«As the artists spread out in the forest, and from behind trees are joiking to each other, like a «call and response», it felt as if the joik was filling the forest and coming from every direction. It was like an image of how we are all separate and how we often can ́t see each other, only hear some distant voices. We know that someone is out there, and that there is an invisible string connecting us somehow.» This is what the Sør-Varanger newspaper wrote about the performance in the Pasvik forest on the border between Norway and
Russia.

Our JOIK WALK lets you experience the urban, the mountains and the fjords through the indigenous storytelling of the Joik and the Southern Sami traditions. At the same time, it also engages the audience in the typical Norwegian tradition of walking in the outdoors [tu:r]. The walk’s starting point is our relation to borders. The show thematizes the way of life of indigenous people, and offers an insight/interaction between the Norwegian and the Sami - as well as the right for the Sami to engage in cultural practice.
During EASTER 2022 the first performance of Close(d) Border Connection was staged with the performers and the audience skiing together on the border between Norway and Sweden (Umbukta, see link to the trailer). In Autumn 2022 a new version was staged at 96-Høyden Pasvik, on the border between Norway and Russia. In February 2023, an urban version was created for the town center of Mo I Rana during their Winter Light Festival. Now this unique performance, which has garnered good criticism and praise from both the public and the press, is finally coming to the DanseFestival Barents in Hammerfest.

Please wear warm clothes for this outdoor event.

Performers Gull Øzger, Ole Henrik Bjørkmo Lifjell, Anne Katrine Haugen, Alexandra Kremenets, Konstantin Gladkov, Ekaterina Bespalova and Siri Wigdel.

GullBakken was founded in 2018 by Gull Øzger and Wenche Bakken, with the aim of developing artistic projects and performances. Another important objective has been to build capacity within the creative sector by initiating new networks and international collaborations, through the organization of courses, seminars, and workshops. GullBakken wants to be an incubator for new ideas and innovative art projects as well as a promoter of network building. They invite several different artists, organizations and institutions to join them in their new and exciting venture. Since 2022, Ole-Henrik Bjørkmo Lifjell has also become a formal member of GullBakken and contributes as a facilitator and as an artist in GullBakken's projects and performances. GullBakken has its address in Mo i Rana in the northern part of Norway.