Stein Henningsen (NO)

Stein Henningsen (1962), is a performance artist living in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. He has presented his work at various biennials, festivals and events in Scandinavia, Europe, North America and Asia since 2005. Henningsen is influenced by photo as traditional media, often thinking of his performances as vivid images. His work addresses political, social, financial and climate issues in a contemporary context. His first major work was produced in 2005, when he toured Europe with “Crosses of Liberty” (installation and performance), a small military cemetery of life-seized reproductions of the American cemeteries in Normandy (www.crosessofliberty.com).

Henningsen´s goal is to create provocative images that resonate with audiences over time— to get them to reflect on their complicity with regard to global issues. He is currently working on several new major projects that will continue to address issues that focus on the current state of our planet. Recent works have focused on climate change and the challenges we face, and as he actually lives in the Arctic he is all too aware of the reality of those challenges. “Today we are living with the result of choices made by our ancestors. As we lay the foundation for our children and future generations, it is critically important that we now make wise choices about how we live and how we govern ourselves.”

He has a great desire to share his experiences in the Arctic with other artists and to raise awareness of how rapidly the Arctic now is changing. One step has been to invite artists to truly experience the Arctic, to show the world its uniqueness and beauty. To that end he has created the Arctic Action International Performance Festival, founded in 2015 (www.arcticaction.info). He has curated five series in Svalbard, one each year, inviting performance artists from Scandinavia and elsewhere, to create works that are inspired by its landscape.