A new golden age of celebration and decadence? A long overdue reunion with friends and family? Or a false dawn for normality? The 2022 edition of the Barents Spektakel festival borrows its title from Martin Luther King Jr’s book on equality and social justice, and it will continue the conversations opened under the 2021 festival in relation to what is ‘essential’ in culture, society, and our ways of living here in the North. With a special focus this time on movements, mobility, community, and the re-making of meeting places, in 2022 the festival will again become a platform for speculation and imagination through a cross-border programme of performances, exhibitions, concerts, debates, discussions, a bar concept, and an art symposium. Insecure times and still in transition and still in transition, now is the time to ask ourselves: Where do we go from here?

The question extends through geographic, rhetorical, environmental, and political territories. From the new politics and practicalities of vaccine passports, and the radical changes for travel, tourism, and freedom of movement, to the more local processes of emerging from our homes and bedrooms back again into tightly packed public social spaces – what are the lessons we can take with us from our collective covid experience, as well as our specific northern story of the past two years? What kind of culture and ways of living are now needed in the age of misinformation, public health decision-making, and upcoming transitions? Should we expect a return to hyper consumption and rapid economic growth, despite the warnings of an increasingly warming climate? What does all this mean in the context of ‘the green transition’ in the North?’ How can these thoughts and gestures reach local communities in the Barents region, and help them stay connected in the future? And how do we encourage long-term thinking when we have these discussions?

Asking questions is a natural part of life and living, and the festival intends to ask many this year – some old and some new. Will we get the answers we’re looking for? Or is this a search that will only continue?

The 18th edition of the Barents Spektakel festival will take place between the 23rd and 27th of February in Kirkenes, and across multiple venues in Russia. More details coming soon…