EPISODE 20
Aspirant
This episode we will look at the Aspirant scheme, a recruitment initiative by Kulturrådet that aims to counteract structural discrimination by improving access to jobs within the cultural sector. It is a program from which we have benefited ourselves, yet we also have an intrinsic problem with. We want to start an open discussion about this, to figure out what to do next regarding the issue of immigrant workers in the cultural sector in Norway.
What is an aspirant?
Why do we need this scheme?
And how does this programme work?
This is the first episode of a series talking about the Kulturrådet program ‘Aspirantordningen’ in which Ida Uvaas calls and interview Eli Solberg, senior advisor in Kulturrådet. Solberg is also in charge of the Aspirant programme.
Nikhil Vettukattil interviews Shahrzad Malekian, who recently joined Tenthaus as an aspirant. Later on, Mechu Rapela, director of Tenthaus and Malekian converse about Rapela’s experience as Aspirant in 2017-2018 at Tenthaus, and together they share their thoughts about the program.
Tatiana Lozano and Rodrigo Ghattas also converse about this aspirant scheme. Rodrigos shares his experiences as an aspirant for UKS Tatiana and mentions the support group on Facebook: Verdensrommet, a closed group for non-European professional artists based in Norway. While Tatiana adds to the conversations with her expectations for her new at Entrée in Bergen.
You can sign Verdensrommet’s petition here:
www.change.org/protectartists
Rodrigo Ghattas-Pérez is an independent visual artist, libertarian socialist, creative laborer, outreach activist, community arts organizer, and a public dance enthusiast with Peruvian-Palestinian roots. His practice explores the intersections of community networks, performativity theories, collective domesticity, and life practices of interhuman sociality in public space.
Tatiana Lozano (b. 1985) is the accomplice of the projects and spontaneous programming happening at –p a l m e r a–, artist-run space she founded in 2018 after co-running FELT galleri (2015-2017). She moved to Norway in 2012 to continue her studies in Fine Art and accidentally ended up enrolled in Curatorial studies while running FELT&palmera. Tatiana is interested in alternative ways of exhibition making by the construction of experience through teamwork, complicity and comradeship. Employing a holistic approach, her work explores intangible narratives through chemistry and the valuable experiences of running together with artists. Her practice seeks for alternative methods in which dynamics of power in given hierarchical structures could rather work as open constellations.
Tatiana holds her MA in both Fine Art and Curatorial studies (2014-2019) from KMD – University of Bergen. Based in Bergen since 2012, Lozano has organised numerous projects in the form of exhibitions, events, artist talks and diverse contemporary art manifestations; some of them in collaboration with and presented at institutions like Hordaland Art Center, Bergen Kunsthall, Entrée, Tag Team, KVIT, Bergen Library and KMD.