Jørgen Knudsen will be the new Artistic & General Director at Black Box teater

Jørgen Knudsen has been involved in shaping the Norwegian performing arts field as an artist, festival leader and performing arts consultant in the Norwegian Cultural Council for several decades. In August 2022, he will take over the Artistic & General director's chair at Black Box teater in Oslo.

–We are very happy to have such an experienced professional with a burning commitment and great love for the free performing arts field. Jørgen Knudsen will be a visible artistic director for an outgoing and inclusive Black Box teater, with a diverse artistic program that hits and challenges the time we live in, says Suzanne Bjørneboe, chairman of the board at Black Box teater and who has been leading the hiring committee. As our current artistic director Anne-Cécile Sibué-Birkeland, he will work to open up the house to new audiences and the board is confident that he is the right person to lead the theater safely through an exciting and demanding relocation process.

Jørgen Knudsen (b. 1961) has a long career as a performance artist, composer and musician, known to many as a part of the artist collective Baktruppen. He has composed music for theater and dance performances for many years and also has experience as a producer. In the period 2012-2015, Knudsen was festival leader for DanseFestival Barents in Hammerfest. In 2016, he began working as a performing arts consultant at the Norwegian Cultural Council. Through this position, Knudsen has gained in-depth knowledge of the artistic breadth and depth of free performing arts, but also the needs and conditions that characterize the work of free performing artists. Knudsen is educated as a chemical engineer, art historian and theater scientist, and has a past as an experimental punk musician.

–I look forward to taking on the tasks that await in collaboration with the team at the theater. The relocation process will be challenging, but is also an opportunity to build the theatre's relationship with the audience and artists in new ways. In addition, it can be an interesting time to invite more voices into the work of developing the theater's program. Throughout its history, Black Box teater has dared to take chances and worked hard to convince those around it of the need for a theater that accommodates several of contemporary performing arts expressions. With today's political picture and a demanding public conversation, this is just as important today, says Jørgen Knudsen, who is looking forward to starting his new job at Black Box teater. Until May 2nd 2022, he will continue to be in a full-time position in the Cultural Council.

Jørgen Knudsen will take over as artistic director on August 1st 2022, but will be in place as early as May 2nd in an overlap with the current artistic director.

For more information contact:

Suzanne Bjørneboe, chair of the board at Black Box teater
Mobile: 95218335
For interview requests contact: Sara Wegge,
Head of Communications at Black Box teater
Email: sara@blackbox.no. Mobile: 92430950