In her opening speech nkd-director Elísabet Gunnarsdottír celebrated the controversial aspects of Telemegaphone Dale and questioned preconceptions of periphery and creativity.

Elísabet’s speech:

I would like to wish you all welcome to this little happening which makes up the grand opening of Telemegaphone Dale.

There is an unorthodox undertone in almost everything connected to the Telemegaphone Dale project and this is how we like it to be.

Dalsåsen has for a long time ­long before the artists center came to be ­ been haunted by “skjulte hemligheter” ­ hidden treasures and bizarre, mystical messages. This is one of the reasons why telemegaphone dale was chosen as the opening event in nkds program to celebrate a decade of creative activity.

It was over 30 years ago that Oddleiv and Thora Fagerheim created the foundation that was later to become Nordisk Kunstnarsentere Dalsåsen or nkd - nordic artists’ centre in dale. At the time their vision received little understanding. Even then the idea of creating a Nordic cultural institution in a remote little village on the west coast of Norway was disliked by many and was certainly not popular with the decision makers of the day.

They said Dale was a remote place – but remote from what?

A great philosopher once said that he always considered the centre of the world to be where he was – that it moved with him – that this was true for everybody.

Another considered the “ends of the world” to be limited only by the bounds of his own skin. Still today we hear voices saying that this region needs to be urbanized – why is this? – to become a smaller copy of a metropolis maybe? – for what reason? – there are countless different ways to accomplish things, and inspiration is all around us ­ right here.

Just imagine what could be done if each and every one of us shed some of the barriers and preconceived ideas we have allowed to build up in our heads – if by turning old ideas upside down and inside out we find ourselves witness to an alternative.

I think that the fate of this centre is in some ways to generate controversy in all its creative forms ­ to provoke, encourage and stimulate reaction and individual response. Our task is to play host to innovative and creative people, to uncover valuable ideas early on, and to help make them happen.

Telemegaphone Dale is an excellent example of this.

I agree with Elísabet’s above points and hope the Telemegaphone will animate discussions on isolation and communication important to rural Scandinavia. Future Unsworn Telecom products will - by offering slots of space, time and sonic amplification for sale - further explore the theme of the commodification of public space and the Right of Public Access (Allemansrätten).