TRAVEL
Norther light
Mark Fisher heads to Stavanger to see a European City of Culture that's giving Liverpool a run for its money
l. l)i.xttc} lliltl dexigned the otitxide l)uncan
Robertxon'x xttidio. _\oti'd xa} it wax loo Micke} Home to be true. l.ike the \ iew ol‘ the xtiiilit mountainx that .xkirt the edge of the cit}. the wooden Sttnanger'x old town are chocolate bo\ cute. 'l'he cobbled xtrectx. the woodwork painted in immaculate white. the cheer} w ell-drexxed neighbourx . . . il‘ }0ll didn't know _\oti were in a Norwegian port btiilt on the lixhing trade and made rich by the oil lntlll\li'_\. )iiti'd xwear _\oti were in a theme park.
xti'eetx
'l‘he iinpr'exxion ix reinl‘orced il’
_\ou .xtep inxide an} ol thexe traditional lh'th centur) cottagex with ceilingx xo low that aii_\one approaching bl‘t hax to bend down. Robertxon. an lidinbtirgli xculptor. hax a touch more room in hix SCL‘UIILl-IIUUI' .x'llldltt. which lte'x occup} ing for a two-month rexidency ax part ol~ Stauinger 2008. a European (‘it_\' of Culture
programme that dwarl'x that ol‘
Liverpool in xcale. coherence and ambition.
Tonight the anixt i.x hoxting a low - key ~x‘howing ol hix work — a chandelier made from antlerx:
86 THE LIST flu“ do."
hottxex ol
another made l‘rom bulletx‘. photogi'aphx ol' the artixt in a wedding di'exx and w a\ ing a Norwegian llag on an ic_\ outcrop known ax the l’ulpit Rock piecex that haxe. he imaginex. abxorbed the character or the place.
‘.\'orwa} ‘x a reall} comlortable place to be] he xa_\ x. ‘\\'hen )oti‘re awa) on a i'c'xitleiic‘). it loctixex )ttll on _\Ulll' work. l'\'e onl} been thinking ol‘ tliiiigx Norwegian xince l'\'e been heref
Robertxon ix one til at number of
Scottixh artixtx contributing to the North Sea l’roject one xtrand in the £29m Staxanger lellh’ programme making connectionx between the w ext coaxt ol' \orwa} and the eaxt coaxt ol' the l'lx' troni Shetland to (iatexhead. .-\x well ax a xet‘iex ol- \ixtittl Lil'l\ i'exidcnciex. there ix a commixxion tor compoxer
ST AVANGER IS A GREAT STARTING OFF POINT TO EXPLORE THE NORWEGIAN COAST
Stavanger is surrounded by amazing scenery. including the nearby Dalsmuten Hills (bottom right) and the Sander Fjord (facing page. bottom far right)
(‘atriona \lc‘Kti}. appearancex b_\ xe\eral Scottiin xtor_\te|lerx and a xite-xpecil’ic pei‘l‘orinance b} lidinbtii‘gh‘x (irid li'on theatre coinpan} in October. ‘\\'e tend to look xotitli to London or continental litirope.‘ xa_\x (irid lron'x director Ben llai'rixon. 'But looking north we ma} ha\ e more in common with thoxe countriex than we might at lirxt think.‘
(ieogr'apli_\ juxtiliex the theme. btit llix lit) L‘ttlttc‘ltleltc‘e [liitl the director ot Stanmger 2008 ix the \Vick-born
\Itll} \lillei; a hunter .\i urxmtrr: intixic editor and head or Scotland'x now dettinct .\oithlriiidx textual l'xing the xlogan ‘open port. xhc ix alerting a xoinetimex inward looking cit_\ to the at'tixtic gloriex ot the outxide world
'ililtc‘ danger t\ lllt‘ t‘itlltlttl‘l lk‘\k'l.. xhc xa_\x about .i cit} w here all right with the world ‘Stahirigci needx to be capital ol culture \ei'_\ b.idl_\. culturall} it'x neccxxai‘} to ptixli
\eetttx bccauxe
boundaricx. It wax \ci'} important to liiid the bcxt work. but not itixt drop it in and til} it out again which 2x wln we‘xe brought in lotii ama/ing cornpaniex tor a whole month'
\\ liat thix ineanx ix a line tip that b_\paxxcx iiiaii_\ ol \oi'wa}'x home grown crowd plcaxei'x in laxotir ol xonie ol the world‘x iiioxt inxpii‘ing artixtx. llax ing been audicnccx in l.ondon with “in Home. South .'\ll’lc;t‘\ llaiidxpi‘ing l’uppct ('onipan} w ill be in i'exidcnc} t.\'o\einbci‘i. ax will Belgitini'x \ltixikthcatei' ’li'aiixpai‘ant tl‘ebrttar} l. 'ch :\\ i\ ‘x litbal l’ittto Dance (‘onipan_\ i.\l;i}/.ltiiit'i and Lithuania'x ()xkarux Ktit'xtlltinax 'l'heatre t September i.
.-\dditionall_\. there will be x}iiiplitriiic‘x iii the cathedral. light xctilpttirex in neighbouring Saridncx.
wowittg
ial/ reworkingx ol' l-.d\ard (irieg.
e\hibitionx in xt\ local lighthoiixcx and a xnow—baxed dancethcali'e pci'l‘orinance accexxible onl} on xkix. Throw in braxx baiidx. it it id lexti\alx. kite l'l_\ing. xtand‘up coined} and xti‘eet theatre and _\ou get the ittiprexxioii ol a cit} capitalixing on itx ctilttiral _\ear‘ ax lcw placex lia\ e xiiice(i|axgow in l‘)‘)().
l’lent} lor the cultural totirixt.