Through the immersive digital storytelling of "Kampen om Grønland 2.0" exhibition at Interkulturelt Museum (April-October 2025), this multimedia installation explores urgent issues concerning urban development, gentrification and power in the Grønland neighborhood in Oslo via digital storytelling.
The multimedia installation uses Mine Nilay Yalcin's poetic fable about Nylandsbrua ("Nylands Bridge") - called "det nye lands bro" ("the new land's bridge"), as a mystic portal guarded by golden sphinxes, into an interactive spatial experience. In the midst of significant construction plans, increasing housing costs and strong pressure from property developers, resulting in the displacement of long-time residents and organizations, the project reimagines the historic infrastructure of Nylandsbrua as Grønlandsport - a hallowed gateway and symbolic entrance to Grønland's rich cultural landscape.
The project was produced through collaboration between Rafal Hanzl as the digital artist/technical implementor/creative technologist, and Jannicke Johansen as the photographer/production designer. As artists working in two different disciplines, Hanzl and Johansen were able to merge their skills in order to produce a comprehensive and immersive experience using Hanzl's abilities in projection mapping and spatial VFX with Johansen's cinematic storytelling methods to generate a unified immersive environment.
The installation utilizes projection mapping to cast geometrically stylized sphinx figure (iconic symbol in Oslo's urban landscape) in golden hues onto the exposition room at the museum, generating a sense of envelopment that turns the space into the mythological portal that Yalcin writes about in her poem. The sphinx figure, with a human face, appear to arise out of the warm golden environment, and serve as both artistic elements and cultural/historical icons relevant to the discussion of identity and belonging in Oslo's urban development.
An audio experience accompanying the use of headphones, is the recitation of Yalcin's original poem that inspired the installation. The focus of the technical method was to create an immersive experience of an environment, rather than a traditional screen based view. The entire room is bathed in warm golden light, with the sphinx projections creating dynamic visual focal points that move and change throughout the duration of the experience.
The creative process began with an in-depth analysis of Mine Nilay Yalcin's poetic text, which describes Grønland as a magical place, whose sphinx guardians test the hearts of those who want to enter it. The team attempted to convert these literary metaphors into a spatial experience, that would reflect the broader themes of gentrification, power dynamics and community voice that are present in the exhibition.
Research into the historical significance of "det nye lands bro" and its role as both a physical structure and symbolic Grønlandsport within Grønland, provided the conceptual basis for the installation. Rather than embracing the views that see bridges and urban infrastructure as barriers to development, the installation presents alternative visions of the future of such structures as cultural connectors and meaningful entrances to various neighborhoods. This approach directly responds to current debates regarding identity, cultural heritage and belonging in neighborhoods undergoing rapid transformation, and questions whether concerns for history and community attachment have equal weight to pressures of development and urban mobility projects.
Regular consultations with the exhibition curators and the local community, ensured that the installation would contribute to the ongoing debate about the future of Grønland. The installation has functioned as a focal point for democratic dialogue about urban development and community participation since the opening of the exhibition in April 2025. The installation also addresses the central themes of the exhibition: How do large scale construction projects and real estate investments influence local communities? How can neighborhood changes affect identity and cultural heritage? And what voices are represented in public discourse regarding urban development?
The installation's approach to narrative archaeology - uncovering the mythological dimensions of everyday infrastructure - provides a methodology for rethinking debates about urban planning. By presenting the sphinx as guardian of community values and cultural heritage, and by envisioning "det nye lands bro" as Grønlandsport - a meaningful entrance, rather than an obstacle to be removed - the installation contests dominant views about modernization and improvement, and directly responds to the provocative question: "Must Grønland become new?"
This project encourages visitors to reflect upon their personal prejudices and assumptions related to "what constitutes a good city" and "for whom", and to evaluate how the various interests and voices in neighborhoods are represented during the development process. The way this project fosters civic engagement with the use of multimedia art demonstrates how alternative platforms can be developed for discussions regarding the power dynamics, democracy, and sense of community within urban spaces that are under dispute. The project has garnered attention from advocates for architectural preservation, community organizers, and researchers in digital arts due to its ability to demonstrate the value of immersive technologies in enhancing the visibility of marginalized communities' voices in urban planning processes. The project contributes to the increasingly global discussion among museums regarding their function as alternative public platforms for multi-voiced civic engagement, particularly focusing upon how power relations and democracy function in neighborhood development processes that have competing visions for the future of the area from developers, local actors, residents, and government authorities, and cultural heritage preservation organizations.
The installation successfully exemplifies the potential for projection mapping as a tool for creating narrative-driven spatial transformations, rather than using headsets or traditional interfaces, it has created an immediately accessible immersive experience for viewers to contemplate and reflect upon. The technical design of the project has emphasized accessibility and inclusivity to ensure that viewers of all ages and levels of familiarity with technology can interact meaningfully with the content. The project provides a replicable method for translating literary works into immersive spatial experiences, providing a model for other cultural institutions to use artistic interpretation to discuss contemporary social issues.
“Grønlandsport, sfinxen og «det nye lands bro” is part of the broader “Kampen om Grønland 2.0” exhibition that addresses several core questions: Who gets to be heard in discussions regarding the future of Greenland? Which perspectives and narratives receive most of the attention in public discourse? What is a "good city" and for whom? For a full description of the entire exhibition concept, please visit Kreativt Forum.
As the entrance space to the exhibition, the installation serves as a gateway for visitors to consider multiple possible futures for contested urban spaces. In doing so, it reinforces the conceptual framework of the project while also supporting the overall goals of the exhibition to explore who ultimately defines the future of the city. The exhibition was officially launched with a public forum that featured many of the key stakeholders involved in the project including Hanna Geirane (Director General of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage), city planners, and local community leaders. Thus, the project contributed significantly to sparking the type of democratic dialogue regarding changes to neighborhoods.
Project Partners
Interkulturelt Museum (Oslo Museum)
Exhibition supported by Fritt Ord and Bydel Gamle Oslo
In collaboration with artist Mine Nilay Yalcin and exhibition curators
Duration: April 11 - October 12, 2025
Location: Interkulturelt Museum, Tøyenbekken 5, Oslo
For further information about the exhibition, please visit the website for Oslo Museum.