Utilizing whatever is available is in the name at 250L, a student art gallery consisting not of a room or building, but a glass case. The gallery has the volume of a 250-liter tank, as they aim to think outside the box from within the box with their project.
Marie and assistant, Paulina, are the creators of the gallery, and started the project earlier this year. Both are enrolled in the Bachelor i Visuell kunst og formidling (Bachelor of Visual Art and Communication) at Campus Kristiansand and they saw a need among their peers for somewhere to display their work.
“The art students at the Department of Visual Arts and Drama at the Faculty of Fine Arts have not previously had a permanent student-run art gallery.” explains their brochure. Making the most of their creative spirit and can-do attitude they seized the opportunity to do something themselves.
When you hear ‘gallery’ you might think of the wide, white walls of a massive empty room, strict guidelines, maybe an equally picky curator to match. Galleri 250L is not that. The team states that: “the display was gifted to us by SKMU (now called Kunstsilo). We have the tank to symbolize a gallery space. It connects to our concept of not needing a huge space to display art and communicate.” In line with the students’ mission, Marie and Paulina say they want to make a place where all art is welcome. If you can think of a way to put it in, you can bring it in!
Recent projects have been solo sculptures by their classmates and a physical collage piece made of works produced at a recent workshop, and they have big plans for the future. One upcoming project is in a similar vein, this time a collaborative workshop of the masters kunstfag students, and in the future, they hope to bring in established Norwegian artists from the Agder region.
Being small has its perks, the gallery has been able to be located on two separate premises so far. Most recently it was on display at the student culture house BARE, and before this, it was present in the atrium on Kristiansand campus. This perk is also its downside, artists’ work will have size restrictions, but obstacles can be overcome with creative thinking, and the team are open to all ideas.
Through this, they aim to build a reputation for their gallery and give the contributors something solid for their resume and a taste of the gallery experience. Artists can be as involved or as hands-off with advertising and gallery processes as they desire.
Have you seen the posters around? This distinctive style is all a part of the 250L template and is produced by a process called Riso printing. It’s not just a stylistic choice, Marie and Paulina wanted to choose an environmentally friendly option that was close to home. Riso has better efficiency, can be done on campus, is cost-effective, and as a bonus has a stand-out traditional print style.
For more information, you can find Galleri 250L on Instagram: @galleri250l
