Vestlandsutstillingen 2022: Monument

We have spent a lot of time discussing what a regional exhibition like Vestlandsutstillingen is and the fact that it will be one hundred years old in 2022. What symbolism lies in a centenary? Such round numbers are often read as an invitation to summarize what has been and make predictions for what is to come. Instead of just celebrating Vestlandsutstillingen as an institution, we want to turn the focus inwards towards the jubilee itself (and on the function of all such forms of jubilees), because why is it so important to agree on history, and what role does art play in this context?

The forum for the public discourse is no longer in town squares or the city halls, not necessarily on TV or in the newspapers either, but increasingly online through unedited, easily manipulated social media. What does public space mean today and what can be said of the potency of art as communication in our mediatized society?

The origin of the word “monument” comes from the Greek mnemosynon and the Latin moneo, monere, which means “to remind”, “to advise” or “to warn”, implying a monument enables us to see the past and envision what is to come in the future. Historically, art has been used to visualize all the world's events and prominent individuals and thus cement particular narratives. With the monument as a point of departure, the exhibition raises questions about the notions one has of art in the public as a supplier to a kind of collective memory. Perhaps any monument is doomed to fail if one has such unrealistic expectations of what it is meant to achieve. By making room for small and personal stories, highlighting collective processes, or promoting crafts and material explorations, we want to reflect on which narratives and impressions we are influenced by in our daily lives, and whether art can be an alternative. Therefore, the exhibition does not try to confirm or clarify the definition of a monument, but rather to complicate, expand or dissolve the concept. Because perhaps one does not need art to persuade and convey any singular truth, but instead cast doubt on such simplifications and instead remind us that there may be several.