Storytelling session: Colloquial place names linked to military activity

Do you know any stories about place names that are or have been in use with connection to military activity? Or are you interested in hearing such stories? Welcome to an informal storytelling session in the exhibition “Deterrence and Reassurance” by Toril Johannessen

Sunday 24 August
14:00 - 16:00
We expect the conversation to last about an hour, but have set aside extra time in case many people have stories to share.
The main language for this event is Norwegian, but stories in English are also welcome
Free admission
Waffles, coffee and tea

Toril Johannessen's silkscreen series and poster “Colloquial place names linked to military activity” maps names that people have given to various places, areas or landmarks across the country that refer to the Armed Forces, war history or military activity. NATO-kaia, BBC, Kuba, Golan-høyden and Radiohula are all examples of unofficial names given by civilians to such places, buildings, mountains, wetlands or roads. Creating a complete overview would have been an endless task, so the maps also have blank spaces where people can fill in names they know of that are not included. Welcome to a social gathering where anyone who wants to can share place names and stories related to them.

The poster is on sale in Mondo books at TKF.

The event is part of our program connected to the exhibition Deterrence and Reassurance, which examines how geopolitics and military presence shape society and everyday life in Norway, with a particular focus on Northern Norway. The works in the exhibition form an interwoven civil-military landscape, and thematize how militarization and soft power leave their mark on language, landscape and experiences of safety and unrest.

Toril Johannessen (b. 1978) grew up in Harstad, and lives and works in Bergen. She is educated at the Bergen Academy of Fine Arts, and has achieved international recognition after an extensive exhibition practice both nationally and internationally. Johannessen has been represented at dOCUMENTA(13) (2012) in Kassel, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo(2016), the Munch Museum in Motion (2018) and the Festival Exhibition in Bergen (2024), in addition to public art projects for the Bergen City Hall (2022) and Evenes Air Base (2023).