Performances / Talks / Readings
Gratis
10-13. September
All day
10-13 September Pikene på Broen transforms Terminal B Kunsthall Kirkenes into “Svoboda Bar” (“svoboda” is translated as “freedom” from Russian). Come to “Svoboda bar” to explore one of the most debated topics of today: censorship. Together with artists, journalists, researchers and politicians we will try to shed light on the complexity of this phenomenon and emphasize its potential dangers to all societies — including open, democratic ones.
Censorship often disguises itself under the pretense of public safety, security, or social harmony, making it harder to recognize and resist. There is no immunity, especially in times of crisis or uncertainty. Through performances and public dialogue, we will see how censorship operates, in both obvious and subtle forms, and to encourage people to question, engage, and defend the spaces that allow for free expression.
Produced by Pikene på Broen in partnership with Echo of Lubimovka and CISR Berlin. Financially supported by Kulturdirektoratet, Fritt Ord and Barents Secretariat.
Read the full program below, or download program in pdf.
Program
WEDNESDAY 10. SEPTEMBER
17.30 – 18.30: Opening of SVOBODA Bar and Novaya Gazeta Front page exhibition with speeches, music and mingling.
18.30 – 20.00: Talk and debate with Dmitry Muratov, co-founder of Novaya Gazeta and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and writer and journalist Åsne Seierstad (Language: Russian with Norwegian translations).
20.00 – 22.00: SVOBODA Bar open, sale of snacks and drinks, DJ.
THURSDAY 11. SEPTEMBER
10.00 – 22.00: Exhibition & Svoboda bar open.
12.00 – 13.00: “Censored Lunch” with soup and chat with Tatiana Britskaya, journalist of Novaya Gazeta. (Language: English)
18.00 – 20.30: Stage reading & panel discussion.
Stage reading of the theatre play Discreditation by Nana Grinstein and Anastasia Patlay, directed by Prokhor Gusev.
(Language: Russian with English texting).
Discreditation is a documentary theater play about a university professor who voices her anti-war protest on social media and faces the consequences. When the state labels her an “enemy of the people,” who will stand up for her?
Panel discussion on “State-censorship” with Lubimovka’s art director, playwright and theater director Anastasia Patlay, theater director Prokhor Gusev and the director for Hvitsten Salong and SafeMuse coordinator Jon Lundell.
(Language: English).
20.30 – 22.00: SVOBODA Bar open, sale of snacks and drinks & DJ.
FRIDAY 12. SEPTEMBER
10.00 – 22.00: Exhibition & SVOBODA bar open, sale of snacks and drinks.
12.00 – 13.00: “Censored Lunch” with soup and chat, guest TBC. (Language: English)
16.30 – 17.30: Short documentary film screenings.
“The most important is not to betray yourself”
The film follows Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Vasilets from Murmansk becoming the first Russian charged for refusing combat under a new law and his transformation from military officer to pacifist. Is he a coward or a conscientious objector?
(Language: Russian, English subtitles)
“Ivan chai. A search volunteer buried 20 000 soldiers and his own son”
For 43 years, Konstantin Dobrovolsky has been searching the tundra near Murmansk for the remains of soldiers from the Great Patriotic War. The state still hasn’t buried them — even 80 years later. His daily work with the memory of that war turned Dobrovolsky into a staunch opponent of bloodshed. Yet this spring, his son was killed in Bakhmut, fighting with the Wagner private military company.
(Language Russian with English subtitles)
18:00 – 21:00: Screenings of the theater play Ways of seeing & panel discussion
Ways of seeing by Pia Maria Roll, Hanan Benammar, Sara Baban and Marius von der Fehr is one of the most talked-about shows in contemporary Norwegian theatre. The play explores how networks — political, economic, and media — in Norway contribute to the rise of racism and increased surveillance.
(Language: Norwegian/English)
Panel discussion: “Grey zones of censorship” with theater director Pia Maria Roll, co-founder of Agency of artists in Exile (France) Judith Depaule and Associate Professor from Stockholm University Ekaterina Kalinina.
(Language: English)
SATURDAY 13. SEPTEMBER
10.00 – 22.00: Exhibition & Svoboda bar open.
12.00 – 15.00: “Censored Lunch” with concert, soup and chat. Guests TBC.
15.00 – 16.00: Film screening.
“How do you live when your son is a volunteer soldier and your own village sees you as an enemy”
The film follows Antonina Nikulina, the only person in the Karelian village of Yushkozero to openly speak out against “the special military operation”. She eventually leaves Russia, while her son signs a contract and goes to fight in the war.
(Language Russian with English subtitles)
18.00 – 20.30: Stage reading of the theatre play Vanya is alive & panel discussion
Vanya is alive is an absurd story about a mother whose son was mobilized. Nevertheless, she cannot call a spade a spade because everything is turned upside down in the world of propaganda and total lies. By Natalia Lizorkina, directed by Gulnara Iskakova, in collaboration with Lubimovka.
(Language: Russian with English texting).
Panel discussion: “Self-censorship” with Novaya Gazeta journalist Tatiana Britskaia, theater director Gulnara Iskakova and artist Amund Sjølje Sveen.
(Language: English)
20.30 – 23.00: SVOBODA Bar open, sale of snacks and drinks & DJ