BEAT art at Bare Studenthus

The BEAT art collection in Kristiansand is the world's largest outside of San Francisco. It was donated to Reidar Wennesland, an expatriate from Kristiansander. From 1956 he had a medical practice on North Beach in San Francisco where he often paid for medical services in the form of art.

The Beat Generation were young and experimental artists who gathered in a separate environment on the West Coast of the United States. The artists were in opposition to an American post-war society characterized by materialism, censorship, rearmament policies and international tensions. The Beat artists placed more emphasis on art, poetry and interpersonal relationships and were positive about the hippie movement.

Wennesland wanted the collection to be exhibited among students, so you have previously been able to see the collection at UiA and KKG in Kristiansand. There are parts of the collection at UiA that have now been moved to Bare Studenthus.

Mette-Line Pedersen, responsible for the art collection at UiA, has curated the exhibition which has been given the title: "Take a walk on the wild side". The works extend over four floors, and Pedersen says that they have been exciting premises to work with.

"We have used staircases, poles and the like to present the exhibition in different ways. The result has been both exciting and varied," says Pedersen, who also boasts of the collaboration with Cultiva and Kraftverk, which owns the building. The collection is open to everyone, and on the first floor of Bare Studenthus you will also find a cafe.