Småspill is the Bergen International Festival and HVL's new children's arts festival

The innovative Småspill is an art festival aimed at children and young people, where both employees and students at HVL and professional artists present content in various formats and genres.'Art is a tool that all children should know, and via this collaboration, the Bergen International Festival and HVL wish to contribute to this. Art can convey stories, talk about difficult issues, promote mental mastery and personal development, and much more. We want to inspire students and staff, elevate the art subject and make it visible and central in the educational process. At the same time, children in different places receive the pleasure of several more artistic experiences', says festival director Anders Beyer.

Together, the festival and HVL have developed a varied programme with theatre, installations, music and completely new exam works by HVL students that will be shown to families, kindergartens and schools between May 29 and June 05. The programme includes the performances Hope? and Home, the concert Konrad Kråkebolle and the sound-playground Auditomosjon.'For HVL, Småspill will contribute to greater interaction with society and the region around us. Simultaneously, the festival will create new academic approaches at the intersection of the artistic, pedagogical and new research at the Department of Arts Education at the Faculty of Teacher Education, Culture and Sports', says head of department Oded Ben-Horin.

For several years, the Bergen International Festival and HVL have collaborated on various projects. When the performance Ways of Seeing was staged during the festival in 2019, it was on HVL's campus in Bergen. Previous collaborations include student involvement in research-based art with the theme of online hate and revenge porn, concerts and debates.'HVL and the festival have a common desire to utilize the full potential of art and let it be instrumental in society's development in general and in relation to education in particular. We hope that Småspill will develop into an annual event', says the festival director.

Update 22.04.2021: One of the student projects in Småspill can not be held this year, and the number of artistic productions is changed from seven to six.

Update 25.05.2021: Due to illness, one of the three parts of From children's book to performance 1, 2 & 3 at Stord Campus on 30 May is cancelled. The other two parts will be held as planned.