NORWAY: What is your home? Where is your home? Where do you belong?

Can art provide alternative perspectives on the situation for immigrant women married to Norwegian men in rural communities in Norway? What kind of role can they have in the local community? Can they unfold on their own terms and use their expertise and experiences?

1. Audio recordings of conversations about identity and belonging with the participants. Duration 10:44 min.

Women from Russia, Iceland, Norway, the Phillippines, Thailand and Kenya participated in the art project "My Home" (2012-2013) and asked themselves these questions. The project was conducted by the Norwegian artists Vigdis Haugtrø, Guro Hustad Stugu and Brynhild Bye-Tiller. Together with women with and without immigrant background we made a joint exhibition in Namdalseid, Norway 2012-2013 focusing on identity and belonging. The participants greatly influenced the final exhibition. Both through their own images and texts attached to the floor and windows. Each image and text described each individual's relationship to "My home". This was the 1st of two projects with focus on immigrant and refugee women in a rural community.

The participants was: Ellen Unabia Monsen (PH), Ingunn Skjesol Bulling (NO), Rueangsiri Wongwan (TH), Gudny Olafsdottir Sverkmo (IS), Gugga Stöng (IS), Erla Valdis Jónsdóttir (IS), Trude Berg (NO), Madjaka Sagno (GN) Laila Solum (NO), Tone Beate Fossli (NO), Liilia Opdahl (RU).

Meetings and home visit relay
After several meetings with the participants at the public library, the artists went on home visits. On the ride was - as well as photo and audio equipment - women who were initially unknown to each other. Each participant got to visit another participant. Disscusions during the home visit's were recorded and later became a part of the final exhibition. During the home visit's each participant had to choose a site were she was a model for a portrait. On each site, in each home, both participants were depicted at the same spot. How does the environment in a picture affect the way we perceive that indidual? The public had to guess where each one belonged in the series of portraits.

Artistic work Brynhild Bye-Tiller
The artistic ambition for artist Brynhild Bye-Tiller was to explore participatory methodologies and how to capture a documentary material with audio recordings and photography.

PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK BRYNHILD BYE-TILLER

EXHIBITION		Partners:
Exhibition period December 11 th 2012 - January 18 th 2013		The project was organized together with the municipality of Namdalseid and KUN centre for Gender Equality. The municipality was deeply involved in the process and has a track record for using resources on different projects involving the topic: Gender and local immigrant women. KUN centre for Gender Equality also started their action research with the project “Familiegjenforente kvinner i distriktet” parallel with the art project. It was the first of two production's in Nord-Trøndelag county with focus on immigrant and refugee women. The second production: Three ways of framing was done in Verran, Norway in 2013. A neighbouring municipality of Namdalseid. Documents: KUN's report: "Familiegjenforente kvinner i distriktet. Tverrfaglig samarbeid om integrering i Namdalseid og Verran", av Marte Taylor Bye. PDF. (NO) Presentation from KUN Exhibition poster Lyrics to the opening (PDF)   More on Facebook
Venue: Town Hall Namdalseid (NO)
Art work: Photographs, text stickers and audio recordings. Details: 10 staged photographic portraits printed on acrylic, 1 X 1 m, photographed by Vigdis Haugtrø and placed at the entrance of the Town Hall. 1 audio recording recorded and mixed together by me placed inside the exhibition in the Town Hall. 6 medium-sized color photography mounted on capa by me. Apr. 100 small format photographs on the wall from the participants. 10 text stickers mounted on the floor, the windows and the walls by the participants.

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