Artist: Tone Bjordam
Inspiration
Explore exciting perspectives, projects and ideas related to hospitality, culture and society. Here you will find webinars, articles and initiatives that will give you insight and inspiration.
After a storm in 1432, the nobleman Querini from Venice and his crew were stranded on Røst in Lofoten. They were hospitably received by the local population. This is the starting point for a symposium organized by Nordland County Council, in collaboration with Nordland County Library, which will take place over several years, along the route they traveled, back from Røst to Venice. The project starts in June 2026 and thematizes currents – in time, water, and in relation to the international exchange of ideas, art and culture. In the commissioned work Driv, visual artist Tone Bjordam is inspired by Querini's journey. The video functions as a painting in motion, and starts at sea with clouds, fog and an island with buildings typical of the area in the Mediterranean where the journey began in 1431. The colors are inspired by paintings from the 15th century. In the middle of the video work there is a storm that functions as a tipping point from one landscape to another. An object inspired by various things mentioned in Querini's account drifts around in the water. The object consists of a spiked wooden spoon, textiles, dried ginger, amber, gold ring, pearl, shells, seaweed and kelp. And white bird feathers, because it says that they saw many white birds. In the next part of the artwork we enter a different type of landscape. By filming the surface of fish through a microscope; turbot, cod, redfish, salmon, horse mackerel and stockfish, Bjordam paints dramatic landscape paintings, with islands, mountain peaks, underwater creatures, snowdrifts, sea and cloud formations typical of Lofoten. The patterns on a micro level mimic the larger surrounding landscape. In the last video image, the two different landscapes of the Mediterranean and Lofoten merge. Almost 600 years after Querini and the crew wrote down their stories, stories of being in the storm, both literally and figuratively, are just as relevant. Through time, fragments of the drama of enduring in the face of violent natural forces drift in full force, in contrast to evocative calm, kindness, renewal and the way forward. The story is a window of time where the past meets the present. Both the storm and the silence drift through time. And beneath the surface, dreams move with the current, where what was lost has taken on new form.
Thanks to Jan Braly Kihle for technical microscope assistance Nordland County Municipality and Nordland County Library
Artwork by Tone Bjordam
This way we have fewer conflicts with tourists
“Hospitable does not mean free for guests, quite the opposite. It means open, friendly, welcoming; everything a guest loves. With someone who loves guests. The word hospitable consists of two parts; “guest” which originally meant stranger and “free” which originally meant to love. To be hospitable therefore means to love strangers”
This is what the newspaper Nordland writes in its article about the Nordland International Hospitality Symposium.
Read the full story here
Webinar: what happened to hospitality?
Experience a thought-provoking lecture with Thomas Hylland Eriksen, professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo, and one of Norway's most prominent social debaters. The film is part of our webinar series inspired by the dramatic journey of Pietro Querini and his crew, who in 1432 were stranded on Røst after months at sea.
In this lecture, Hylland Eriksen takes us on a journey through time and the history of ideas, from Håvamål's wisdom to the values of neoliberalism, and questions what has happened to hospitality in the long historical perspective.
With his sharp communication skills and deep knowledge, Eriksen provides new insights into identity, community and the development of society.
Pietro Querini's stories
Lecture with musical highlights, about the dramatic incident where Captain Pietro Querini and his crew were shipwrecked in the North Sea and ended up on Røst , a cold January day in 1432. Mediator Hildegunn Pettersen is also the initiator and artistic director of Røst -society's Querini opera. The recording is from Rana Library, November 6, 2024.
Insight into the sources of Pietro Querini's journey: Texts, interpretations and historical perspectives
Via Querinissima International Association has published the first edition of its new e-book series. The publication makes key historical sources and scholarly perspectives related to the Querini tales available in a modern, scholarly edition.
The e-book contains, among other things:
The first modern English translations of Giovanni Battista Ramusio's version (1559) of the accounts of Pietro Querini and his companions, translated by Dr. Adam Greenwood .
Scientific essays written by:
Prof. Richard Holt
Prof. Steinar Aas
Dr. Daniela Di Pinto
The publication provides a new and academically grounded introduction to one of the most central historical sources related to the Via Querinissima.
Read more here.
Lofoten, on the trail of stockfish
This book brings together seventy-three photographs that tell the story of Arctic cod fishing and the raw, remote beauty of a rugged archipelago. Through multiple journeys in the footsteps of Venetian merchant Pietro Querini, Natalino Russo creates a visual and narrative route that weaves together landscape, memory, and history.
Farthest Europe
Extreme Europe is a groundbreaking international photojournalism project that promotes “slow journalism.” The project highlights the voices and knowledge of coastal communities and nature-based environments – places where Europe’s encounter with the sea has shaped life and culture for thousands of years.
The initiative documents stories from the far reaches of Europe, from Bø in Vesterålen to the west coast of France, and explores how these narratives can contribute to a more sustainable future. With support from the European Commission, it presents reportages, a book publication in spring 2025, and stage performances in collaboration with LIVE Magazine Paris.
Yderst Europe is a sea of stories about people, the sea and the balance that must be found for the future.
Read the feature article “What would we do without the sea” by Stein Sneve here .
Artist: Tone Bjordam