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HEN BLAKSTAD, THE COMPANY

"ALT ER VATTERT/ALL IS QUILTED",
HenBlakstad Productions in collaboration with ROBIN- a platform exploring queer performative art practices across disciplines 2023.
THE PODCAST:
"ALT ER VATTERT/ALL IS QUILTED".
ARTISTIC TEAM:
With and by Henriette Blakstad.
Sound Design Thomas Hildebrand.
Dramaturge Line Rosvoll.
PRODUCED BY:
HenBlakstad Productions 2023.
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
ROBIN- a platform exploring queer performative art practices across disciplines.
SUPPORTED BY:
Fritt Ord (NO)
PART OF:
Scenetekstivalen Tromsø, April 2023.
Bodø Pride, June 2023.
"ALT ER VATTERT/ALL IS QUILTED".
ARTISTIC TEAM:
With and by Henriette Blakstad.
Sound Design Thomas Hildebrand.
Dramaturge Line Rosvoll.
PRODUCED BY:
HenBlakstad Productions 2023.
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
ROBIN- a platform exploring queer performative art practices across disciplines.
SUPPORTED BY:
Fritt Ord (NO)
PART OF:
Scenetekstivalen Tromsø, April 2023.
Bodø Pride, June 2023.

"THE BIRD LADIES", HenBlakstad Productions.
Concept: Henriette Blakstad, Guri Guri Henriksen and Anne Mali Sæther.
Copenhagen 2022.
THE BIRD LADIES
- An interactive shadow installation placed in a dehumanised dystopian environment.
- A surrealistic, experimental shadow performance in response to the theme, climate change.
CONCEPT BY:
Henriette Blakstad, Anne Mali Sæther & Guri Guri Henriksen (NO)
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
silo portem (UK) and Catharine DeLong (US)
PRODUCED BY:
HenBlakstad Productions (NO)
IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH:
Animalske Productions (NO)
CRATED BY:
SixtyEight Art Institute/Heid Hart Ph.D. (DK/US)
PART OF:
The Curatorial Thing/Climate Thanatology, Copenhagen, October 2022.
https://madmimi.com/p/d6ac741
https://heidihart.one/climate-thanatology
ABOUT:
Together the team highlights the atmosphere in this post-apocalyptic landscape of shadows where three ladies are captured as if they exist in a time loop. A habitat that shapes and transforms them into creatures similar to birds, The Bird Ladies.
This ladies invite the audience to join them in a ritual, as witnesses, in hope of change, to break free from a cycle of repetition.
Their response to sound, shapes and movement seem to be an ability for them to reach out. This might be a result of The Bird Ladies deconstructed habitat, where language has been reconstructed in shapes for you to uncover.
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad:
project manager, concept, performer, costumes, scenography engineering (NO)
Anne Mali Sæther:
concept, text, dramaturgy, performer (NO)
Guri Guri Henriksen:
concept, visual artist (NO)
silo portem:
music (UK) featuring Julia Adzuki´s resonant tree instrument (SE)
Catharine DeLong:
musician harp (US)
Paul Vidar Sævarang:
light (NO).
Lasse Heggen Raa:
metalwork (NO)
Thomas Hildebrand/Minali Conrad/Espen Sæther:
sound engineering (NO)
FUNDED BY:
Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond (NO)
Danse og teatersentrum (NO)
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NO)
Fond for Utøvende Kunstnere (NO)
Curator SixtyEight Art Institute, Copenhagen (DK)
Curator Heidi Hart Ph.D. Art and Humanities Research Fellow SixtyEight Art Institute (US/DK)
Studium Actoris, Fredrikstad (NO)
Nesoddparken Kunst- og kulturnæringssenter (NO)
THANKS TO:
Merete Morken Andersen for studio (NO)
Studium Actoris (a laboratory for the actor's physical expression) for work- in- progress showing (NO)
Digerud Grendestue for studio (NO)
FOR:
For young adults and adults. Children down to 9 years old can participate together with an adult.
Length 40 min.
henblakstad.com
- An interactive shadow installation placed in a dehumanised dystopian environment.
- A surrealistic, experimental shadow performance in response to the theme, climate change.
CONCEPT BY:
Henriette Blakstad, Anne Mali Sæther & Guri Guri Henriksen (NO)
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
silo portem (UK) and Catharine DeLong (US)
PRODUCED BY:
HenBlakstad Productions (NO)
IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH:
Animalske Productions (NO)
CRATED BY:
SixtyEight Art Institute/Heid Hart Ph.D. (DK/US)
PART OF:
The Curatorial Thing/Climate Thanatology, Copenhagen, October 2022.
https://madmimi.com/p/d6ac741
https://heidihart.one/climate-thanatology
ABOUT:
Together the team highlights the atmosphere in this post-apocalyptic landscape of shadows where three ladies are captured as if they exist in a time loop. A habitat that shapes and transforms them into creatures similar to birds, The Bird Ladies.
This ladies invite the audience to join them in a ritual, as witnesses, in hope of change, to break free from a cycle of repetition.
Their response to sound, shapes and movement seem to be an ability for them to reach out. This might be a result of The Bird Ladies deconstructed habitat, where language has been reconstructed in shapes for you to uncover.
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad:
project manager, concept, performer, costumes, scenography engineering (NO)
Anne Mali Sæther:
concept, text, dramaturgy, performer (NO)
Guri Guri Henriksen:
concept, visual artist (NO)
silo portem:
music (UK) featuring Julia Adzuki´s resonant tree instrument (SE)
Catharine DeLong:
musician harp (US)
Paul Vidar Sævarang:
light (NO).
Lasse Heggen Raa:
metalwork (NO)
Thomas Hildebrand/Minali Conrad/Espen Sæther:
sound engineering (NO)
FUNDED BY:
Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond (NO)
Danse og teatersentrum (NO)
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NO)
Fond for Utøvende Kunstnere (NO)
Curator SixtyEight Art Institute, Copenhagen (DK)
Curator Heidi Hart Ph.D. Art and Humanities Research Fellow SixtyEight Art Institute (US/DK)
Studium Actoris, Fredrikstad (NO)
Nesoddparken Kunst- og kulturnæringssenter (NO)
THANKS TO:
Merete Morken Andersen for studio (NO)
Studium Actoris (a laboratory for the actor's physical expression) for work- in- progress showing (NO)
Digerud Grendestue for studio (NO)
FOR:
For young adults and adults. Children down to 9 years old can participate together with an adult.
Length 40 min.
henblakstad.com

