Jeremy Deller (b. 1966 in London; lives and works in London) studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute and at Sussex University. Deller won the Turner Prize in 2004 for his work ‘Memory Bucket’ and represented Britain in the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. He has been producing projects over the past two decades which have influenced the conventional map of contemporary art. He began making artworks in the early 1990s, often showing them outside conventional galleries.Deller has curated numerous projects including: ‘Iggy Pop Life Class’, Brooklyn Museum (2016); ‘Love is Enough: William Morris and Andy Warhol’, Modern Art Oxford (2014); and ‘All That is Solid Melts Into Air’, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester (2014).  

The Danish visual artist Elle-Mie Ejdrup Hansen (b. 1958) has explored the role and function of art in national and collective memory practices for more than thirty years. In 1990, Ejdrup Hansen developed the concept and began the realization of “Fredsskulptur 1995,” one of the first and largest curatorial projects for public art in Denmark, where 22 Danish and international artists developed 56 site-specific artworks along the west coast as part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Denmark’s liberation from Germany during World War II. Ejdrup Hansen’s own contribution to the project was the monumental light and sound work, “Linien-Lyset,” which for two hours drew a 532-kilometer-long line in green laser light between the 6,000 bunkers that the Germans had the Danish government build along the west coast from Skagen in the north to Sylt in northern Germany in the south as part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Although Ejdrup Hansen’s temporary light work was intended as a performative peace monument, the work literally shed light on a part of Danish history that many have wanted to suppress or forget, namely the Danish collaboration policy with the Germans. Since “Linien-Lyset” did not confirm a specific image of the past but rather questioned the collective memory of World War II in Denmark, the work met with extreme resistance from several quarters. While the Danish right-wing tried to stop the project politically, some war veterans encouraged collective sabotage of the work. In the time before and after the performance of the work in May 1995, more than 6,000 articles about “Linien-Lyset” were published in Danish newspapers, and Ejdrup Hansen became the victim of a politicized “shitstorm” of a kind rarely seen since. “Linien-Lyset” stands out as a significant example of the power of art to challenge established historical narratives and provide space for new perspectives on collective memory processes.  

Fabian Wahl Sandvold (b. 2000) is studying for a bachelor’s degree in criminology at the University of Oslo. Alongside his studies, he represents the Labour Party in the Vestfold County Council and works as a project advisor at Wayback, Life After Prison. Since 2022, he has been a member of AUF’s central board, where he leads AUF’s July 22 committee. The committee is responsible for managing the legacy of July 22 within the organization, training elected representatives, and assisting the central board on matters related to July 22. Wahl Sandvold is a member of the jury for the national memorial in the government quarter. 

Ingeborg Hjorth (b. 1977) is an art historian and works as the academic director at the Falstad Center. She is a senior curator NMF and holds a PhD from NTNU (2020) with a dissertation on the national memorial process after July 22, 2011. At the Falstad Center, she has participated in the development of numerous exhibitions, online resources, and art projects, and has been central to the development of the Falstad memorial since 2007. Hjorth also contributed to the establishment of the July 22 Center in Oslo in 2015. Her academic interests include memory culture, memory politics, aesthetics, history didactics, and museology. Hjorth is a member of the jury for the national memorial in the government quarter. 

Mathias Danbolt (b. 1983) is a Norwegian art historian who researches the intersections between art history and colonial history in a Nordic context, focusing on memory politics, memory culture, and monuments in public spaces. In recent years, Danbolt has led several major collective research projects that have examined the legacies of colonialism in the art and cultural field from various perspectives, such as “Okta: Art and Social Communities in Sápmi” (2019-2022), “The Art of Nordic Colonialism: Writing Transcultural Art Histories” (2019-2023), and “Moving Monuments: The Material Life of Sculpture from the Danish Colonial Era” (2022-25). Danbolt is a professor of art history at the University of Copenhagen. Danbolt is a member of the jury for the national memorial in the government quarter. 

Mari Magnus is a project manager at KORO responsible for the national memorial after July 22 in the government quarter. She was the project manager for the national memorial at Utøyakaia from 2017 until the zoning plan was adopted. Magnus is a trained landscape architect and has worked with design, municipal planning, urban and site development, state construction projects, participation, and user processes. 

Trude Schjelderup Iversen (b. 1974) is a senior curator at KORO and a doctoral candidate in art theory at the University of Oslo. She has worked as a curator since 2001, including as the director of UKS (Young Artists’ Society) and at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York. Schjelderup Iversen has published scholarly articles in numerous Norwegian and international anthologies, catalogs, and books on contemporary art. Her own books include “The New Administration of Aesthetics” (ed. 2007) and “Materialets tale” (ed. 2018). She is responsible for KORO’s educational module “Curatorial Practice + the Public Space,” a curatorial specialization program that has collaborated with international educational institutions such as the University of Southern California and the University of Copenhagen since 2018. Schjelderup Iversen is a member of the jury for the national memorial in the government quarter. 

Britta Marakatt-Labba is known as a prominent artistic voice and an important communicator of Sami culture and history through her art and activism. In 2013, she created the work “Händelser i tid,” an installation with worn flour sacks from World War II, where she embroidered the landscape of Utøya alongside faded Nazi symbols. The work is a response to the terrorist attack on July 22, 2011, and Marakatt-Labba connects the attack with the Nazi ideology that led to the cleansing of Jews and other minorities during World War II. The day before the seminar, the exhibition “Britta Marakatt-Labba. Sylkvasse sting” opened at the National Museum, where this work is included. Marakatt-Labba discussed the work in conversation with Trude Scjelderup Iversen. 

