Feature

Nordic Matters 2017 continues at Southbank Centre

One of the most-anticipated cultural events in 2017 is the Southbank Centre’s Nordic Matters, a whole year’s programme packed with classic, forward-thinking and inspiring arts and culture from the Nordic region.

 

Nordic Matters will feature music, dance, theatre, visual arts, participation, talks and debates, and gastronomy. Chosen from a number of international applicants, London’s Southbank Centre is the sole recipient of a grant from The Nordic Council of Ministers for a new festival celebrating the very best of Nordic art and culture throughout 2017 – one of the biggest cultural-political partnerships of its kind.

A particular emphasis will be placed on the idea of play fostering curiosity and creativity, for people of all ages but especially children and young people. Moving beyond popular perceptions of ‘Nordic Noir’, the programme is designed to embed Nordic culture and artists in Southbank Centre’s year-long artistic offer and offer a platform to some of the more ‘hidden voices’ from Greenland, Åland and the Faroe Islands.

The programme will unfold as the year rolls on, so make sure to stay updated. Below is an overview of what to check out in the next few months of Nordic Matters.

Leif Ove Andsnes

One of Norway’s most remarkable pianists, Leif Ove Andsnes, fills the Royal Festival Hall with a programme specially assembled for Nordic Matters. Considered “a pianist of magisterial elegance, power, and insight,” by the New York Times, Andsnes performs on October 31 for what is set to be an extraordinary evening.

https://youtu.be/nLszpnNmC_w

Leif Ove Andsnes. Photo: Chris Aadlan

Nordic Music Days

From September 28 to October 1, the world-famous contemporary classical festival Nordic Music Days comes to the UK for the very first time, taking over Southbank Centre’s site. Showcasing pioneering contemporary compositions by Nordic composers, Nordic Music Days offers a unique opportunity to experience new, delicate and exiting music.

Make sure to see the young and exciting Distractfold ensemble present Nordic music for instruments as well as objects, solenoids and transducers in Nordic Forests on September 29, and don’t miss out on Floral Night Episode on September 30 and With My Ear to the Ground on October 1, where The Riot Ensemble present works by contemporary composers from the Nordic countries.

London Literature Festival

Karl Ove Knausgård. Photo: Thomas Wågström

Karl Ove Knausgård. Photo: Thomas Wågström

This October, London Literature Festival 2017 explores a World on the Brink, with an entire weekend devoted to looking in-depth at Nordic literature and culture. Celebrating both established writers and rising stars from the region, London Literature Festival explores what we can learn from Nordic literature about pressing issues of our times like political upheavals and the reality of changing climate and about our shared future.

In an exclusive London appearance, literary phenomenon Karl Ove Knausgård presents his new book, Autumn, in conversation with Ted Hodgkinson on October 23. Addressed to his unborn daughter, Autumn offers a profound meditation of the details of daily life and the world she will inherit.

Per Petterson. Photo: Cato Lein

Per Petterson. Photo: Cato Lein

One of the Nordic countries’ most celebrated writers, Per Petterson, reads from his era-defining fiction and reflects candidly on the writing process in an intimate and in-depth event on October 29. With internationally acclaimed novels like Out Stealing Horses and I Curse the River of Time and several awards in his bag, Petterson tells about the forces shaping his prose and the themes of daily life that fire his imagination.

Hanne Ørstavik. Photo: Linda B. Engelberth

Hanne Ørstavik. Photo: Linda B. Engelberth

In More Than Equal: Women Writers of the North on October 21, prize-winning Norwegian author Hanne Ørstavik joins other acclaimed women writers in a panel challenging taboos and highlighting both the past and present lives of women in the Nordics.

Tore Renberg. Photo: Tommy Ellingsen

Tore Renberg. Photo: Tommy Ellingsen

On October 18, bestselling Norwegian writer and author of See You Tomorrow, Tore Renberg, joins Danish author Christina Hesselholdt in a discussion about how Nordic writers are handling a changing world. Meet the Nordic writers who are redefining the real in New Nordic Fiction: Unflinching Reality.

Nordic Corner

Throughout the year there will also be a Nordic Corner at Southbank Centre’s Food Market. With a variety of traders from across London’s Nordic community, take a culinary journey through authentic Nordic street food.

Cinnamon Rolls. Photo: Yadid Levy / Norden.org

Cinnamon Rolls. Photo: Yadid Levy / Norden.org