cultural production

Since 2021, Syv mil has been working with the SHIFTIT concept to initiate a green shift in the cultural field by creating circular infrastructures for cultural production. SHIFTIT is a digital reuse platform, where physical centers are also planned where usable materials are made available for use in art production and knowledge development. The initiative comes from Syv mil, a producer unit that has distinguished itself in recent years as very energetic and well rooted in the independent field, and the platform is based on the needs of the field. The aim is to make it easy, inexpensive and efficient to reuse different types of materials, and to raise the level of expertise in the field of performing arts - thereby contributing to a greener cultural industry.

The circus village by Cirkus Xanti

Cirkus Xanti, with artistic director Sverre Waage, has for years aimed to make a social and cultural-political difference, as well as to promote circus and contemporary circus as full-fledged performing arts. Over the course of 16 years, the Circus Village has grown to become an important international contemporary circus festival. Cirkus Xanti is an important steward of the circus tradition, ensuring that the genre can live on in the face of new audiences and have a sustainable future. With several specially-designed circus tents that are fully equipped display and production arenas, the art is also communicated within a sustainable framework. The Circus City has high ambitions for contemporary circus, contributing to a vibrant local environment and introducing contemporary circus to children and young people in several parts of the country.

THIS YEAR'S (D)JERVESTE

The award goes to a person or actor who has spoken up for art in the past year. To someone who has researched, written about, supported, lifted or worked with structures. To someone who has fearlessly dared to ask questions about the conditions of art or artists, or in other ways has put art on the agenda.

Nominees:

The action group at Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theater)

By Sindre Postholm, Natalie Bjerke Roland, Karoline Schau, Gunnar Eiriksson and Ferdinand Falsen Hiis. Throughout the political process with Oslo Nye in recent months, Aksjonsgruppa has initiated several activities and acted as visible representatives for the theater's employees. In a demanding situation, they have been professional and creative in highlighting the importance of the theater for the city. Aksjonsgruppa is nominated for its work in uniting the employees of the theater, how they have united the entire field of performing arts and filled the protests with content, and how they have made an absurd political process visible. 

Magnus Myhr

Myhr set off a flurry of controversy about theater when he tackled the issue of representation and direction of the production Arven at the National Theatre. His questioning article in Klassekampen about a lost opportunity for the performing arts was followed by tendentious articles in several media, leaving Myhr quite alone in the public eye. As an individual artist, it can also feel risky to ask questions within the field about the institutions' responsibility for storytelling. Myhr has lifted a few stones in the field of performing arts, which has certainly cost him a lot of energy, but which will hopefully help to change the way the industry works in the future.

Teaterlosjen at NTNU

Teaterlosjen is the line association for Drama and Theater at NTNU, which through several protest actions fought against the closure of the Department of Art and Media Studies (IKM) in the spring of 2024. Many feared that the closure of IKM was the beginning of the end of the Drama and Theatre program as a whole. The students in Teaterlosjen kept a high profile in several media to highlight the consequences, wrote several critical articles in the media, and used the performing arts' own methods, including a funeral performance, to highlight the seriousness of the matter.

MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR

The award goes to someone who constantly delivers behind the scenes, who takes care of the big and small things for a production or tour - from budget, production plans, tour plans to hot coffee. Would there be any performing arts without producers? Be they independent producers, performing artists who work as producers themselves, producers in the counties or performing arts consultants.

Nominees:

Eva Grainger

Grainger has maneuvered the role of full-time producer with the position of deputy chair of Norwegian Dance Artists for the past 5 years. With great capacity, she has been one of the few pure producers in the dance field who herself has a background as a dancer. She has fought for the rights and working conditions of dancers, and has always been on the artists' side. Over the years she has worked with Ingri Fiksdal, Bananaz, Ingunn Bjørnsgaard, the Mind the Gap festival, Kompani Haugsund and others. Grainger is a tidy, reliable and professional producer, who has also provided much-needed advice and guidance to dancers and choreographers on production issues.

Bjørn-Tore Grøntvedt

Grøntvedt is not only a producer, he has also worked as a stage manager, actor, singer, drag and musical artist in the independent performing arts field for a number of years. This diverse experience means that he always understands several aspects of creative processes, which is especially important in the independent field. Grøntvedt joined SPKRBOX in 2022 and has worked with other companies, including Fabularium Productions in Trondheim. He has a special ability to reassure people around him, communicates well with all parts of the production and is always one step ahead to make every rehearsal, performance period and general production as good as possible for everyone involved.

Maiken Garder

Garder is a well-known and experienced producer in the north, who has managed several projects from her base in Hammerfest. In recent years, she has been a producer at Elle Sofe Company, where she has used her large national and international network to highlight the artist and Norwegian and Sami performing arts. Garder is particularly good at reading how their artistic work fits into a larger context. With this, she often carries a great responsibility on her shoulders, both to raise the importance of art in a societal perspective, and for the performing artists she works for in particular. Garder is known in the field of performing arts for being someone you trust, and where you get what you are promised.

ARTISTIC EFFORT OF THE YEAR

The prize is awarded to an artist, group or institution that has distinguished itself over the past year with an idea/performance/concept for what performing arts for a young audience can be.

Nominees:

Håkon Dalsbø and Frode Gjerløw for Det Mørke Fortet

Håkon Dalsbø and Frode Gjerløw for The Dark Fort. Dalsbø and Gjerløw have written and directed Det Mørke Fortet - Et Minecraft-eventyr (The Dark Fort - A Minecraft Adventure), which has played to full houses over the past year. The production is produced by The Norwegian Touring Theatre, in collaboration with Hålogaland Theatre and Teatret vårt. Dalsbø and Gjerløw have managed to combine theater and gaming in such a way that it appeals to children, young people and adults. In their work, technology, gamers, sound and light are integrated into the scenography, and in Minecraft, the theme is not the story itself, but the framework for a recognizable drama about being human. With this performance, Dalsbø and Gjerløw give children the power and the cultural capital, and they use the game's part of children's social and cultural life to tell the story without moralizing.

Wakka Wakka Productions

Wakka Wakka, led by Kirjan Waage and Gwendolyn Warnock, has been creating puppet shows since 2001 that have, for many, exploded the understanding of what puppetry can be. Extreme attention to detail, quality craftsmanship and magnificent set design have made the company's performances sought after all over the world. Their latest production, Dead as a Dodo, is the final part of their Animalia trilogy, and has played to young audiences in several parts of the country. By collaborating with Nordland Visual Theatre and teaching at Nord University, they have introduced a new generation of performers to puppetry and raised the level of expertise in the genre for the Norwegian performing arts field.

Christina Sleipnes

Sleipnes is nominated for the breadth of her acting achievements over the past year. Sleipnes graduated in 2019, and through her work in two very different roles, she has demonstrated great expertise in both tragedy and comedy. In the monologue performance Å leve videre by Rimfrost Produksjoner/Nina Wester, she brought to life on stage a complex person who lives with the July 22 terror every day. In Feil Teater's Flukten fra Botsen (The Escape from Botsen), she plays a role at the other end of the spectrum as prison warden Bergljot Stuss, a comic character with a uniqueness you can't take your eyes off. Sleipnes has turned both roles into an extension of herself and through this has shown herself to be a great acting talent.