There is a large group of Norwegian musicians who fall outside the artistic community.
Published in Dagsavisen 15 April 2020
The eternal slogan of music, Bob Marley's "One love, one world" is more important than ever and even in these times of crisis we must not forget the idea of global solidarity.
In the late eighties I was a member of the "Global Forum", where a few dozen people gathered at regular intervals. Here we could think aloud together about global issues in a local perspective, and vice versa.
We were to challenge the boundaries between issues that seem very local, but which also had global relevance.
Many of us have had such thoughts. Much of what was ideal then has become a reality around us today. The crisis that the world is going through today confirms the importance of such exercises. Most interesting is that our perceptions of what is community have changed tremendously.
This crisis has hit the musicians hard.
Within a few hours, culture houses and concert venues had to close their doors indefinitely. Suddenly, musicians all over the world are left without assignments, without income and without knowing when they will again have the opportunity to perform on one of the many local or international concert stages.
The salvation for many of the artists here in Norway is to get help from the crisis package for cultural life - and to have the music played on the radio.
At the same time as the framework for the crisis packages has been discussed in the Storting, and NRK has decided to increase the proportion of Norwegian music on radio, the diversity and variety of Norwegian music life is threatened.
There is in fact a large group of Norwegian musicians who fall outside the artistic community, who are left without gigs, who are not on the radios' playlists, and who also fall outside many of the measures that are now being launched.
It is now necessary with extra measures and a spirit of hard work to capture these and ensure that we ensure the diversity that exists in Norwegian music - and which will continue to exist when we can gather again.
Perhaps this crisis can be a reminder to expand the framework of the community, see more possibilities and thus open up for new constructions of communities?
After staying inside for several weeks, we see that the crisis is hitting Norwegian musicians with an immigrant background extra hard.
Several of these musicians are internationally renowned, and have had a great impact on the Norwegian music scene and have contributed to us here at home becoming familiar with new musical traditions.
At the same time, these are musicians who fall outside when discussing Norwegian music, who do not get their music played on the radio, and who do not necessarily have any other sustainable digital platforms to go to.
For most of these, concert assignments in the private or public sector are the only source of income and when that opportunity disappears, everyday life is extra challenging.
How will their rights and income be secured, both during the crisis - and in the time to come?
When the doors to the concert venues reopen, there will be fierce competition with both postponed and new concerts to be programmed. Will these artists risk fewer gigs than before, and will the time after the crisis be extra challenging for them?
Since society closed, there have been suggestions that NRK should only play Norwegian music - in the Norwegian spirit of service, something that NRK has rightly disagreed with.
On Dagsnytt 18, Øyvind Lund, director of Strategy and Media at NRK, argued that NRK makes editorial choices, also when it comes to choosing music to be played and that it is the consideration of the large audience that is most important, even in these times.
Furthermore, he argued for the importance of having some windows facing the world now that all other borders are closed.
Both the consideration for the audience and the window to the world are arguments I applaud. For it is precisely in these times that it is important to remind us that there is a world out there and that the boundaries towards it are not closed.
Before Easter, it was also announced that NRK P1 will only play Norwegian music in week 15, while the other channels could play both Norwegian and international music.
If it is only a question of increasing the Norwegian share to compensate for lost income, should this not be covered by a crisis package from the government to cultural life?
In this way, NRK avoids sacrificing an editorial principle that is perhaps more important than ever in order to avoid a shift towards protectionism.
I wish our art world had worked in these times to get well out of this crisis, but at the same time prepare us for future possible crises. We should have several thoughts in our heads at the same time.
If it is only a question of increasing the Norwegian share to compensate for lost income, should this not be covered by a crisis package from the government to cultural life?
In this way, NRK avoids sacrificing an editorial principle that is perhaps more important than ever in order to avoid a shift towards protectionism.
I really wish our art world had worked together to get well out of this crisis, but at the same time prepare us for possible crises in the future. It should be possible to have several thoughts in your head at the same time.
Can "One Love, One world" also mean a holistic thinking about our surroundings? No longer north-south division of the world but rather fair distribution?
Less or more consumption?
Are we prepared for the economic backlog that this crisis is creating? What about the most challenging crisis that we consciously or unconsciously do not put on the agenda; namely the environmental crisis? Do we have all this in our field of vision - our horizon? And especially; where should our horizon end?
Is it at the Swedish border? The Nordic? At Europe's border? Or?
Art and cultural expressions that we have in our field of vision guide us in difficult times. It will continue to do so in the future. It is therefore important that in these times of crisis we expand the horizon, expand the community and see the crisis as an opportunity to make new choices that will affect both us and those around us.
For where else, and when else, is love and hope needed more than in hopeless places, in hopeless times?
Khalid Salimi, Director Melahuset and Melafestivalen . Editor-in-Chief of the Samora Forum.
From the celebration of Women's Day Melahuset March 8, 2020. Photo: Greta Schehola