This four day event, bringing aspects of Norwegian culture to Guangzhou, was kicked off with an opening reception on Thursday with performances presenting two traditions within Norwegian music:11 year old Dong Zhong played five of Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces and a folk musician group consisting of Henning Andersen, Håkon Tveito and Ingri Kværne Amundsen entertained with traditional music and dance.
Film seminar
On Friday 20th a film seminar had the Norwegian movie The Storm in My Heart as its central topic. This movie, directed by Pål Jackman, has earlier this year been showed at a Norwegian film festival in Shanghai, and was well received by the Chinese audiences in both cities. A panel discussion after the movie, with guest participants He Shaoguang, Zheng Hua and Wang Zhenguo, highlighted differences and similarities in how Norwegian and Chinese audiences experience this movie and its themes.
Architecture and EXPO2010
The following day was dedicated to architecture, and Siv Helene Stangeland presented Helen & Hard Architects’ design for the Norwegian EXPO pavilion 2010 with a detailed model of the pavilion. Six related presentations by Xiao Yan, Chen Qian, Yang Yiding, Cecilie Andersson, Zheng Feiyang and He Jianxiang added insights into the many aspects of this project and how it encompasses also Guangzhou-related topics and participants. Siv Helene Stangeland emphasized the importance of this wider approach to architecture: “This seminar, which included a wide range of topics, shows us that architecture has to be rooted in life itself”.
High North Art and Experiences
Earlier this year an adventurous group of tourists from Shenzhen and Guangzhou went on an expedition-like cruise around the Svalbard archipelago in the high north, nine degrees south of the North Pole. Their photographs and experiences from this trip were displayed and presented at the High North Sunday. Zhang Li Wei, Zhang Li, Jiang Xiao Wei, Wang Chen and Wang Xiang Yi gave five different perspectives of the group’s experiences. On display for a full day exhibition were also the photographs taken by Wang Chen, Zhang Xiao Ping, Deng Bin, Liu Jun and Sun Qun Ying.