NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL / VERKEN FUGL ELLER FISK by Lise Hovik

This exposition is a documentary project on the artistic research project Neither Fish nor Fowl. The research project consists of theater making, film making, workshops, performances and writing, and explores the wondrous worlds of becoming in theatre for early years. Together with my theater company Teater Fot, I have been investigating the significance of affect as philosophical, emotional, and material inspiration in the creative process, and in relation to young children in Theater for Early Years. Neither Fish nor Fowl was conducted as a performance project from April 2017 to March 2020. During this period, the research process was documented in RC, presenting methods, writings, and reflections along the way. The pre-production performance (for babies 0-2) was shown at the festival Olavsfestdagene in Trondheim, Norway, summer 2017 and at Trondheim Kunsthall autumn 2017. The full production, Begynnelser (for 3-5 years), was presented in april 2018 in co-production with the venue Teaterhuset Avant Garden in Trondheim. Baby Becomings (0-2 years), was presented at festivals and for kindergartens in Trondheim autumn 2018, and the final version Himmel & Hav / Sky & Sea was presented at Rosendal Teater in in March 2020, touring kindergartens for one week. Animalium (2019) was a spin-off production with film making, workshops, visiting exhibition spaces and other public spaces. An exposition in VIS - Nordic Journal for Artistic Research #2 on the theme Estrangement was published in 2020 through RC. In the periode 2020-26 Animalium became a new research project, looking at post humanist approaches to different sites such as kindergarten spaces, libraries and art exhibition spaces. This work is documented as an ongoing research project here.

< June - Oct 2026

Himmelfiskene

Himmelfiskene ble til gjennom en lang reise fra forprosjektet
Verken fugl eller fisk, som først ble vist under Olavsfestdagene i august 2017, etterfulgt av tre prosessvisninger på Kunsthall Trondheim samme høst i forbindelse med utstillingen Et Nytt Vi. Begynnelser (3-5 år) ble co-produsert med Teaterhuset Avantgarden i 2018 og Baby Becomings (0-2 år) ble videreutviklet med tanke på å skape et konsertformat, med tre musikere og en skuespiller og nypremiere under Seanses Småkunstfestival i Trondheim og på Kammermusikkfestivalen i september 2018. Her utviklet vi noen nye scener, der barna også får møte Himmeldronningen og den sultne Pelsfuglen. Til slutt inviterte vi barn og voksne inn under havsilken for å oppdage vakre skatter på havbunnen.

I 2020 ble prosjektet videreutviklet for barnehager under tittelen Himmel og Hav. Forestillingene, som henvendte seg til to ulike målgrupper (0-2 og 3-5 år) turnerte en kort periode i barnehager, men ble rammet av pandemien.

Vi er derfor glade for å kunne presentere en gjenopptakelse i 2026: Himmelfiskene, denne gangen for de yngste barna – under 3 år.

Himmelfiskene [sky fishes] came about through a long journey from the preliminary project Neither Fish nor Fowl, which was first shown during the Olavsfestdagene in August 2017, followed by three process performances at Kunsthall Trondheim that same fall in connection with the exhibition A New We. Beginnings (3-5 years) was co-produced with Teaterhuset Avantgarden in 2018 and Baby Becomings (0-2 years) was further developed with the aim of creating a concert format, with three musicians and an actor and a new premiere during the Seanses Småkunstfestival in Trondheim and at the Chamber Music Festival in September 2018. We developed some new scenes, where the children also get to meet some new characters. Finally, we invited children and adults under the sea silk to discover beautiful treasures on the seabed.

In 2020, the project was further developed for kindergartens under the title Himmel og Hav. The performances, which addressed two different target groups (0-2 and 3-5 years old), toured kindergartens for a short period, but were affected by the pandemic.

We are pleased to present a resumption in 2026: Himmelfiskene, this time for the youngest children at kindergarten – those under 3 years old.

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