QUEER ICONS’ OPENS IN TURIN

Antonio Cataldo, Artistic Director with Miki Gebrelul, Fotogalleriet Curator and Head of Exhibitions; Lara Okafor, Fotogalleriet Curatorial Fellow; Håkon Lillegraven, Fotogalleriet former Curator and Head of Mediation; and Tommaso Speretta, Coordinator for the Italian Icons

The Queer Icons project, comprising an exhibition, a book, and wide-ranging public programs, results from a series of meetings that photographer Fin Serck-Hanssen and authors Bjørn Hatterud and Caroline Ugelstad Elnæs had with queer personas that have not only contributed to structure social and cultural foundations underpinning the Norwegian society we know today but built a more complex and nuanced understanding of sexuality to prevent forms of conscious and unconscious discrimination coming from biased societal conservatism.

The project addresses the fight for freedom and equality leading to the repeal of Criminal Law 213 in 1972 for decriminalizing homosexuality in Norway by depicting the life stories of inspiring leading individuals who actively fought in the background and the foreground against prejudicial moral jurisdiction, eventually leading to a more liberated society. It celebrates the glam of life produced outside the norm through democratic demands, parties, and activism in historical Norwegian queer underground culture, including sequins, joy, and humor. The exhibition, which, in addition, has also been presented for schools of all ages in Norway, aims to support these unwritten stories to surface in majoritarian storytelling with a widespread reach.

Presented for the first time in Italy, in the context of EXPOSED, in a unique and novel presentation, the Italian iteration of Queer Icons includes some of the most iconic figures of the queer movement in Italy, who have contributed to a change not only in its culture but also of the politics of the country. Some of the results of these conversations will be presented in the exhibition in Turin throughout the viewing period, and new Italian icons will be part of the Queer Icons constellation, demonstrating the need for further acknowledgment of these unwritten stories beyond the Nordic countries.

Several public programs will be associated with the exhibition. Complete information about contributors, participants, and all the people involved in the project will be available through official festival channels. Click here to follow updates on this and upcoming information!

A performance by artist and singer Nils Bech for Queer Icons (concert), with dancer Mathias Aas Stoltenberg.

Nils Bech is an iconic figure in the Norwegian cultural field known in the art world for his a cappella performances. He has contributed to numerous art contexts, including the Venice Biennale, at the New Museum and Sculpture Center in New York, the ICA and Frieze Foundation in London, the Van Gogh Museum, the Witte de Witte in the Netherlands, and the KW Institute of Contemporary in Berlin. In 2016, Bech appeared in SKAM, the TV hit series originating in Norway, performing “O Holy Night” and becoming a symbol of love. Inspired by the life stories of the Queer Icons, he is preparing a unique piece for Turin, which dancer Mathias Aas Stoltenberg will accompany. Aas Stoltenberg has been working with companies such as Carte Blanche and the Norwegian National Ballet and has toured his work to Pompidou Paris, Volksbühne Berlin, and The Joyce NYC, to name a few. He collaborates closely with Nils Bech and has staged and performed several of his concerts.