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Damien Ajavon (b.1990, they/them) is an Afropean textile artist originally from Paris, now living and working between Noresund and Skien. As a dedicated artist, their creations are a testament to personal exploration and a passion for sharing stories through the transformative power and mutable qualities of textiles. At the core is a desire to merge cultures to create something new and beautiful. Rooted in their heritage, drawing on African and Western cultures and queer communities, Ajavon’s practice with textiles serves as a medium for culturally representative pieces that merge generations of African craftsmanship with diasporic and transoceanic perspectives. Their work explores the tactile manipulation of textile fibers, with a creative process deeply influenced by the interplay of visual and sensory experiences.
With a MA in Textile from the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo, Ajavon’s work has in recent years been featured in group and solo exhibitions as well as artist residencies across North America, Europe, and Africa, amongst them Oslo Kunstforening (Oslo), Spriten Kunsthall (Skien), AiR Green (Noresund), Fotogalleriet (Oslo), Future Fair (New York), MK&G messe (Hamburg ), and Billedkunstnerne i Oslo. In the spring of 2025 they have had solo presentations at Kunsthall Oslo (Oslo), cc-tapis (Milan), and the Hannah Ryggen Triennale (Trondheim). Their work is part of the public collections of the City of Oslo and KpA – Kunst på arbeidsplassen (“Art in the workplace”), and a large-scale art commission for the new government quarter by KORO - Public Art Norway, solidifying their contribution to contemporary textile art in Norway.
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Niels Munk Plum (b. 1992, he/him) works in the intersection between language, gestures, symbols, and colours. Through actions, performances, sculptures, and installations, he creates events and situations wherein we can form new narratives whilst reimagining systems of power, the logic of language, and our assigned, often normative roles and performances.
Situated within a process-based discourse, Niels recently presented the performance 7 CIRCLES at Thoravej 29 in collaboration with Art Hub Copenhagen, where he was also a resident in the fall of ’24. He has shown the performance NEW LOOP at Heartland Festival, with LARS in Lisbon, and at the opening of the National Museum in Oslo, where he was one of three artists commissioned to create new performance pieces. His graduation project RIGID ROOM was shown as part of Konstväxlingar at Odenplan metro platform in Stockholm. He has also staged works at institutions such as Podium and Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, Runde Taarn in Copenhagen, and has produced several artist zines and publications. Niels holds an MFA from Malmö Art Academy and a BFA from Oslo National Academy of Fine Art. He is currently living and working in Copenhagen.
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Håkon Lillegraven (b.1992, he/him) is a curator, art mediator and writer currently living and working in Oslo, Norway. He holds a special interest in queer, norm-critical, and performative practices, and artistic practitioners and stakeholders within these. This most often manifests in new performance production and interdisciplinary public programming. In 2023 he was a curatorial resident at ISCP-International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York City, and in 2024, he curated the graduate exhibition The World Is A Knot in Motion by MA Arts and Crafts and MA Art and Public Space at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Collaboratively, Håkon has co-founded platforms such as Ergi, and has curated exhibitions and public programmes for museums, medium-sized institutions, and artist-run spaces. He is currently Curator of Education and Public Programmes at the National Museum (Nasjonalmuseet) in Oslo, Norway, where he in 2025 is part of launching a new performance programme and curating the public programme for the exhibition project Deviant Ornaments.