New term of office for Ådne Sekkelsten in Scenekunstbruket

The board of Norsk Scenekunstbruk wishes to offer Ådne Sekkelsten a new five-year term from 2014 as general manager, and Sekkelsten has accepted. Sekkelsten has been involved in building up Scenekunstbruket, and was appointed general manager in 2009 - when Scenekunstbruket was formed as a separate company. This will therefore be his second and final term of office.

"The board is very pleased with the CEO's efforts. Scenekunstbruket has become a stable player in the performing arts landscape, and under Sekkelsten's leadership Scenekunstbruket has developed into an innovative and exciting organization with an eye on the future, as well as a clear political player with a focus on dissemination and production of performing arts for children and young people.

As the national player in the Cultural Rucksack, Scenekunstbruket has raised the status of performing arts for a younger target group. Ådne Sekkelsten has initiated a number of measures to increase competence, both in terms of content, dissemination and by letting young people's voices be heard through projects such as SUS - Scenekunstbruket's young voices, and the annual theater festival Showbox. Showbox is currently Norway's largest performing arts festival focusing on children and young people, and it attracts festival guests from both Norway and abroad.

Sekkelsten has placed great emphasis on Scenekunstbruket being a collaborative organization, in order to strengthen the focus on children and young people. An important goal for Scenekunstbruket is that their model can break down the boundaries between the independent field and the institutions, both through collaboration, good dissemination structures and membership of NTO. Scenekunstbruket can disseminate professional performing arts to all parts of Norway, regardless of where they are produced. 2012 was a record year so far, with more than 272,000 audience members attending more than 3,000 performances.

The board is looking forward to the years ahead, including celebrating Scenekunstbruket's 20th anniversary in 2014. To mark the occasion, Scenekunstbruket is publishing an anniversary book with both professional articles and a historical perspective on the performing arts for children and young people - and their dissemination.