Nordic Bridges, a Joint Nordic Cultural Initiative, is a year-long initiative taking place from coast to coast to coast that aims to foster cultural exchange among the Nordic countries and Canada. Harbourfront Centre, as one of Canada’s leading contemporary, multidisciplinary arts and cultural centres, will curate and lead the programming for Nordic Bridges in 2021 with funding support provided by the Nordic Council of Ministers, promoting and raising the profile of contemporary Nordic culture sectors within Canada.
Joint Nordic Cultural Initiatives outside the Nordic region are initiated by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Culture and are intended to strengthen the interaction between the Nordic culture sectors and the rest of the world, raise the profile of the Nordic culture sectors abroad, and generate added value for the participants/artists, and thereby market the Nordic region as a creative region.
Building on the shared values of creativity and innovation, Nordic Bridges will serve to connect the Nordic Region - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland - and Canada through collaborations between artists, innovators and thinkers.
Over the course of one full year in 2021, Nordic Bridges will present contemporary art and culture in a range of disciplines including the performing arts (dance, theatre, circus and music), visual and digital arts, craft and design, literature, film, and culinary arts.
Nordic Bridges aims to generate dialogue between Canada and the Nordic region on culture’s role in the creation and promotion of sustainable societies, increasing awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, most specifically, the environment, inclusivity, innovation and accessibility.
Four key pillars inform Nordic Bridges programming:
Artistic Innovation
Programming that challenges the status quo
Accessibility and Inclusion
Foster belonging and participation through art and the engagement of diverse audiences
Indigenous Perspectives
Engaging Indigenous voices from Canada and the Nordic Region, in particular the Arctic dimension of these conversations
Resilience
Exploring how our shared, rugged, natural landscapes inform and shape our art and design.
Working with cultural partners across Canada, Nordic Bridges programming will be presented as part of scheduled programming seasons, festivals and tours, as well as industry stand-alone-events.
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