Culture right outside your door
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.
photo and text: Martin Farstad Borg
The festival as a window
They describe the festival as an opportunity to look beyond themselves.
“We go about our daily lives and are very concerned with this is me, and that is how I am. But the festival provides an insight into the fact that the world is much bigger – and that people are people everywhere.”
In this way, the festival becomes a reminder that both differences and similarities are part of what makes encounters between people exciting.
Culture in the neighborhood
The discoveries don't have to be exotic or distant. For Basun, it's about seeing things close by with new eyes.
"You can travel the world and discover a lot of strange things, but you can also do it where you live. Your neighbor is different from you – and that's worth experiencing."
This perspective makes the festival an invitation to be curious about one's surroundings, and to see the value of diversity in the local community.
New looks
They believe that such meetings provide important perspectives on who we are.
“When you see the world through the eyes of others, you understand yourself better too.”
Thus, art and theater become more than entertainment – they become a way to create reflection, and an entrance to building community.
A society that is connected
The festival therefore becomes an example of what it takes for a society to function well.
"Breaking down barriers and finding community across borders is the alpha and omega for us to be able to have a good time."
This is the core of Basun's commitment – to use the performance as a place to experience unity, across age, background and experience.
A richer city
The performance was played to a packed house, and the response showed how relevant the message was.
"It makes the city much richer. And it makes each individual richer too, because you get new experiences to live by."
With a packed house, the performance was one of several highlights of the festival. The audience was reminded that great experiences can be found right outside their doors, and the response showed that Teater Basun's message resonated widely. The performance stood as proof of how relevant and vibrant cultural encounters can be – in the middle of Trondheim.
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