HAUGESUND INTERNASJONALE TRESNITTFESTIVAL
9-12 MAY 2019 at 09.00 a.m.

HIT-utstillingen / HIT-Exhibition Location : Haugesund Billedgalleri
ÅSE ANDA Location: Rom for, Strandgata 186, Haugesund
LARS AURTANDE Location: Haraldsgata 141
MARIA SUNDBY Location: Bedehuset på Bakarøy
YNGVE SORTLAND Location: Haraldsgata 184

Press release follows

Two Art Festivals in Haugesund in May 2019! The culture division of Haugesund Municipality, will together with non-profit culture organisations, cooperate to present pictorial art in Haugesund. The Haugesund International Relief Print Festival (The HIT Festival) and the AVTRYKK Festival will both be opened in May 2019.

Print matters For many years Haugesund has successfully promoted film and music by large national festivals, such as The Norwegian International Film Festival and The Sildajazz Festival. Visual art, however, has not yet come into the same focus. Time has come for a change.

During the same week in May 2019 all cultural resources will pull together and arrange two art festivals. From 9th to 12th May the Haugesund Society of Fine Art and the Norwegian Art Societies will arrange the AVTRYKK Festival and invite to exhibitions and activities at different venues in the centre of Haugesund.

Friday 10th May at 1900hours The HIT Festival will be opened. This is a comprehensive relief print exhibition with contributors from all over the world. During the weekend there will be awards for the three best pieces of art, a gala in Haugesund Museum of Fine Arts, exhibitions, workshops and seminars. We wish you most sincerely welcome to an exiting weekend, filled with exhibitions and activities for children and adults alike.

Cross-cultural cooperation The two relief print festivals are made possible by a close cooperation between public and non-profit cultural organisations. Contributors are: The Haugesund Society of Fine Art, the Norwegian Art Societies, The Haugaland Museums’ (From 01.01.2019 The regional Museum South West Ltd), the Haugesund Museum of Fine Art , the Haugesund Trading Society, the Haugesund Municipality, department of culture and festival development, Rogaland county and the Norwegian Association of Graphic Artists.

Art as Urban Development The project will aim at the general public and will be a sincere contribution to the municipality’s objective of strengthening the importance of central Haugesund, both commercially and socially. In addition to the exhibitions in The Haugesund Museum of Fine Art i and in central Haugesund, the festivals
will also invite to an increased art knowledge and understanding in the form of a variety of events, workshops and seminars, open for all interested.

Background The AVTRYKK Festival will be arranged by the Haugesund Society of Fine Art, with the HIT Festival as a close partner. The AVTRYKK Festival will concur with the annual conference of the Norwegian Art Societies who picked Haugesund as its 2019 conference site.

‘From May 9th to 12th we expect approximately 150 guests coming to town. We want to give guests and residents alike a weekend packed with cultural events ‘says Mona Elin Aarø, head of the Haugesund Society of Fine Art’s board. She is looking forward to an international art exhibition and awards in the gallery, as well as print exhibitions in the centre of Haugesund, open studios, organised town walks with unexpected distractions, excursions, seminars and workshops having the art of printing as a main theme. During the weekend everyone will have the opportunity to become familiar with contemporary art. The main theme for the AVTRYKK Festival is the accessibility to art. We will explore and try to answer the following question: How do we make contemporary art more accessible to the general public?

We do hope for a successful public festival in the centre in Haugesund, where the general public is invited to participate in an exciting and entertaining learning process.’

The Haugesund Museum of Fine Art has relief prints at the core of its collection. The museum works permanently to promote the works and reputation of one of Haugesund’s finest artists, Trygve Goa (1925 – 2013).

Another main task is to take care of the Tjørhom Collection. This collection consists of 300 national and international relief prints donated to the gallery in 2008 by professor of theology Ola Tjørhom.

‘Professor Tjørhom himself launched the idea of a woodprint festival in Haugesund. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the unique gift. The 2019 Festival will give us the opportunity to mark and remember this important milestone’, says Grethe Lunde Øvrebø, Director of the museum.

By arranging the two festivals we hope to put Haugesund on the map, nationally as well as internationally as an interesting place to visit for artinterested tourists.

‘Artistically the HIT Festival will explore the possibilities of the relief printing technique. Further we will try to increase the knowledge of and interest in relief print as a form of art.

The objective of the AVTRYKK Festival, on the other hand, will be to develop a better understanding and easier accessibility to the art of print’ says Grethe Lunde Øvrebø.

Photo text: Behind from the left: Donator of the Tjørhom Collection, Professor Tjørhom, Head of Haugesund Municipality’s board of Culture, Hege Østensjø, Mayor of Haugesund, Arne-Christian Mohn Head of the board Haugesund Society of Fine Art, Mona Elin Aarø Artist Ivar Rudi

In front from the left: Municipal Culture Counsellor Randi Lofthus Director of The Haugesund Museum of Fine Art, Grethe Lunde Øvrebø Pedagogical communicator at the museum Linda Merete Høie