The Våland Forest
Places We Meet - Art in Public Spaces

Stavanger, 2025-2026

The Våland forest is an area with old and vulnerable trees, which sets the framework for how an art project can be developed here. The intention is therefore to support projects that are site-specific and temporary, with a low physical footprint and a respectful approach to the biodiversity of the natural environment. The artist or artist group is expected to work with great sensitivity to the site – both in terms of the intrinsic value of nature and the forest’s role as a nearby breathing space for the local community.

Temporary and non-material expressions such as sound works and installations, performances, walks, socially engaged practices, or other process-based formats are considered particularly relevant. The artistic approach may explore the forest as material, its hidden spaces, or its temporality. The forest is not a unique theme – not in our time, not historically, and certainly not in art. What makes this project unique is the forest’s vulnerability and its role as a place of pause and reflection. This opens the possibility for a wide range of artistic interpretations of the forest as a theme.

The art project must be realized either as a series of activities or events, or be present over a continuous period. It must be free and accessible to the public and must take place before the end of 2026. How this is carried out in practice is up to the selected artist or artist group to define, based on their artistic concept.

The artist will be selected through an open prequalification process. The open call will be available to all professional artists and artist groups and will be announced across the Nordics. Applicants must submit a CV, documentation of relevant reference projects, and a brief statement of motivation for participation. Based on this material, four candidates will be selected to participate in a closed, paid sketch competition. In evaluating the sketches, emphasis will be placed on the artists’ ability to recognize and respond to the site’s qualities and challenges. The sketch proposals will be evaluated by the art committee. The goal is to enter a contract with the selected artist in the spring of 2026.