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Description
NOISS (Norway–Iceland–Slovakia): New Musics for New Audiences is an audience development, capacity building and transnational mobility project promoting the values of creativity, artistic freedom and collaboration in contemporary avantgarde music. Through developing a collaborative approach to the production of innovative forms of music and sonic art, we want to create a community of change-makers able to respond to key critical, social and political challenges that our countries are now facing.
The project activities consist of:
- a jointly curated artistic programme of new collaborations, concerts and performances presented at the NEXT Festival of Advanced Music in Bratislava and in Spissky Hrhov, Oslo and Reykjavik,
- a public discourse programme linking music with relevant social and cultural topics, and
- activities supporting capacity building of the project partners and audience development in creative contemporary music.
Summary of project results
The project addressed key challenges in contemporary and experimental music in Norway (NO), Iceland (IS), and Slovakia (SK). It aimed to create a collaborative platform for curators, artists, and cultural organisations in these fields, fostering shared awareness and inspiration. Interconnecting music and sonic art scenes across partner countries, the project sought to promote current creative tendencies, fostering cross-cultural dialogue. Overcoming geographical boundaries, it supported bilateral artistic exchange through collaborative production and the circulation of new artworks.
The project''s social dimension aimed to explore and address current topics of social importance through artistic expression. By producing outcomes that resonate with the broader public, the project aimed to contribute to a better understanding of common cultural identity despite the differences between the partner countries. An essential goal was enhancing organisational capacity, involving improvements in coordination and communication. Recognizing the importance of engaging younger demographics, the project aimed to attract and develop a primarily young audience interested in artistic innovation in music and art from Norway, Iceland, and Slovakia.
Within the project we organised a jointly curated artistic programme featuring new collaborations in the form of concerts and performances. These events were presented in Slovakia, at the NEXT Festival of Advanced Music in Bratislava and for the rural audience in Spišský Hrhov (SK), and at the partner countries in Oslo (NO), and Reykjavik (IS). By inclusion of multiple locations the project reached diverse audiences and fostered cross-cultural exchange.
In addition to the artistic performances, the project initiated a public discourse programme. The project hosted public discussions on the societal impact of contemporary music and sound art. These sessions explored the potential for artistic expressions to counter extremism and promote tolerance. Additionally, topics included breaking down cultural stereotypes, democratising approaches to music making, and examining the social and political potential of creative music. The key themes ranged from freedom of artistic expression, improvisation, and collaboration to diversity, gender balance, and the transformative power of music within societal contexts. The aim was to engage the audience in conversations about the broader influence of creative music and sound art.
The project included activities focused on capacity building for both the project partners and the audience. The project partner meetings were designed to strengthen their organisational capabilities. Simultaneously, efforts were made to develop and expand the audience for creative contemporary music. This involved the creation of audience development strategy and the workshop of critical writing about contemporary music organised in cooperation with the Department of Musicology of the Faculty of Arts in Bratislava.
The project brought together three partner organisations. The project leader Atrakt Art from Slovakia, Antalova Music from Norway and RASK Collective from Iceland. Two local partners were involved to host the public events at their venues, A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture in Bratislava, and EQO in Spišský Hrhov. One educational institution was involved, the Department of Musicology of the Faculty of Arts in Bratislava. The project directly involved 82 artists and cultural experts, organised 17 cultural events dedicated to the topic of freedom of artistic expression, organised 3 cultural events increasing the awareness of culture of the minorities, organised 7 cultural events addressing the audience development, organised 1 event addressing the topic of extremism and hate speech, and produced 16 audio visual art works. In order to support the capacity building, the project organised 2 project partner meetings in Oslo (NO) and Reykjavík (IS), the audience development strategy was created and the workshop of critical writing about music was organised. The project started and ended with the opening and final conferences, where the project goals and results were shared.
Summary of bilateral results
Having the partners from donor countries brought together a diverse curatorial team knowing the specifics of their local improvised and experimental music scenes. This allowed us to prepare a unique artistic program featuring the artists from all involved countries and create the opportunities to collaborate and present their artworks in front of the new audiences. Through exchange of the partners rich experiences we were building the capacities of our team. The main results of bilateral collaboration are jointly curated events and artworks featuring the most innovative experimental musicians. We are planning to continue the curatorial cooperation, supporting the mobilities and collaboration of the artists and creating the space for creation and presentation of new and innovative artworks.