"ALL THIS AND MORE",
The Necessary Space & HenBlakstad Productions,
Oslo 2022.
ITAC6- International Teaching Artist Conference, Oslo 1.-3. september 2022 with,
ALL THIS AND MORE
- Theatre without borders, site-specific performance.
- A collective participatory public art installation designed to raise awareness of the coming mass migration caused by Climate Change. - In the streets of Oslo 3rd of September.
- With 45 national and international performers taking part.
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Concept, director: Simon Sharkey, The Necessary Space (UK)
Co- director, project manager:
Henriette Blakstad (NO)
Co-director, project-coordinator: Claudia Lucacel (NO/Hellas/Romania)
Assistant-director/coordinator: Christina M. H. Strøm (NO)
Costumes: Galyna Ilchyshyn (Ukrain)
Make-up: Jasmine Ta, Bianca Florea (Iran)
PRODUCED BY:
Seanse Art Center by Kristian Glomnes (NO)
Project managment:
HenBlakstad Productions, Artistic and managing director Henriette Blakstad
In collaboration with:
Community of Sagene and Sagene Samfunnshus in Oslo.
Film produced by Torstein Lund Sperstad, Oclin
In connection to the Sixth International Teaching Artist Conference,
ITAC6- ART AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE
ABOUT ITAC6
- International teaching Artist Conference, Oslo 2022
Seanse Art Center and the International Teaching Artist Collaborative, ITAC were hosting ITAC6 in Oslo, Norway from 1 - 3 September 2022.
Theme of the conference where ART AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE with:
- 60 sessions in multiple disciplines
- 80 teaching artists/participatory artists/ community artists
- 350 participants from 36 countries
That explored the intersections of arts within education, health, environment, and society.
ITAC conferences are a dedicated gathering space for artists who work in communities, schools, universities and in a variety of institutions and beyond, using their practice to create positive social change. Teaching artists working in a wide range, professional based, community, participatory and socially engaged artists etc.
ITAC6 is a conference with the aim to make space for international networking, professional development, accessing radical practices, partnership building, knowledge exchanges and more.
ITAC- The International Teaching Artist Conference takes place every second year. In 2022 Norway hosted the conference in Oslo produced by Seanse art Center located in Høgskulen i Volda.
ALL THIS AND MORE
- Theatre without borders, site-specific performance.
- A collective participatory public art installation designed to raise awareness of the coming mass migration caused by Climate Change. - In the streets of Oslo 3rd of September.
- With 45 national and international performers taking part.
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Concept, director: Simon Sharkey, The Necessary Space (UK)
Co- director, project manager:
Henriette Blakstad (NO)
Co-director, project-coordinator: Claudia Lucacel (NO/Hellas/Romania)
Assistant-director/coordinator: Christina M. H. Strøm (NO)
Costumes: Galyna Ilchyshyn (Ukrain)
Make-up: Jasmine Ta, Bianca Florea (Iran)
PRODUCED BY:
Seanse Art Center by Kristian Glomnes (NO)
Project managment:
HenBlakstad Productions, Artistic and managing director Henriette Blakstad
In collaboration with:
Community of Sagene and Sagene Samfunnshus in Oslo.
Film produced by Torstein Lund Sperstad, Oclin
In connection to the Sixth International Teaching Artist Conference,
ITAC6- ART AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE
ABOUT ITAC6
- International teaching Artist Conference, Oslo 2022
Seanse Art Center and the International Teaching Artist Collaborative, ITAC were hosting ITAC6 in Oslo, Norway from 1 - 3 September 2022.
Theme of the conference where ART AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE with:
- 60 sessions in multiple disciplines
- 80 teaching artists/participatory artists/ community artists
- 350 participants from 36 countries
That explored the intersections of arts within education, health, environment, and society.
ITAC conferences are a dedicated gathering space for artists who work in communities, schools, universities and in a variety of institutions and beyond, using their practice to create positive social change. Teaching artists working in a wide range, professional based, community, participatory and socially engaged artists etc.
ITAC6 is a conference with the aim to make space for international networking, professional development, accessing radical practices, partnership building, knowledge exchanges and more.
ITAC- The International Teaching Artist Conference takes place every second year. In 2022 Norway hosted the conference in Oslo produced by Seanse art Center located in Høgskulen i Volda.

