‘William Kentridge has shaped the international art world across disciplines for many years. Now his poetic universe can finally be experienced on a large scale in Norway.’
This is according to Festival Director Lars Petter Hagen, who has invited two of the South African artist’s stage productions to Bergen.
The Bergen International Festival 2025 will open with Kentridge’s latest performance, The Great Yes, The Great No, which had its world premiere this summer. In Oh To Believe in Another Worldthe Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony together with an animated film Kentridge has created for the work.
William Kentridge (b. 1955) lives and works in Johannesburg and has influenced the international art scene across disciplines for decades. He is both a visual artist, filmmaker, and sculptor and has created major opera and theatre productions. His work engages with politics, science, literature, and history, and is known for interdisciplinary collaborations. He holds honorary doctorates from Yale, London University, and Columbia University, and the Norwegian Queen Sonja Print Award is just one of the many accolades he has received.
‘In a poetic, beautiful, and surreal universe, William Kentridge addresses central themes of our time while connecting with history. It is time for the Norwegian audience to experience this significant body of work on the big stage,’ says Festival Director Lars Petter Hagen.
William Kentridge will be present in Bergen in connection with the performances.
