Historian Natalie Zemon Davis will discuss the relationship between art and science with choreographer Jo Strømgren when she visits Bergen to receive the Holberg Prize.
Bergen International Festival and the Holberg Prize have collaborated to organise a meeting between Strømgren and Davis at Logen at 16.00 on Tuesday 8 June. The discussion will be chaired by Erling Sandmo.
Jo Stromgren’s productions and Holberg Prize laureate Natalie Zemon Davis’s research show how strong the points of contact are between research and art.
Holberg International Memorial Prize is awarded annually for outstanding scholarly work in the fields of the arts and humanities, social sciences, law and theology. The prize amount is NOK 4.5 million (Appr. EUR550,000/ USD760,000). The Board of the Ludvig Holberg Memorial Fund makes the award on the basis of the Holberg Prize Academic Committee consisting of outstanding scholars from the relevant academic fields.
New look at reality
This year’s production by Jo Strømgren for Bergen International Festival, The Experiment, contains many historical references and explores the relationship between the freedom of the individual and political systems. Ms Davis is Professor of History and Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. Her research often focuses on concrete events and the fate of ordinary individuals in history. Her last book ’Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth Century Muslim Between Worlds’ is also the basis for a play that is being written in Canada as we write.
’Science and art are tools that can give us a better understanding or a richer experience of the reality that surrounds us,' says Jan Fridthjof Bernt, Chair of the Board of the Holberg Prize, who is delighted to embark on a collaboration with Bergen International Festival.
Valuable
Per Boye Hansen, Director of Bergen International Festival, often compares art and research as the aim of both fields is to expand perspectives and stimulate reflection. He believes that the collaboration with the Holberg International Memorial Prize is very valuable.
’Professor Davis is an exciting researcher who has lots of great stories and fantastic communication skills. I look forward to hearing the dialogue between her and Jo Strømgren, who in his many productions has challenged established ideas and put important issues on the agenda,’ says Boye Hansen.
This year’s award ceremony will take place on 9 June on the final day of Bergen International Festiva