In September 2018 the Reception was realised in the town of Moss in Norway. Citizens, architects, urban planners co-shaped both route and content through their personal routes and narratives/narrations.

MOSS

The town of Moss in southeastern Norway is a town with a heavy almost dramatic story situated within a half an hour distance by car from Oslo in Oslo fjord. It was notorious for the foul smell of the cellulose factory which was (placed) in its center. For the same reason it was stigmatized to such an extent that, a few decades earlier, the children at school said “go to Moss” instead of saying “go to hell!”

An industrial town developed through biotechnical and industrial production, it (subsequently) followed the European fate of de-industrialization as well. The factory closed and the stink faded a few years ago, taking with/removing/stripping it the character of Moss to such an extent that the citizens barely recognize their city. It is really fascinating how the influence of this bodiless scent actually gave a body to the center of the city. The city now, without the weight of its past, is trying to find her way/herself but the annihilation of the difficult past, poverty, workers and their culture create a lot of questions and agonies.

The Reception began between 19th to 25th of September. A five hour route with stops for tea and one stop for a snack outdoors. This city (is) like all others, (is) filled with exciting causes to ponder upon the whole world. The visitors had an earplug on one ear while the other was free so they wouldn’t be cut off from the environment and words would resemble/remind more of a whisper.

It is a paradox being narrated/told your town’s story in Norway by someone from Athens, Greece. This narration was filled with this distance, it obviously didn’t support the notion that-even if this oft times occurred- it could tell it’s’ inhabitants something they didn’t already know. The stories of streets suddenly filled with workers after the factories closed, the street lights and ships, builders and soldiers passing from here, had an impact in Athens even when this isn’t obvious/doesn’t show. An insignificant city like Moss has much in common with historic cities like Athens. Moss is placed in the center of the world.

The route begins with light and ends in darkness, in front of the wavelength, in a corner of the city always hit by the wind.

In the workshop we call the participants to mark on maps the trips they have taken. They have often travelled more than they realize. We also ask them to write down places they consider “significant” and places important for them. It is always hard defining what is truly important. Photographer: Lana Dzabic

HISTORY

The project with the theme of Athens posed a question upon the possibility of the realization of a Reception elsewhere. In cities where there are no memories or experiences. In every invitation the answer was that time and research were essential/integral, as well as meetings with people from different classes/groups and age as well as time spent in the city without interventions. So the invitation/call was made for two different routes in two cities of Østfold county in northeastern Norway, Moss and Fredrikstad; cities which have lost their vital industrial activity and are now having an identity crisis.

Moss started without an urban plan and biotech in the beginning as well as industry afterwards played a crucial part in the city’s construction/arrangement and evolution. Now industries vanish and create urban and symbolic gaps replaced by a recreation(al) and utilization logic, attractive buildings for the privileged/wealthy inhabitants of Oslo, retired people and families in need of a quiet and comfortable city. The real estate people and the aggressive utilization of urban space and landscape already rear its ugly head. While creating a beautiful/pretty city many citizens feel there is something off, that the city is disguised/masked, annihilating the past like a smell and along with it every single person that went by.

Our task here is first of all understanding. In every possible interpretation of the term. And as a destination, however weird that may sound, the love for the place. And it is a paradox since love cannot be manufactured/built/made. Yet love can be passed on.

We initiated/opened a series of questions. What makes a town viable, strong and capable of solving her problems? What does memory mean and when does it matter? How many kinds of beauty are there? How many meanings?

We began discussing these questions with ordinary people, artists and organized private walks with no schedule inviting them to show us important places for them and finally organized the first workshops. We gathered stories and thoughts about the city; materials which slowly guide us to the route. Peoples’ generosity gave the whole project the character of an anti-gift. The first version will be trying to return something of these gifts/the favor.

A. Mistriotis, House of Foundation, 26 October 2017.

The “stinky” soul of the city of Moss is shattered piece by piece. Only half of the old funnel shown in the photo is now left. And this was made possible after a lot of reactions. Memory is often a burden. Yet there is a voice reminding that it’s not always for your best interest to erase from memory all you wish to forget. Moss, Verket

THE WORKSHOPS

Behind the reading and interpretation of urban landscape by unconventional means lies the invitation and cooperation with the Østfold kulturutvikling organism. The Reception in Norway began with repeated visits in 2017. The HOUSE OF FOUNDATION and LITTERATURHUSET in the cities of Moss and Fredrikstad respectively host the all-day workshops where it will be examined how one perceives and observes the city from different perspectives.

Every workshop has an interdisciplinary character engaging residents with experts such as architects and urban planners, artists and historians. Participants are invited to perform practical tasks which shall contribute to an unexpected mapping of the cities with personal stories moving from the important to the trivial (insignificant).

The results of the workshops contributed to the research and development of a project, a city walk presented at the Nonstop International Theatre Festival, in the city Moss, Norway in September 2018.

26 OCTOBER 2017

PRESENTATION AT THE HOUSE OF FOUNDATION

On October 26th 2017, the first material that would develop into a 5-hour walk was presented in Moss. The task assumption was already affirmed that each place encapsulates vast historical areas and that the so-called periphery often enlightens and helps our better understanding of the so-called center. There’s no such thing as an insignificant place.

24 APRIL 2018

1st DAILY WORKSHOP, HOUSE OF FOUNDATION

On April 24th 2018, the scheduled daily workshop with local residents took place. Despite the rain, everything went as planned. The first part was a trip down memory lane; we asked the participants to think and write down in special notebooks that we had prepared personal memories and thoughts. Finally, in the afternoon we went out in the city of Moss. On the way back, we heard stories recalled by all group members. There were a lot of surprises, since intimacy disguises the intensity with which the city keeps our memory alive.

26 APRIL 2018

Litteraturhuset, Fredrikstad

On April 26th 2018, the second scheduled daily workshop with local residents took place. It was raining again, yet softly. In the first part we filled our notebooks with memories of experiences and places. We marked on the special maps the places we had visited. In the afternoon, we went out again in the city of Moss. Recollections were transformed to memories as we shared them, acquiring a different context and interpretations; you could see the enjoyment of the group as the subject was strong enough to overcome embarrassment. This is clearly difficult, the reasons are cultural as well, since in Norway unlike the European South, talking so much and deeply about yourself isn’t the obvious case.

The results of the workshops contributed to the research and development of a project, a city walk presented at the Nonstop International Theatre Festival, in the city Moss, Norway in September 2018.

19-25 SEPTEMBER 2018

THE RECEPTION IN THE CITY OF MOSS

Between the 19th to 25th of September 2018, the Reception took place in the city of Moss. A five-hour walk with stops for tea and one stop for a snack outdoors. The “guests” wore a headset in one ear while the other was uncovered so as not to be cut off from the environment and for the word to resemble more of a whisper. We began from one edge of the city, crossed the bridge over the canal that splits Moss in half and ended up on the other side. One of the issues we were concerned about was the search for the center of the city of Moss. What is the characteristic of a city’s center? How and why does it translocate through time? What is lost when it is gone? September in Norway is quite rainy and cloudy. It resembles the end of September in Athens. Sometimes though the clouds were rising and the light was warm and pleasant. The walk started in broad daylight and ended in darkness in front of the wavelength. When night fell the cold was heavier, yet this doesn’t discourage people here.