Soil Procession
Losæter, Oslo, Norway

On June 13, 2015 a procession of farmers carried soil from their farms through the city of Oslo to its new home at Losæter. Soil Procession was a GROUND BUILDING ceremony that used the soil collected from over 50 Norwegian farms from as far north as Tromsø and as far south as Stokke, to build the foundation of the Flatbread Society Grain Field and Bakehouse. A procession of soil and people through Oslo drew attention to this historical, symbolic moment of the transition of a piece of land into a permanent stage for art and action related to food production.

At high noon, farmers gathered at the Oslo Botanical Gardens joined by city dwellers. Tractors, horses, wagons, wheelbarrows, musical instruments, voices, sheep, boats, backpacks and bikes processed to Losæter where the farmers’ soil offerings were laid out upon the site and a Land Declaration was signed.

photos by Svein Kjøde

Program

A stage, actors, actions...

Beneath the Farm: Clay, Futurefarmers
A workshop transforming the farmers' soil into clay vessels. A series of 41 vessels will be made in a temporary kiln built on the site. These vessels will live permanently in the Flatbread Society Bakehouse and will store seeds harvested from the Grainfield– sealed with wax from Oslo Apiary.

Calling the herds: The tunes of the sæter
The Cafeteatret World Choir and NBX Theater School, led by Norwegian folk musician Eli Storbekken.

Declaration of Land Use, Futurefarmers
A signing of a Declaration of Land Use.
Download PDF (English)(Norsk)

The Cooking Pit, Kjartan Fønstelien
Prehistoric and universal cooking with earth. How pagan man made food for feasts!

Hive is Home, Oslo Apiary
A ceremony marking the permanent home for the bees.

Seaweed as Fertilizer, Zoe Christiansen
Cooking and fertilizing the future with seaweed from the Atlantic ocean.

Beneath the Pavement: Feast, Food Studio with Masayo Funakoshi
A locally harvested feast to celebrate the farmers who came from far and near.

Route

Farms

Alhaug, Helgøya | Alm Østre, Stange | Aschim Vestre, Brandbu | Bakkan, Tromsø, Kaldfjord (“Calfjornia”) | Bergsmyrene, Hurum | Bogstad, Oslo | Botanisk Hage, Oslo | Bygdø Kongsgård, Oslo | Bøgedal, Denmark | Den Norske Opera og Ballett, Oslo | Dysterjordet, Ås | Ekebo, Nesodden | Energigården, Brandbu | Evje Gård, Prestfoss | Fjellvik, Øvre Eiker | Fokhol, Stange | Geitmyra Skolehager, Oslo | Grette, Hov | Grøset Seter, Nedre Eggedal | Hegli, Nannestad | Heinrich Jung, Solør | Holli, Spydeberg | Horgen, Nes | Hov, Prestfoss | Hovlandsmoen, Prestfoss | Kampen Økologiske Barnebondegård, Oslo | Kulturstua i Ro, Vestre Gausdal | Lislerud, Eidsberg | Nedre Båsum, Prestfoss | Nes, Rolvsøy | Ommang Søndre, Løten | Ramstad, Prestfoss | Solhagen, Ådalsbruk | Solheim, Holmestrand | Solli, Stokke | Sø-strøm, Nittedal | Uksum, Vestre Gausdal | Vikabråten, Valdres | Ødeverp, Øvre Eiker | Øverland, Bærum | Øvre Haugan, Prestfoss | Øvre Ringstad, Skiptvet

* map of farms


Collaborators

Food Studio, Oslo
An independent collective of professionals who believe in good and honest food and are open to new ideas and solutions for the future of food. Food Studio utilizes a collaborative approach involving specialists in the food industry, ranging from foragers to farmers, designers and innovators.

Masayo Funakoshi, Japan
Masayo specializes in cooking sustainably-sourced, organic, and seasonal ingredients focused cuisine.

B. Kjartan Fønstelien, Oslo
Kjartan is a conservator at Nord-Jarlsbergmuseene. He has been working with food, food history and the prehistory of food during his whole career; both from a theoretical and practical view.

Oslo Apiary, Oslo
A cultural entrepreneurship run by Marius Presterud and Mikkel Dagestad that uses rooftop beekeeping as its platform. With Oslo Apiary they hope to keep livestock in an urban environment as well as commission and exhibit eco-art projects.

31B, Oslo
The activity center 31B is a low-threshold service within Mental Health. They provide artistic activities for their users – music, graphics, painting, as well as running a bicycle workshop, a gallery and frame shop.

Caféteatret, Oslo
An independent theater institution established in 1992 and run by the Nordic Black Theatre, which produces performances and collaborates with other artists, developing young multicultural artists through the Nordic Black Express.

Jørund Aase Falkenberg, Oslo
An artist working in areas between concept-shape, reality-utopia and politics-spirit. He engages questions concerning mysticism, universal meaning, cultural change and animal rights.

UN’s International Year of Soils in Norway
The Country Governor of Buskerud is responsible for the Norwegian celebration of the International Year of Soils 2015, named by the United Nations. An exhibition and relating activities will be present on Bygdø Kongsgård and Losæter during the summer 2015.

Poster

Take a look at or download the Soil Procession poster. The original is a letterpress and screenprinted poster of 16"x22".

Video

More words

Read a report by Karolin Tampere here.

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