This publication is the culmination of a curatorial experiment initiated by Fluks - Center for Young Art, University of Agder, spanning two years. In 2022, a group comprising Emmi Pennanen, Katinka Saarnak, Nina Helene Skogli, Eva Lín Vilhjálmsdóttir, Tze Yeung Ho and Janosch Bela Kratz met in Kristiansand, Norway, to delve into what the concept ‘Nordic art’ means to new generations of artists, across disciplines.

ASPIRATIONS IN THE NORDICS – WHERE WE FOUND HOPE IN ARTISTIC PRACTICES consists of conversations between the group members and the people we met along the way. As a group, we approach the publication dialogically; we communicate with each other as a collective audience instead of individual spectators or critics conveying something or other to an abstract reader. Throughout the chapters and parts, we gain momentum; a loosely thematic structure unravels. A longing for imaginative ways to address social issues, inclusivity, and artists’ autonomy within the Nordic region becomes apparent. We contemplate the idea of the ‘Nordic’ through indirect channels, assemble glimpses and impressions, and document conversations. As with any attempt to survey or grasp a large concept, the conversation is limited to the contributors’ physical presence, where they are based, who they are, and what they see.