Esther Shalev-Gerz is internationally recognized for her significant contributions to the discourse on public art and her consistent exploration of how memories, history, the natural world, democracy, and cultural identities are constructed. In 1986, she created “The Monument Against Fascism” together with Jochen Gerz, which was erected outside Hamburg in Germany. The work consisted of a 12-meter-high column that was one meter by one meter in width, covered in lead. The public was invited to write their names on the lead as an active act of resistance against fascism. When the lower part of the column was covered with signatures, that section was lowered into the ground. By 1993, the entire column was gone. A sign remained explaining what had happened to the monument. 

Shalev-Gerz discussed this work in her lecture, addressing questions such as: How can we incorporate the legacy of the past into the present and create new forms of memorials? How can we make the contemporaneity of testimonies accessible today? How can artists inspire society to address violence without replicating it through the means they choose to represent it? 

Cathrine Thorleifsson leads the government-appointed Extremism Commission, which is tasked with making recommendations on how to improve the prevention of radicalization and extremism. She will discuss this work and shed light on the question: How does right-wing extremism manifest today, and how has this changed since July 22? 

Anne Lene Andersen: Responsible for Documentation and Exhibition and Collection Manager at the July 22 Center. Andersen is a cultural heritage manager specializing in difficult cultural heritage and memory culture. She wrote her master’s thesis “The Power of Place: Utøya – A Meeting Place Between Past and Present” (2014). She has worked at the July 22 Center since 2015 and was the academic director at the July 22 Center from 2015-2019. 

Mathias Danbolt is a professor of art history at the University of Copenhagen and leads the research projects “The Art of Nordic Colonialism: Writing Transcultural Art Histories” (Carlsberg Foundation 2019–23) and “Moving Monuments: The Material Life of Sculpture from the Danish Colonial Era” (Novo Nordisk Foundation 2022–25). 

Suzanne Lacy is an artist and theorist considered a pioneer in socially engaged and public performance art. Lacy edited the book “Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art” (1994) and wrote “Leaving Art: Writings on Performance, Politics, and Publics, 1974-2007” (2010). She is a professor at the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California. 

Outi Pieski (b. 1973 in Helsinki) lives and works in Helsinki and Utsjok, on the Finnish side of Sápmi. Pieski has numerous international exhibitions to her name and has realized several major public works, including at the Sami Parliament in Karasjok and the Sami Parliament in Inari, Finland. She works with installations and painting, often in combination with duodji, and focuses on themes revolving around nature and culture in the Arctic region. 

Trude Schjelderup Iversen (b. 1974) is a senior curator at KORO and a doctoral candidate in art theory at the University of Oslo. She has worked as a curator since 2001, including as the director of UKS (Young Artists’ Society) and at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York. Schjelderup Iversen has published scholarly articles in numerous Norwegian and international anthologies, catalogs, and books on contemporary art. Her own books include “The New Administration of Aesthetics” (ed. 2007) and “Materialets tale” (ed. 2018). She is responsible for KORO’s educational module “Curatorial Practice + the Public Space,” a curatorial specialization program that has collaborated with international educational institutions such as the University of Southern California and the University of Copenhagen since 2018. Schjelderup Iversen is a member of the jury for the national memorial in the government quarter. 

Mathias Danbolt is a professor of art history at the University of Copenhagen and leads the research projects “The Art of Nordic Colonialism: Writing Transcultural Art Histories” (Carlsberg Foundation 2019–23) and “Moving Monuments: The Material Life of Sculpture from the Danish Colonial Era” (Novo Nordisk Foundation 2022–25). 

Jørgen Watne Frydnes (b. 1984) holds a degree in political science from the University of Oslo, a master’s degree in international politics from the University of York, England, and has 12 years of experience with Doctors Without Borders. In August 2011, he was hired to lead the process and work of rebuilding Utøya after the terrorist attack on July 22. For the past twelve years, as the managing director of Utøya, he has been responsible for personal contact with several dozen bereaved families and survivors, finding a meaningful future for Utøya, and helping AUF return. He has also led the work of building a unique learning center, a memorial, and a democracy workshop for youth. He is a board member of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. On October 1, he will assume the role of Secretary General of Norwegian PEN. 

Trude Schjelderup Iversen is a senior curator at KORO responsible for professional and knowledge development. Schjelderup Iversen has worked as a curator since 2001, including as the director of UKS (Young Artists’ Society) and as Curator in Residence at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College in New York. She is a doctoral candidate in art theory at the University of Oslo, with the dissertation “The Aesthetic Argument.” Iversen is the initiator and curator of the knowledge series “Memorials and Society.” 

Mari Magnus is a project manager at KORO responsible for the national memorial after July 22 in the government quarter. Magnus is a trained landscape architect and has worked with design, municipal planning, urban and site development, state construction projects, participation, and user processes. 

Camille Norment is an artist, musician, and composer. Norment has collaborated on several occasions with musicians Håvard Skaset and Vegar Vårdal, under the name The Camille Norment Trio. Norment was the festival exhibitor in Bergen in 2023. In 2023, she was awarded the Nam June Paik Award. In 2021, she completed “Sequentially Performed Sound Installation” based on the sound of the ship’s bell from DS Donau as a permanent work at the Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities (HL Center) in Oslo. 

Mechtild Widrich is a professor of art history, theory, and criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Advanced Study. Widrich has written books including “Performative Monuments” (2014) and “Monumental Cares” (2023). She has been (co-)editor of several publications, including “Participation in Art and Architecture” (2015) and “Krzysztof Wodiczko, A 9/11 Memorial” (2009).