Kilden Performing Arts Centre is located on the waterfront in Kristiansand - at the entrance to the harbour. With a gross floor space of 16,500 square metres, Kilden is a monumental landmark building for the arts in Southern Norway.

In addition to Kilden’s four unique auditoriums, the spectacular foyer is a natural meeting place and venue for events. The foyer also houses Kafé Kast Loss, the box office, cloakrooms and bar facilities as well as offering a wealth of opportunities for new impressions and experiences.

THE ARCHITECTURE
Kilden’s magnificent architecture has been met with both national enthusiasm and international recognition. The architectural style is recognisable and unique, firmly grounded as it is in the centre’s productive content, the harbour setting and the meeting between artists and the public. The varying shapes of the auditoriums are covered by a curving wooden wall. Clad in oak from the region, the monumental and abstract wall has the effect that members of the public seem to move from a natural landscape into the realm of art as they pass through the centre’s spacious halls on their way to the auditoriums.

Kilden’s wonderful acoustics are as celebrated as its architecture, ensuring it a place among the very top international venues. The most noticeable thing about Kilden’s acoustics is the nuanced and detailed fullness of its resonance. Adjustable sound reflectors in the ceiling make it possible to regulate the acoustics, so that every note and every instrument is clearly heard, creating a resonant experience that is quite extraordinary.

THE AUDITORIUMS
The Concert Hall: With as many as 1170 seats, this is one of Scandinavia’s finest concert halls. State-of-the-art acoustic technology means that the Concert Hall can host everything from rock concerts to big symphonic events.

The Theatre and Opera Hall: 660 seats and an orchestra pit mean that the audience can enjoy musicals, opera and theatrical productions – both own productions and guest performances.

The Multi-purpose Auditorium: This 220-seater auditorium has a flexible stage that makes it ideal as a classic black-box theatre and for productions and concerts that require a flat floor.

The Little Auditorium: Kilden’s smallest auditorium, seating 100. It has a black box stage with possibilities for varying the seating and stage lay-out

THE INSTITUTIONS
Kilden has a unique operating model, with a symphony orchestra, a theatre, opera and a cultural management organisation merged into one operating entity. Four different institutions are tasked with ensuring that Kilden stands for artistic quality and cultural experiences – in a way that gives rise to creative cooperation and interaction.

CONFERENCES
Letting premises to businesses and organisations that wish to hold conferences or a social function in spectacular surroundings is an important part of the centre’s operations.

We can offer unique architecture, large capacity and tailor-made solutions for all kinds of events and functions.