Our associate Lesley Fallais is off on her travels, topping up her creative batteries and her enthusiasm for culture-led regeneration as she goes. In Scandinavia she's been finding out about Norway's National Tourist Routes - 18 scenic routes designated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for their picturesque scenery and tourist-friendly infrastructure and incorporating architecture, design and art. Many thanks to Lesley for this guest post, based on a post for her own blog about a recent trip on the Varanger Route to Vardo, where she was struck by the way in which a strong investment in art and culture is right at the centre of a town's regeneration, and spotted parallels with her own work. Read Lesley's original post - with more detail on the Steilneset Monument - here.
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Photo: Lesley Fallais
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On an overcast and gloomy Sunday evening in Norway's easternmost town, Vardo, I arrived at the Steilneset Monument - a stunning and highly atmospheric art and architecture collaboration which commemorates 91 local people who were accused of witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake. It was jointly commissioned by the town of Vardo, the Varanger Museum and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and was developed in association with the National Tourist Routes in Norway programme.
The Memorial is the work of artist Louise Bourgeois and the architecture atelier of Peter Zumthor and partners, and comprises two separate buildings. One is an installation by Zumthor, a 125m-long wooden structure framing a fabric cocoon which contains a narrow walkway,1.5m wide, lined with small windows, one for each victim of the witch hunts. The second adjacent structure is a square, black glass room containing the work of Louise Bourgeois who died in 2010 (the project was commissioned in 2006 and opened in 2011 so, The Damned, The Possessed and The Beloved was her last major installation). As described on Wikipedia “This room contains a central chair on which an eternal flame burns, the fire is reflected in seven large oval mirrors, placed on metal columns in a ring around the seat, like judges circling the condemned”.
The Memorial is the work of artist Louise Bourgeois and the architecture atelier of Peter Zumthor and partners, and comprises two separate buildings. One is an installation by Zumthor, a 125m-long wooden structure framing a fabric cocoon which contains a narrow walkway,1.5m wide, lined with small windows, one for each victim of the witch hunts. The second adjacent structure is a square, black glass room containing the work of Louise Bourgeois who died in 2010 (the project was commissioned in 2006 and opened in 2011 so, The Damned, The Possessed and The Beloved was her last major installation). As described on Wikipedia “This room contains a central chair on which an eternal flame burns, the fire is reflected in seven large oval mirrors, placed on metal columns in a ring around the seat, like judges circling the condemned”.
The site, on the edge of the ocean, was striking on a cold and grey evening. The wind was blowing and intensified the sound of the burning flame, certainly theatrical. The scale and robust feel of the black glass room is impressive, the central fire reflected around the walls through which you can see the Barents Sea. The adjacent timber and canvas corridor (reminiscent of nearby fish drying racks) is a total emotional surprise. You enter via a ramp to face a black wall, your eyes adjusting to the dark interior, then turn to face the narrow walkway where 91 dim light bulbs hang beside 91 small square windows. Next to each window hangs a text-filled banner, one for each victim of the witch hunts which took place in Vardo in the 1620s - towards the end of the period that saw persecution of ‘witches’ all over Europe - in which 135 ‘witches’ were accused and 91 burned alive at the stake.
“The Steilneset Monument emphasises what is individual for every person who was executed. Each woman and man is named and correct historical information about these persons was made available to the project team.”(Varanger Museum Guidebook – Memorial to the Witches burned in Finnmark).
Since visiting Vardo I have done a bit of research to find out more about the town's regeneration project and its arts and cultural element. As this is my ‘line of work’, I could see that successful things were happening and I also spotted parallels with one of my more recent commissions in Fleetwood (Wyre MBC), where Sea Change funding partly enabled the building of The Rossall Point Marine Observatory (Studio Three Architects, Liverpool) and the partial restoration of Marine Hall Gardens (BCA Landscape, Liverpool).
During the 1980’s the collapse of the fishing industry and the downsizing of the public sector led to Vardo's decline. In the period 1980 – 2000 its population halved due to unemployment and there was a general exodus due to pessimism, leading to the decay of buildings and infrastructure. Morale was low and the town had a poor reputation. The regeneration of the town is ongoing through a partnership which includes local people, Vardo Restored and the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Fund. The Vardo Restored website gives loads of interesting detail on the initiative and shows examples of completed and future projects.
