Artikler 2025

Danish klezmer band Mames Babegenush has been mixing Nordic tones with Eastern European energy for 20 years. At the Jewish Cultural Festival 2025, they highlighted music's role as a counterforce to homogenization and commercial noise.

As chairman of the Jewish Community of Trondheim, John Arne Moen sees the Jewish Cultural Festival as a unique meeting place. For him, the festival is about opening windows between minority and majority – and making the city richer.

Former Ringve director and board member of the Jewish Cultural Festival Trondheim, Peter Andreas Kjeldsberg, has dedicated a long life to culture and history. For him, the festival is an annual gift – because it opens doors, builds bridges and reminds the city of the importance of minorities.

The Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orchestra (BGKO) played at the Jewish Cultural Festival 2025 and spoke about the power of music that crosses borders. For the ensemble, it is not just about sound, but about community, freedom and the experience of belonging – regardless of background.

For Christine Aspenberg and Ole Fredrik Wannebo, the Jewish Cultural Festival shows that you don't have to travel far to experience new worlds. Cultural encounters can just as easily happen right outside your door.

Through performances such as Cinderella in Rubber Boots and The Treasure on the Trash Island, Teater Basun creates worlds where the unexpected finds a place. For the actors, it is about giving the audience new ways of seeing reality.

For Christine Therese Aspenberg and Ole Fredrik Wannebo in Teater Basun, humor is about more than laughter. It is a way of meeting each other – and seeing both similarities and differences in a new light.

Historian Terje Bratberg has long been interested in Trondheim's minority history. For him, the Jewish Cultural Festival Trondheim is an essential arena – because it gives the city a richer and broader perspective.

For Rita Abrahamsen, the Jewish Cultural Festival has always been about more than concerts and performances. It has been about opening doors, building community, and making culture visible.

Rita Abrahamsen emphasizes that the Jewish Cultural Festival could never exist without the efforts of volunteers. She highlights the support from both the public and private sectors – but above all the repeated efforts of enthusiasts year after year.

When the Jewish Cultural Festival Trondheim turned 15, Rita Abrahamsen looked back on the moment where it all began – a visit to Krakow in 2010. It was the starting point for a festival that has left a lasting mark on the city.

Director Øyvind Brandtzæg was behind the anniversary performance Nerbyen – a trip to history during the Jewish Cultural Festival 2025. He talks about how humor, music and strong scenes can engage the audience, while at the same time conveying the story of Trondheim's Jewish quarter with seriousness and respect.

Associate Professor Daniel Johansen led the city walk during the Jewish Cultural Festival 2025. He drew lines between Trondheim's Jewish quarter, local history, and the major European movements that shaped both the city and the lives of the minority.

Chairman Yngve Brox has followed the Jewish Cultural Festival for a number of years. For him, the festival is both a personal experience and an important resource for all of Trondheim – a reminder that culture creates community, breaks down prejudices and makes the city richer.

Swedish educator and dance artist Heléne Don Lind has worked with Jewish folk dances for decades. During the Jewish Culture Festival, she describes the experience as both personal and universal – an encounter that gives strength, builds community, and reminds us of the value of cultural heritage.

American clarinetist David Krakauer was a guest at the 2025 Jewish Cultural Festival. With a career that ranges from klezmer to classical and jazz, he highlighted music's role as an open door, a meeting place, and a protection against barbarism.

Leoni Abrahamsen Kohn is a violinist in the Shira Etana Klezmer Ensemble, a GP in Oslo and a central voice in the Jewish Cultural Festival Trondheim. She led this year's Tjuvstart with her husband Daniel Kohn, and reflects on the festival's importance as a meeting place, cultural heritage and peace work.

Mayor Kent Ranum called JKFest a shining example of openness and inclusion. “The festival reminds us of the value of community and is a necessary response to rising anti-Semitism,” he said during the opening.

Director, musician and composer Natali Abrahamsen Garner was behind the anniversary performance Basic Stitch. Using textiles, sound and movement, she explored the history of clothing production and created a poetic encounter between art and Jewish cultural heritage.

A packed book fair marked the anniversary of the synagogue in Trondheim. Terje Bratberg and John Arne Moen took the audience from St. Jørgensveita to Arkitekt Christies gate – a story about faith, culture and community.

With klezmer music, humor and a four-course dinner, Tjuvstart opened the festival week. Leoni Abrahamsen Kohn and Daniel Kohn hosted the evening together, in one of the festival's most popular events.

The synagogue was filled with music, speeches and storytelling as the Jewish Cultural Festival 2025 officially opened. The opening marked the festival's 15th anniversary – a celebration of culture, community and reflection.

The Jewish Cultural Festival Trondheim has been awarded the Jewish Museum in Oslo's first cultural award. Together with Professor Einhart Lorenz, the festival was honored for its work in highlighting Jewish culture and history in Norway.

Klassekampen called the anniversary performance Nerbyen – a Bluff in History “an important story in a humorous and creative packaging.” The audience was drawn into the story of Trondheim’s Jewish quarter.

Adresseavisen described Nerbyen – a hitch in history as “a little happy pill of a performance.” With music, humor and storytelling, Trondheim's Jewish life was brought to life in the midst of today's cityscape.