Joy Forum

Joy Forum is an independent gallery and exhibition space run by a group of students and staff at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design (KMD) in Bergen. The gallery is located inside the institution, built as a separate unit in the reception area.

Joy Forum wants to be a kind of anti-statement and anti-architecture by confronting the surrounding environment and building.

An important goal with the initiation of Joy Forum has been to create an interinstitutional platform where it can be explored and played, and where different themes and issues can be developed, for example by examining the exhibition as critical practice.

The starting point has been to redefine and move the "Testing Room" from the paint factory hall in a neighboring building into the foyer area of the faculty building in Møllendalsveien 61, and thus create a temporary gallery. 

The Testing Room was set up in order to investigate and test functions and materials in relation to the building processes of KMD´s new faculty building. Joy Forum also moves along this path yet with a completely different focus. In addition to the physical manifestation and the exploration of the new building, the project aims to investigate different possible organizational forms, profiling strategies and forms of collaborations. As such, the inclusion of and bringing together of KMD's three Departments are seen as important objectives to Joy Forum.

Joy Forum is an arena where works are exhibited, concerts and performances are held and enacted by students, academic staff and professionals from outside the institution. The actual organization of how the gallery is operated is an ongoing process where students and professionals are encouraged to come up with suggestions, as well as by a biannual Open Call.

Previous & Past Programme

Opening hours and members of Joy Forum

Joy Forum opened its first exhibition on 15 March 2018. The gallery's programme is organized and presented by a group of students and staff members at KMD, based on a mix of Open call-submissions and invited projects.

Opening hours depends on the current programme, please see the respective events for updated information.

Members of Joy Forum:

Susanna Antonsson, Marie Vallestad, Sveinung Rudjord Unneland, Gard Andreas Frantzsen, Skade M. Henriksen Svennevig, Matias Grøttum, Sara Bo Lindberg

Any enquieries should be directed to joy.forum.kmd@gmail.com