Art Academy Classroom – Agder High Security Prison, Norway, 2022

Collaborative design and build of an art classroom with inmates, as part of a KORO project curated by Thora Dolven and Kristine Jærn Pilgaard.

Agder Kunstakademi is a collective prosessual artwork  as a three-year art education program within Agder High Security Prison in Froland, collaboratively created by inmates and professional artists. Produced by the state agency KORO (Public Art Norway) as part of the percentage of the construction costs allocated to public art in the  new prison buildings. The academy offers a free space for art, within the walls of the high-security prison, developed and run by artists and inmates. Invited as an artist and architect, Alexander Eriksson Furunes worked with the inmates to plan and design their classroom. Through several workshops, the group identified the need for a space where they could lie on the floor and have a place to collect and display the artworks they developed. The result was a raised floor with a circular gathering area and a library, inspired by the Japanese horigotatsu—a traditional seating arrangement featuring a sunken floor space. The structure is built by slotting together sheets of plywood, develop trough models and material testing with the inmates, providing space for storage of art works and tools, a library and personal- as well as common seating areas.  

Team: Alexander Eriksson Furunes and inmates/ students of Agder Art academy.
Curators: Thora Dolven Balke and Kristine Jærn Pilgaard