Karmaklubb* ‘Thought & pleasure session #4’ with Marion Bouvier. Karmaklubb* talk. Open conversations in collaboration with MA Curatorial Practice, KMD, University of Bergen, and Carmen Winant afterparty with Fotogalleriet. ‘Queer juice’ and ‘Kråkebolle’ on bottle. DJ set: Selma from ↗︎ Carlo & Selma! Yes, yes, yes. For the wine: Our original one chosen for this occasion, the La Sorga red ‘Sorgasm’, was actually cencored. (A rather interesting case, read more ↗︎ here). So, we had to do an orange backup instead, landing on the ‘↗︎ SM’. Not too bad either. FB event ↗︎ here.

Marion Bouvier works as a writer, editor, curator, and cultural projects manager. She is editor-in-chief of ↗︎ NORK, a printed magazine about life, arts, and culture in Northern Norway, she is also published on ↗︎ Hakapik.no, and works on narrative development and script writing for creative companies, such as Tromsø-based Ice-9. Marion was co-manager of the artist-run space Small Projects until 2019. She is founder and director of the ↗︎ Open Out festival, a contemporary art festival with a focus on queer themes taking place yearly in Tromsø since 2018. Last but not least, Marion works part-time at ↗︎ Tvibit, the youth and creative house of Tromsø, as leader of the Gaza Project, which facilitates cultural exchanges between youth in Tromsø and Gaza. In short: Marion is an individual working cross-disciplinary within a wide range of contexts and social spaces. Open Out co-organizer Guri Øveraas will join the later part. We are so proud having them here tonight; generously sharing thoughts and perspectives, all in a sort of a 'queer state of mind'. Conversation will be led by Tine Semb, Karmaklubb*.

↗︎ MA Curatorial Practice at Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, University of Bergen (UiB) consists of a series of seminars taking place in Bergen and where the students live and work. The teaching is closely related to the participants' own practices and contemporary curatorial practice in general, represented by a range of guests. The collaboration with Karmaklubb*, Khartoum Contemporary Art Center (KCAC), and Fotogalleriet is part of the seminar hosted in Oslo, February 2020.

Selma is a Norwegian turned Danish turned Norwegian again DJ who normally plays as part of the duo ↗︎ Carlo & Selma (DEN/NOR). They have graced the dance floors of most clubs in Copenhagen — including Culture Box, Jolene, and ↗︎ Ved Siden Af (where they are also residents) — and paid foreign visits to among others Salon Zur Wilden Renate (Berlin), Dalston Superstore (London), and Oslo’s own Jaeger. Selma is also co-founder and resident at the Copenhagen club night ‘↗︎ Group Therapy’ at Ved Siden Af. Selma mixes styles and genres depending on her mood, from emotional disco to sweaty house and electro. As a strong campaigner for diversity in dance music, dancing in the booth and snacks in clubs, she leaves an impression wherever she goes. How lucky are we!!?

↗︎ Fotogalleriet, 18:00 to 20:00 CET: Opening of Le Book Club’s final chapter: Carmen Winant’s ‘Notes on Fundamental Joy; seeking the elimination of oppression through the social and political transformation of the patriarchy that otherwise threatens to bury us’. Notes on Fundamental Joy is an experimental work that sits at the cross section of an artist's project and a historical document. The archival images are drawn from ↗︎ Womyn’s Lands — lesbian, feminist separatist communities in the Pacific Northwest of the United States in the 1960’s–1980’s, with a particular emphasis on Ovulars, a series of dedicated photography workshops. At Fotogalleriet, ↗︎ Winant presents the historical context, in the form of books, magazine and pamphlets, that helped to shape her honorific project. It will include the never-before exhibited contact sheets of Carol Newhouse, one of the Womyn’s Lands photographers who also organised Ovulars and participated in the queer, lesbian liberation.

Khartoum Contemporary Art Center (KCAC), Bernt Ankers gate 17, Oslo. ID: 20. CC: Free.

More images to come.

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Queer wine and such

Occasion
Thought & pleasure session #4: Diplomacy, collective thinking, and nomadism — exchanging ideas w/ Marion Bouvier (FR/NO). A collab with MA Curatorial Practice, UiB. And: Official after-party for Fotogalleriet's final chapter of Le Book Club w/ the grand Carmen Winant (US). DJ: Selma (NO)! What a night! From the menu:

• As almost always there’s a selection of curated nice liquids at Karmaklubb*s ‘Thought & pleasure' sessions. After all, Karmaklubb* started up as a wine club; nice conversations and liquids, and sometimes cheese. Tonight our friend Vin John (Autentico & Unico) has joined the team; a growing passionate importer of natural wines, from carefully selected vineyards. Friendly price for the occasion. So, if you prefer not to go for our own refreshing ale, the Karma*-ale, this is definitely the recommendation for tonight! It was supposed to be the La Sorga ‘Sorgasme’, but that too (as our FB-accounts) got stuck in quarantine. [Rather ironic; pre-corona]. But: The ‘SM’ is not bad, either. French winemakers La Sorga is perhaps our all-time favourite producer of natural funky wines. Nearly always they do rocky and rare stuff, funky wines, sort of on the edge. Actually, often inspired by black metal, myths from up north, and eroticism … As this is the first time we do a proper ‘public tasting’ of the ‘SM’, let us taste together! Eyes & nose; tongue etc. What we can tell: It is an orange wine (about 50 days of skin contact; maceration, so it is rather dark yellow, and unfiltered, which makes it cloudy. Grapes are a mixture of Marsanne and Sauvignon Blanc, from Languedoc-Roussillon (chalky, limestone-ish, clay, gravel). We believe it needs some air. Natural wine often do, as strange odours get stuck in the bottle during spontaneous fermentation (which means with its own yeast, from the skin and such.) it is told this wine has tropical notes, such as apricot and peach. Some honey, too! And apparently fennel … The tongue is said to be fresh and dry, perhaps a bit like bathing in the sun, on some rocks by the sea … We will see about that! Holds about 12.5 % ABV.
• Karma*-øl no. 4: ↗︎ Kråkebolle. A hazy session IPA. Fresh and balanced. Made for the occasion of ↗︎ Summer Night by the Beach — a Film Cabaret by Kirsten Astrup & Maria Bordorff, a ‘Munchmuseet on the Move Contemporary Art’ production. To bring (more) Queerness into the Museum. Production: Karmaklubb* & Disko Brewing. 3.7 % ABV, bottle of 0.5 L.