Image: Lysverket, Bergen
Kode is marking the final days of ‘KUNST·HÅND·VERK’, a large exhibition of contemporary craft presented at Lysverket in Bergen and open until 16 August 2026. The museum describes the project as an exploration of contemporary artistic craft through materiality, craft traditions, everyday life, decoration, reuse and post-industrialism, bringing together more than 100 works — and, according to Kode’s email newsletter, over 125 works — in a range of scales, materials and techniques.
The exhibition is part of a joint project between Kode, the National Museum in Oslo and Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum in Trondheim, created to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Norwegian crafts organisation Norske Kunsthåndverkere in 2025. Kode says the show is based mainly on the three museums’ collections, with an emphasis on works from the last 25 years. It opened first in Oslo before moving to Bergen and then Trondheim, reflecting a multi-venue format rather than a single-site presentation.
At Lysverket, the exhibition is framed as a sensory and varied encounter, with large immersive installations alongside small, detailed works. Kode says visitors can also encounter different voices and perspectives through audio stories, texts, activity zones and videos that document working processes. The museum’s description positions the exhibition not as a conventional survey of finished objects alone, but as a presentation of how contemporary craft can be read through making, use and context.
The list of artists is extensive and spans a wide field of practitioners, including Anna Talbot, Britt Haldis Fuglevaag, Hanne Friis, El Anatsui, Hella Jongerius, Paul Scott, Yinka Shonibare CBE RA and many others. The works shown include pieces by Konrad Mehus, Marianne Bredesen, Paul Scott, Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, Irene Nordli, Bjørn Båsen, Elke Karnik Kolbjørnsen, Jan-Eric Wold Skevik and Åse Ljones among many additional names named by Kode in its exhibition materials.
The Bergen display is curated by Peder Valle, with Morten Spjøtvold and Anne Britt Ylvisåker as co-curators. Kode’s exhibition page also credits curators from the partner institutions: Knut Astrup Bull and Inger Helene Stemshaug at the National Museum, and Steffen Wesselvold Holden at Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum. The project team includes project lead Mira Kahrs, with formidling by Mette Bolkan and Eli Okkenhaug, and the exhibition is identified as a co-production between the three museums.
Kode’s newsletter also notes a related activity room in the first floor of Lysverket, where visitors can join in weaving or make scratching as part of the exhibition. The museum says the weaving room has developed during the run of the show, extending the exhibition’s focus on process and making beyond the main gallery displays. Guided tours are offered on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 15:00, and Kode states that the exhibition remains open at Lysverket until 16 August 2026.
