The first chapter of what is to become an annual curatorial festival in Stavanger is about to unfold. Through a rich programme and an exhibition that draws upon and weaves inspiration from the paintings of Lars Hertervig, the curatorial duo Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou invite a host of innovative artists, thinkers, and activists to reimagine the present.

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On 21 June 2024, the inaugural edition of the curatorial festival Stavanger Secession will open its doors.

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The French curatorial duo Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou invite artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, activists, thinkers, and architects to take part in a citywide public programme dedicated to exploring the avant-garde and the innovative. Their ambition is to create a fusion that blends diverse directions and disciplines — while also elevating Stavanger as a leading cultural destination and strengthening collaboration with art historians and curators based not only in Norway, but across the globe.

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Inspired by Distant Places

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The curatorial duo is known, among other things, for curating the Conversations programme at Art Basel’s Paris+ edition. Yet this curatorial festival draws inspiration from avant-garde meeting places such as Black Mountain College in the United States or Monte Verità in Switzerland. In Norway — and in Stavanger in particular — it is the dramatic natural landscape and the stark contrasts between the luminous summer nights and the long, dark winters that captivated the duo.

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