Kilden 10 år: Et kulturelt tidsskifte

Photo: Olav Breen

There are a great many organizations and individuals who have helped shape Kilden what Kilden today—from visionary politicians and administrative leaders who dared to think big, to everyone who contributed to the construction project, and to the staff and volunteers who have created Kilden content.

Kilden a cultural venue that is unique in Norway in both appearance and content. In terms of its programming, Kilden represents Kilden innovation in Norwegian cultural life because we have brought together a theater, a symphony orchestra, an opera company, and a municipal cultural center. Kilden mission Kilden to respect each individual art form and create strong professional communities that offer exceptional experiences in symphonic music, theater, and opera—while also presenting unique productions that span these art forms.

National Top Team

Kilden funded by both local and state funds, and completed on time and within budget. Kristiansand and the Sørlandet region gained a modern performing arts center with the potential to literally compete at the national elite level.

With a few exceptions, there is broad political consensus in Norway on investing in high-quality culture, including in our region. Culture helps convey history and values. At the same time, art should provoke and delight. It interprets the past and shapes the future. Art and culture are essential building blocks of a democratic society with freedom of expression.  In the old days, it was at the royal courts and in the very largest cities that high-quality symphony orchestras and theater companies were found. Because the public sector chooses to invest in culture and private entities provide support, high-quality culture is now accessible to all of us. Kilden a major role in this work in our region.

On Friday, Kilden will broadcast Kilden featuring the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra free of charge via digital channels to everyone in the region. The symphony orchestra consists of 71 professional musicians and is a top-tier orchestra. There are only seven such orchestras in Norway. Together with Kilden , opera, dialogue, and cultural center functions, they offer both high-quality original productions and host artists from Norway and abroad.

Wide variety

We feature the most popular emerging artists, presenting hip-hop, Baroque music, jazz, Shakespeare, folk songs from Southern Norway, the Mesopotamian epic Gilgamesh, and new plays about the emigration of Southerners to the United States. The variety is vast, the diversity even greater; we aim to be a platform for new art and culture while also preserving forms of expression with lasting artistic value. 

Kilden with the tasks it takes on. That is why we are constantly able to take on greater challenges. From the very beginning, Kilden made “dialogue” one of its core principles. We have staged “Fargespill” and “Spor” with performers who challenge traditional perceptions of the performing arts. And we have developed our own expertise in digitally distributing our concerts and performances to municipal care centers and other partners.

Will grow

At the same time, our surroundings are also growing. Our host municipality has expanded following the municipal merger. The county we live in has become one large Agder. Kilden will grow Kilden these Kilden . This year, we are ready to reach out further into Agder, both digitally and physically, to the many small and large venues that have been established in our county.

Kilden’s vision is “Together, we will move and inspire.” We will move our audience, we will delight them, and we will provoke them. We will do this together across the art forms at Kilden symphonic music, theater, and opera. We will do this together with our neighbors. Soon, Kristiansand Culture School and Sørlandet Art Museum will open, right next door to Kilden. We have many exciting things in the works. And we will move and inspire together with our audience.

Unikt

We have two strategic goals: to further develop what makes Kilden unique Kilden collaborating more internally and with external partners to become a venue where art meets art, and to have a greater impact on the people of Agder as a whole. We want to meet people where they are, both physically and digitally. That is why, in collaboration with the County Council and LOS, we have launched the initiativeKilden in Agder” and are delighted by the positive reception it has received throughout the county. It is inspiring.

Kilden gotten off to a great start in its first 10 years. Moving forward, we aim to get even better and create memorable experiences for our audiences throughout Southern Norway. In January, we had planned three major anniversary celebrations—we’ll make up for them later this year. Throughout the year, we offer wonderful performances no matter what kind of art and culture you appreciate most. Welcome to Kilden our anniversary year!

Harald Furre
, Executive Director, Kilden performing arts centre