The Sand School 1.-15.09.24
During the first half of September, an unusual experiment will take place at Velferden, as six visual artists, namely -Siri Austeen, Stefan Schröder, Agnes Mohlin, Naomi Fisher, Maiken Stene and Hans Edward Hammonds- will study the material qualities of a 7 million ton pile of sand that we have laying around in our backyard at Velferden. The sand is called tailings, and is an accumulation of waste materials from the production of the white pigment titanium dioxide in Sokndal Municipality.
During the two-week workshop SANDSKOLEN (The Sand School); we will carry out physical experiments on the sand by making art with it, trying to make glass out of it, sculptures, extract sound and metals, and generally study its internal composition in conference with experts from the mineral industry, and through talk with locals - whose walking shoes regularly fill with sand. Together, we will engage in a process-oriented exploration of tailings as a material for art production and a metaphor for broader environmental and industrial issues.
After the two-week exploration, SANDSKOLEN join forces with the research project NorWhite, and welcome you to Sokndal for a two-day programme with an international symposium, exhibitions, performance and artist presentations! The programme will be conducted in English to accommodate our international guests. See our programme below for more details of the entire two-day event.
Hans Edward Hammonds
Maiken Stene
Agnes Mohlin
Naomi Fisher
Siri Austeen
Stefan Schröder
PROGRAMME SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2024
Symposium day 2 SANDSKOLEN (The Sand School) at Velferden Center for Contemporary Art:
09:30 - Bus departs Stavanger bus terminal to Velferden - (reserve a free place by contacting us at +47 984 79 704)
11:15 - 11:30 - Presentation by Maiken Stene and Hans Edward Hammonds
11:30 - 11:45 - Introduction to the exhibition 'Hidden Stone' by Marte Johnslien
11:45 - 12:30 - Lunch at Velferden - (available for purchase)
12:30 - 13:30 - Artists talks by participants at the Sand School: Siri Austeen, Stefan Schröder, Agnes Mohlin, Naomi Fisher, Maiken Stene and Hans Edward Hammonds
13:30 - 16:00 - Workshop in groups with field walks and performance by Marie Ronold Mathisen and John Derek Bishop
16:00 - Bus departure from Velferden to Stavanger - (reserve a free place by contacting us at +47 984 79 704)
18:00 - Arrival in Stavanger