Community involvement, heritage, art, architecture and culture are at the centre of what is happening. Many buildings in Vardo have been restored, including key historic buildings whose restoration has been enabled by financial support from the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Fund. Those awaiting repair have become sites for temporary artworks (in 2012, Vardo hosted the Komafest urban art event, where over a three-week period twelve international artists painted tens of abandoned houses). Cultural life is currently flourishing, there is a reported feeling of optimism and well being. Tourism is increasing, there are new jobs and new infrastructure (school, leisure and cultural centres). Vardo has a development strategy and early restoration and regeneration successes have inspired local people. As a result, civic and community pride are being rejuvenated.
Reflecting on my findings, the significance of art and culture being a major part of the whole regeneration package really struck me. Funding for art and cultural heritage initiatives is stimulating the reclamation and restoration of neglected properties and that is generating pride and optimism, creating relationships and momentum. Big art projects such as the Steilneset Monument bring attention, create landmarks, and I guess inspire a feeling locally that the place is really worth something, nationally and internationally. Visible signs of government investing in new infrastructure - a new leisure centre, repairs to the dock, for example - are fuelling the optimism further. At the heart of it is local people talking to each other, sharing capacity and making grass roots things happen, celebrating their history and culture.
I’m very pleased that some random elements brought me here to this remote peninsula, and was delighted to get a reply to my blog post from Vardo Restored inviting me to come back for food, chat and a tour around the town. And I'm very much looking forward to exploring some of the other projects on the National Tourist Routes.
“The Steilneset Monument emphasises what is individual for every person who was executed. Each woman and man is named and correct historical information about these persons was made available to the project team.”(Varanger Museum Guidebook – Memorial to the Witches burned in Finnmark).
Since visiting Vardo I have done a bit of research to find out more about the town's regeneration project and its arts and cultural element. As this is my ‘line of work’, I could see that successful things were happening and I also spotted parallels with one of my more recent commissions in Fleetwood (Wyre MBC), where Sea Change funding partly enabled the building of The Rossall Point Marine Observatory (Studio Three Architects, Liverpool) and the partial restoration of Marine Hall Gardens (BCA Landscape, Liverpool).
During the 1980’s the collapse of the fishing industry and the downsizing of the public sector led to Vardo's decline. In the period 1980 – 2000 its population halved due to unemployment and there was a general exodus due to pessimism, leading to the decay of buildings and infrastructure. Morale was low and the town had a poor reputation. The regeneration of the town is ongoing through a partnership which includes local people, Vardo Restored and the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Fund. The Vardo Restored website gives loads of interesting detail on the initiative and shows examples of completed and future projects.
Community involvement, heritage, art, architecture and culture are at the centre of what is happening. Many buildings in Vardo have been restored, including key historic buildings whose restoration has been enabled by financial support from the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Fund. Those awaiting repair have become sites for temporary artworks (in 2012, Vardo hosted the Komafest urban art event, where over a three-week period twelve international artists painted tens of abandoned houses). Cultural life is currently flourishing, there is a reported feeling of optimism and well being. Tourism is increasing, there are new jobs and new infrastructure (school, leisure and cultural centres). Vardo has a development strategy and early restoration and regeneration successes have inspired local people. As a result, civic and community pride are being rejuvenated.
Reflecting on my findings, the significance of art and culture being a major part of the whole regeneration package really struck me. Funding for art and cultural heritage initiatives is stimulating the reclamation and restoration of neglected properties and that is generating pride and optimism, creating relationships and momentum. Big art projects such as the Steilneset Monument bring attention, create landmarks, and I guess inspire a feeling locally that the place is really worth something, nationally and internationally. Visible signs of government investing in new infrastructure - a new leisure centre, repairs to the dock, for example - are fuelling the optimism further. At the heart of it is local people talking to each other, sharing capacity and making grass roots things happen, celebrating their history and culture.
I’m very pleased that some random elements brought me here to this remote peninsula, and was delighted to get a reply to my blog post from Vardo Restored inviting me to come back for food, chat and a tour around the town. And I'm very much looking forward to exploring some of the other projects on the National Tourist Routes.
