We built our own studio. Our studio is a reaction; a reaction to art and historical examples of the studio and a reaction to the new KMD building. This has been a collaboration between students from BAS and KMD.

Our studio had the meeting between BAS and KMD as a starting point. The idea of the meeting has resulted in a pit being at the heart of the studio. The artist can work alone on the flat floor or meet people by opening up the pit and sitting by the fire.

We have been influenced by the ideas of Arte Povera. In Arte Povera there was no distinction between art and daily life.  Artworks according to Arte Povera should be made in a straight-forward and direct way. They should not be mediated through complex material processes but create a poetic view on reality through very simple means. Influenced by these ideas we have chosen an understandable construction for our studio that people can relate to directly by looking at it.

Our design stems from the water tower. The water tower is something symbolic. It rises high in the landscape. While walking on the street, you see the water tower and are aware of water as an important life resource. Like the water tower makes water visible as an important resource in daily life. We want to make art visible as an important resource in daily life. However, because our studio needs to be practical it is only elevated slightly. It remains accessible and inviting, the artist can easily move materials and bring people into the studio.

Our studio is mobile and in that way new meetings can take place. This will create a new discourse focused on the future. It is dynamic and will keep changing. It is poetic and fit for purpose. It does not serve one site but the whole of Bergen.

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The STUDIO(studio) is a project organized by KORO as a collaboration between students and staff from Faculty of Art Music and Design and School of Architecture (BAS). It is led by architect Espen Folgerø, Professor Eamon O’Kane and research fellow Sveinung Unneland. The STUDIO(studio) project aims to involve the city and the public in discussing studio practice and what workspaces for art, music and design might look like. Throughout history, studios have been used for individual work, for teaching and for meetings with colleagues and audience. How can a workspace provide both concentration and inspiration? What can an interdisciplinary studio for art, music, and design look like?