We can hardly wait until a new edition of Oslo Mela takes over Rådhusplassen and until we can finally celebrate 25 years as a unique meeting place in the heart of our city. Oslo Mela began with a desire to give immigrants in Norway the opportunity to showcase their art and culture, and today we are an important meeting place that brings together music, food and people from all over the world and the city. From day one, we have also been committed to Mela being free, and therefore we have become a place where we can experience, create and share art and culture with people of all ages and from many different backgrounds.
Everyone at Mela is part of this community, and in a society that is constantly trying to create dividing lines, we must not forget the community. Oslo Mela has a unique ability to unite people, from the younger generations exploring the future to the older ones reliving the past – we are all part of the same celebration where music and culture function as our universal language, creating coherence and unity.
Right-wing extremism is on the rise in many countries, including Norway, and we see how hatred, harassment and violence are becoming more widespread. This spring, racist street riots raged in Belfast, where people with dark skin were hunted down and their homes were set on fire. Here in Oslo, a remigration conference was organized, which is a nice rewrite of ethnic cleansing, and where the participants believe that immigrants, queers and other minorities pose a threat to Norwegian and European values. We live in a time where such ideas have become more normalized, and where both expressions and ideas that would previously have been labeled as extreme have become more accepted. Fortunately, most Norwegians distance themselves from racism, hatred and harassment, but it gives us an important reminder of what values and what kind of society we want to live in.
I see meeting places like Oslo Mela, such physical and informal arenas that use culture to create understanding and to blur boundaries, as more important than ever. That is why I would like to thank everyone who makes up this community and who helps make Oslo Mela a unifying arena; from the staff and board, to our volunteers, partners, artists and food actors. Not least, a thank you to the audience who year after year contributes to Mela remaining a fantastic meeting place for everyone!
Happy festival!
Ashley Shiri
Festival manager