"THE PHENOMENON; HEDDA GABLER", HenBlakstad Productions, Penghao Theatre, Beijing 2014.
PRODUCED BY:
HenBlakstad Productions
PERFORMED AT:
Penghao threatre, Beijing
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad: Concept, producer, costumes (NO)
Mariann Rostad: Concept, text, set-design (NO)
Jiang Keyu: Sound-design, performer (China)
Chen Er dong: Light design (China)
Ingunn Beate Øyen: Performer (NO)
Melissa Coleman-Reed: Performer (US)
COMMISSIONE BY:
Ibsen International/ Ibsen in China 2013.
HenBlakstad Productions
PERFORMED AT:
Penghao threatre, Beijing
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad: Concept, producer, costumes (NO)
Mariann Rostad: Concept, text, set-design (NO)
Jiang Keyu: Sound-design, performer (China)
Chen Er dong: Light design (China)
Ingunn Beate Øyen: Performer (NO)
Melissa Coleman-Reed: Performer (US)
COMMISSIONE BY:
Ibsen International/ Ibsen in China 2013.

"CARCASS", HenBlakstad Productions, Beijing 2013
PRODUCED BY:
HenBlakstad Productions
ARTIDTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad: Concept, performer, costumes, producer (NO)
Jiang Ke-yu: Concept, sound-design, performer (China)
Simon Abbe: Concept, performer (Cameroon)
Mariann Rostad: Concept, text, set-design (NO)
Low Shee Hoe: Light-design (China)
IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH:
Simon Abbe Dance Company (China/Cameroon)
COMMISSIONED BY:
Ibsen International/ Ibsen in China 2013.
INFLUENCED BY:
Wounded hope from a narrow steel breath
a flame of infinite direction but yet so distant
The dark embalms the whole world
just not at the same time
we are not so different you and me
no breath but still air
no life but still alive
in between
The earth eats, life grasps
feeds itself from what ones was
and maybe still is
digs into the flesh, no respect
If I somehow could tell you that dark is dark and blood is blood
the beat of a heart stops in the same way
Listen
Text by Mariann Rostad
HenBlakstad Productions
ARTIDTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad: Concept, performer, costumes, producer (NO)
Jiang Ke-yu: Concept, sound-design, performer (China)
Simon Abbe: Concept, performer (Cameroon)
Mariann Rostad: Concept, text, set-design (NO)
Low Shee Hoe: Light-design (China)
IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH:
Simon Abbe Dance Company (China/Cameroon)
COMMISSIONED BY:
Ibsen International/ Ibsen in China 2013.
INFLUENCED BY:
Wounded hope from a narrow steel breath
a flame of infinite direction but yet so distant
The dark embalms the whole world
just not at the same time
we are not so different you and me
no breath but still air
no life but still alive
in between
The earth eats, life grasps
feeds itself from what ones was
and maybe still is
digs into the flesh, no respect
If I somehow could tell you that dark is dark and blood is blood
the beat of a heart stops in the same way
Listen
Text by Mariann Rostad

"RETURN", HenBlakstad Productions, Guangzhou & Singapore 2012
PRODUCED BY:
HenBlakstad Productions
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad: Concept, performer, costumes, producer (NO)
Jiang Ke-yu: Performer, sound-design (China)
Low Shee Hoe: Light-design (China)
Mariann Rostad: Text (NO)
COMMISSIONED BY:
The 9th Guangdong Dance Festival (China) & Ibsen International/Ibsen in China (NO) 2012
HenBlakstad Productions
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Henriette Blakstad: Concept, performer, costumes, producer (NO)
Jiang Ke-yu: Performer, sound-design (China)
Low Shee Hoe: Light-design (China)
Mariann Rostad: Text (NO)
COMMISSIONED BY:
The 9th Guangdong Dance Festival (China) & Ibsen International/Ibsen in China (NO) 2012
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