CreaTeME and the Department of Popular Music at the University of Agder is now inviting applications for The Odderøya Collective. The collective offers free studio spaces where artists can develop their work over time, while contributing to a shared environment shaped by experimentation, exchange and artistic activity.
The Odderøya Collective is a creative workspace and residency environment located on Odderøya in Kristiansand. The studio spaces are available for artists and practitioners working with music production, live electronics, sound-based work, performance and related practices.
The initiative is now being made more visible and easier to access, with a clearer application process and available studio spaces. The ambition is to bring new practitioners into an already active environment, and to strengthen the dialogue between education and artistic practice.
“One of the major challenges in music education is the transition from being a student to building a sustainable professional platform of your own. Many artists do not step into a clearly defined job after graduating. They have to create the conditions for their own practice, their own collaborations, and often their own livelihood. That is precisely why initiatives like The Odderøya Collective matter. They can help make that transition less abrupt by giving people time, space, and continuity at a stage where that support can be decisive,” says Daniel Nordgård, director of CreaTeME.
The Odderøya Collective shows how important access to space and continuity is at a critical stage in an artist’s development. The value becomes clear in the experiences of the artists who have been part of the collective.
Whammyboy (Noah Johansen)
«The studio space at The Odderøya Collective meant a great deal in my early years as an artist and songwriter. It gave me the time and continuity I needed to shape my practice and develop a clearer sense of my own sound. Having that kind of space made it easier to work seriously and consistently over time.»
Nina Fay
«The Odderøya Collective gave me both practical space and creative momentum. It made Kristiansand feel like a more relevant place to remain while continuing to develop my work, and it meant something to be part of an environment where others were also exploring their own artistic practices.»
Hans Uhre
«As a drummer and producer, I have always worked with music through playing with others in rehearsal rooms and on stage, as well as setting up impromptu studios to record wherever. When I got a studio at The Odderøya Collective I became part of a larger community and got a space to explore my own production and recording practices in depth. It gave me the time and continuity to explore how creative use of music technology could become part of my own artistic work, and that became formative for how I later developed my own recording studio Sprengstoff Studio and the sound worlds I work with in projects like Drongo and Daman Shurek.»
Brita Urstad Toft and Ellen A. W. Sunde
«The studio spaces at The Odderøya Collective were important for us both as artists and DJs, but also as a place to think, meet, and develop ideas together over time. That continuity made a real difference. It gave us room to shape our own practices, while also helping create the foundation for what later became Klubb Kosmos, which has grown into an important club concept for house and techno in Kristiansand.»
