Hardbakka Ruins – Commons
The HARDBAKKA RUINS PROJECT is a site-specific art workshop that started in 2013 and took place around the ruins of Hardbakka, close to the Svartediket in Bergen, Norway. The project consists of a workshop and an exhibition, inviting artists, architects, and students interested in creating a work that relates to the site. ON/OFF participated in the 2015 workshop themed „The Commons“. The 2013 and 2014 editions ran during June/July with around ten international participants. In 2015, we relocated to the urban periphery of Møhlenpris,Bergen.
The exhibition that resulted from the week of working together had an unexpected congruity. On a political and theoretical level, we supplemented our physical labour with conversation and debate around the topic of the Commons. The Commons can be described as a space that is neither privately-owned nor public in the sense of being maintained by the state. This is what is known as the ‘urban commons’ – which many groups worldwide are trying to build in the face of economic crisis and austerity measures. The Commons is also about social relations and the way we see ourselves as a part of a global society -one based on difference rather than identity or commonality. The ‚Commons‘ is a multi-faceted term that is understood differently in different contexts: this makes it a fruitful starting point for a workshop and exhibition. While the curator (Alison Hugill) reads the theoretical understanding of the term from Italian Autonomist-Marxists Antonio Negri and Silvia Federici, design collective ON/OFF have a more hands-on understanding of the commons as it relates to urban questions. Additionally, with the site in Bergen, Norway, the concept of ‚statsallmenning‘ offers yet another perspective: referring to shared public resources owned by the state. This threefold understanding of the Commons was discussed and worked on throughout the workshop, as we tackle the possibility of a ‚third-way‘ between private and public (state owned) space.
Type:Workshop
Location:Bergen
Year:2015
Client:Hardbakka Ruins Project
The HARDBAKKA RUINS PROJECT is a site-specific art workshop that started in 2013 and took place around the ruins of Hardbakka, close to the Svartediket in Bergen, Norway. The project consists of a workshop and an exhibition, inviting artists, architects, and students interested in creating a work that relates to the site. ON/OFF participated in the 2015 workshop themed „The Commons“. The 2013 and 2014 editions ran during June/July with around ten international participants. In 2015, we relocated to the urban periphery of Møhlenpris,Bergen.
The exhibition that resulted from the week of working together had an unexpected congruity. On a political and theoretical level, we supplemented our physical labour with conversation and debate around the topic of the Commons. The Commons can be described as a space that is neither privately-owned nor public in the sense of being maintained by the state. This is what is known as the ‘urban commons’ – which many groups worldwide are trying to build in the face of economic crisis and austerity measures. The Commons is also about social relations and the way we see ourselves as a part of a global society -one based on difference rather than identity or commonality. The ‚Commons‘ is a multi-faceted term that is understood differently in different contexts: this makes it a fruitful starting point for a workshop and exhibition. While the curator (Alison Hugill) reads the theoretical understanding of the term from Italian Autonomist-Marxists Antonio Negri and Silvia Federici, design collective ON/OFF have a more hands-on understanding of the commons as it relates to urban questions. Additionally, with the site in Bergen, Norway, the concept of ‚statsallmenning‘ offers yet another perspective: referring to shared public resources owned by the state. This threefold understanding of the Commons was discussed and worked on throughout the workshop, as we tackle the possibility of a ‚third-way‘ between private and public (state owned) space.