Velferden is an artist-run arena for social and artistic exploration of man's relationship with nature, based in Norway's largest mining municipality Sokndal.
Our facilities are located in Titania's old mining facility at Sandbekk in Sokndal, in the historic buildings where Titania invented how to turn black iron ore into titanium dioxide and thus help color the world white.
Our fascilities include KONTORBYGGET, VELFERDEN, SNEKKERVERKSTEDET and DIREKTØRBOLIGEN surrounded by an exciting landscape characterized by over 100 years of mining activity.
Program 2023-2026:
WASTE / DEPOSIT
The theme of our program in the period 2023-2026 is WASTE / DEPOSIT
Through this theme, we take a critical and solution-oriented look at current issues related to the disposal and management of mining waste as an artistic material and social resource.
The program is curated by us who run Velferden; visual artists Maiken Stene and Hans Edward Hammonds.
Context
Sokndal in Rogaland is Norway's largest mining municipality and the mining industry here is in full operation today, with one of Northern Europe's largest open-cast mines, crushed stone works, wind farms and a motor sports center, and several new mineral deposits are being mapped and may become new mines in the future.
Velferden is located in a geological area dominated by the rock Anorthosite (the same type of rock found on the moon), which was granted UNESCO status in 2015. The national tourist route, JÆREN, has recently been extended and now runs via Sokndal and Jøssingsfjord Science Museum, which reopened in summer 2024. The great interest in the area is reflected in the many ambitious efforts being made to both exploit and market the landscape.
Velferden is located right in the middle of this context, in the old operational buildings of the mining company Titania. Sandbekk Gruver was operated until 1965 and is a historic building surrounded by a post-industrial landscape characterized by over 150 years of mining. The industrial and cultural-historical framework within which we operate is a fundamental resource in our programming, helping to place the relationship between man and nature in a locally rooted and industrial-historical perspective. What unfolds locally in Sokndal mirrors issues happening on a global level, which is why Velferden is an attractive and interesting place to visit for professionals and artists from all over the world.