Sculptures convey literature

In 2018, Grimstad municipality received 17 sculptures as a gift from the artist Nina Sundbye. The sculptures represent Nina Sundbye's interpretation of Knut Hamsun and Henrik Ibsen's characters. It was her wish that they were to be placed in the town on which Ibsen and Hamsun left such visible marks. The artist reached out in order to examine the possibility of placing the sculptures in the town's newly built library. It is a great privilege and a joy for both the library and the locals to have been given these sculptures.

The sculptures of Nina Sundbye are spread across several outdoor spaces in Norway. In Grimstad we have Terje Vigen, Nora and Victoria. Most of the sculptures are made in several drafts. At Grimstad library you can now find a collection of 33 sculptures. The house in itself and the sculptures fit well together and enrich each other, but also creates an even stronger awareness around the literary works of Ibsen and Hamsun.

Together with the library's rich collection of literature about Henrik Ibsen and Knut Hamsun, the sculptures are a unique starting point for communicating the works in a different way. In 2016, Grimstad library got professor Bjørn Hemmer's compendium of literature about Henrik Ibsen and Knut Hamsun. Hemmer is one of our supreme Ibsen-experts.

Grimstad library has a catalogue you can borrow, or buy for NOK 80,-. With this catalogue you can move from sculpture to sculpture and experience the work of art on your own as well as get a taste of what the play or novel is about. By using the QR-code next to the sculpture, you can also listen to an audio recording of the literary work.

You can either chose to do the tour on your own, or you can go on a guided tour with the library manager, Brit Østerud. The guided tour must be booked in advance by sending an email request to: [email protected].