About

Jiennagoahti (lyttegamme/listening lodge) is an artwork in public space, dedicated to listening and is situated on Torrffjellet in the Bergen Mountains. Jiennagoahti was initiated by artist Elin Már Øyen Vister (NO) in dialogue with Sámi artist and architect Joar Nango, and developed and completed in collaboration with Lydgalleriet in Bergen, Ole Muosát / Sámihouse AS and Bergen Sámi Association (Bergen Sámiid Searvi).

Jiennagoahti is currently run and curated by Katarina Dorothea Isaksen, a Bergen-based artist/filmmaker from Sážža/Senja and artist/composer Elin Már Øyen Vister (NO), based on Røst in Lofoten/Lofuohta, Sábme (Northern Norway).

The artists’ idea and wish, is for Jiennagoahti to be a unique space for listening to Sámi sound art, experimental music, poetry, literature, and music. It can also be a place for contemplation and being /creating /listening together, where cultural expressions can be experienced in close proximity to nature. Nature is inextricably linked to Sámi culture, and the location in the Bergen Mountains is a reminder of how nature’s intrinsic value is linked to cultural identity and history.

Therefore, Jiennagoahti will also be a place for stories and tales of journeys between Sápmi/Northern Norway and Bergen, of the exchanges that have taken place for centuries between Bergen and Sápmi. An exchange of goods, but also of ideas, art, literature, music, and language that has shaped both places.

Jiennagoahti is an art project with a multicultural perspective and with a focus on the local ecology at Torrfjellet.

Jiennagoahti is an adapted “Bealjegoahti” (a traditional Sami turf hut). The Sámi entrepreneur Ole Muosát / Sámihouse AS in Deatnu (Tana) was the responsible contractor. Jiennagoahti was set up on Torrfjellet in May 2022, by Ole Muosát and Dan Henrik Heiberg from Sámihouse, with the assistance of the Jiennagoahti project manager and staff at Lydgalleriet, artist Elin Már, carpenter Bjørn Willer and volunteers. The soundworks in Jiennagoahti are conveyed through a specially built goáhti sound system that runs on solar power, made by Norsk Radiofabrikk.

Jiennagoahti has found a temporary location on Torrfjellet as a pilot and is a collaboration with Bymiljøetaten of the City of Bergen. The project is supported by KORO – Art in Public Space – with the reasoning that the project hopes to inspire new research and sharing of knowledge about the relationship between Sápmi and Bergen, and of ancient Sámi cultural traces around Bergen and Vestlandet.

Jiennagoahti was funded by the Bergen City Council, Vestland County, Sámediggi, and the Arts Council of Norway.

Access: There are signs from Fløien – look for signs with Jiennagoahti map link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gAgfMe4Ttfiqv2pNA

Jiennagoahti is available for public visits through a trust-based booking system a few days a week. The rest of the time is dedicated to Bergen Sámiid Searvi´s activities and needs.