Safemuse

Powerful opening of Oslo Pride by Kai Mata
Happy Pride everyone!🌈🌈🌈
SALT Art & Music

📸: Aliona Pazdniakova / Safemuse

Tara Abdullah imponerer med den nye installasjonen BRAIDS på Lyse Netter i Moss.

The installation draws on a painful contemporary event.

– During attacks carried out by radical Islamist groups against Kurdish communities in Syria, the cutting of a Kurdish woman fighter’s hair became a symbolic act of domination, humiliation, and control, Tara clarifies.

By reconstructing braids from discarded plastic, she reclaims this violent gesture and transforms it into a symbol of resistance and endurance. What was intended as an act of erasure becomes, in her work, a monument to persistence, dignity, and collective memory.

Kurator: Jon Lundell / Hvitsten Salong
Bilder: Aliona Pazdniakova / Safemuse

Safemuses is looking forward to the artist presentation by Xuan Trang Nguyen Thi, film director and producer from Vietnam, who is having her residency in Hvitsten Art Haven🎥🌾

Trang is currently developing the draft of her new hybrid documentary LAND OF EVANESCENCE. The film has just returned from Cannes and we had a pleasure of 2 screenings at Deichman in Oslo and Mølen in Hvitsten.

If you are a film expert, producer or working in the field and want to support this project or give feedback, please DM!

- I am the post-war generation. I grew up far from the battlefield. But since I was a child, I’ve had recurring dreams of war, of being chased, of hiding, of not knowing where I am, Trang.

Through the film Trang questions: Can trauma be transmitted across generations? And what happens when memory is inherited, but never lived?

- The Marché du Film and Cannes Docs brought together countless industry professionals and global experts under one roof. You can truly feel that the people who come here are actively seeking films and projects to push into the global market. For me, it was an incredible, high-stakes opportunity to have everyone gather in one room to watch the very first footage of my film. Observing their live reactions gave me a firsthand understanding of how the visual language of the film resonates - whether the imagery truly captivates and connects with an audience or not. In this way, Cannes was an invaluable stepping stone, providing a vital launchpad for the future of my project, Trang

Ikke gå glipp av «Serving Baldwin» av Varun the Puppeteer på Nordic Black Theatre 22.-26. juni arrangert i samarbeid med Oslo Pride 🦄💞

Serving Baldwin ‘Meeting Baldwin’ By Varun the Puppeteer & The Nordic Black Theatre Title: Meeting Baldwin Duration: 45 Minutes Language: English and Non verbal This is an interactive performance that brings to light

Kai Mata spiller under Oslo Pride åpningsfest på Fredag 19. juni kl.19:00 på SALT i Oslo!
- Join me in a joyous celebration, where death threats become love notes, Kai

@oslopride! Want to hear the sounds of pride from Indonesia? 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇮🇩 I’m playing at the opening party Friday, June 19 at @saltartmusic. Join me in a joyous celebration, where death threats become love notes♥️

Magisk konsert av Pouya Pour-Amin under Lyse Netter ✨🌑

Kurator: Jon Lundell Hvitsten Salong
Bilder: Aliona Pazdniakova

For Tara Abdullah, making a voice visible is both an artistic strategy and a political act. Through painting, installation, performance, and public interventions, she brings hidden and marginalized experiences into the public sphere, transforming personal testimonies into collective encounters and creating spaces for dialogue, recognition, and social engagement.

Take a look at our new article to learn more about Tara’s story and artistic practice, and don’t miss her new large-scale installation, on view 12–14 June at the Lyse Netter Festival in Moss, curated by Jon Lundell.

https://safemuse.org/2026/06/11/tara-abdullah-the-girl-from-the-cigarette-factory/

A warm welcome to our new artist in residence, Kai Mata - musician, singer, and one of Indonesia’s most prominent voices for q***r rights🌟🌈🌟

/ www.kaimatamusic.com

Since 2019, Kai has used music as a powerful platform for LGBTQIA liberation in a country where legal censorship and societal discrimination remain significant challenges. Their work has earned international recognition, including the 2025 APCOM Young Achiever Hero Award (Thailand) and the 2024/2025 Artivist Award (USA, Italy, and Argentina).

With over 5 million streams, their ability to turn hateful rhetoric into pride anthems has propelled them onto festival stages across six continents, brought them to speak at the U.N. about art’s inherent role as a cultural catalyst, and made them a founding organizer of Pride in Bali.

Kai will be staying at Safemuse Oslo Art Haven for the coming months, and we can already look forward to seeing them perform at the Oslo Pride Opening Party on 19 June at 19:00, at Langhuset, SALT in Oslo.

Don’t miss it! 🦄🔥

Meanwhile in Kirkenes... Нурпери Орунбаева - Kunsten Fanger.

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS IN NEED OF A SAFE RESIDENCY - NORWAY 2027/2028

Safemuse is an NGO based in Norway that hosts safe residencies for artists, promotes artistic freedom of expression, solidarity and collaboration.

Artists from all artistic disciplines, who have experienced censorship, threats or persecution due to their artistic activity, are encouraged to apply.

We currently have two residencies in Norway: Oslo Art Haven and Hvitsten Art Haven. The residencies are usually for six months, and are run in collaboration with our local partners, and with financial support from local, regional and national institutions.

Since 2022, Safemuse has together with Nordic Black Theatre & Cafeteatret, our partner in the Norwegian capital, invited international guest artists to the Oslo Safe Haven residency program.

In 2023, the program was, in collaboration with the local art institution Hvitsten Salong, expanded and Hvitsten Art Haven was established in the beautiful coastal town of Hvitsten - a mere 50 kilometers south of the capital.

Through the safe residency program, artists are given the opportunity to work freely in a safe professional environment, develop their artistic practice, collaborate with artists based in Norway or neighboring regions, and build their own networks for professional exchange and support.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 1st of July 2026

Please help us spread the word to relevant artists and artistic communities who may benefit from this opportunity!