ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Rethinking Nordic Colonialism: A Postcolonial Exhibition Project in Five Acts began as a vague idea in the spring of 2005. The exhibition was only able to develop into its present form thanks to a large number of people, organizations, institutions, and foundations, to whom we are forever indebted.

First and foremost, we would like to express our heart-felt gratitude to each of the fifty-six participants in the exhibition without whose invaluable efforts this event would not have been possible. Despite limited time and means, they all contributed with an amazing series of projects and perspectives, which will undoubtedly influence the discourse on Nordic (post)colonialism.

We would also like to thank Richard William Hill and Sarat Maharaj for acting as curatorial consultants on the project. Their insightfulness helped us recognize a number of strengths and weaknesses when conceptualizing the project. Special thanks are also due to Nina Nørgaard for acting as historical consultant, and to Morten Goll, Eija Mäkivuoti, and Hito Steyerl for taking on the demanding job of researching for the project.

For their uncompromising support of the project, we would like to express our warm gratitude to the eight institutions that entered into a partnership with NIFCA and provided venues for the project: The Living Art Museum (Lárus Vilhjálmsson and Bryndís Ragnarsdóttir); The Reykjavik Academy (Viðar Hreinsson, Ólöf Gerður Sigfúsdóttir, and Jón Ólafsson), Greenland National Museum and Archives (Daniel Thorleifsen and Aviâja Rosing Jakobsen), The Teachers’ Training School of Greenland (Dorthe Korneliussen), The Faroe Islands Art Museum (Helgi Fossádal), The Nordic House in the Faroe Islands (Niels Halm, Elin Hentze, and Edith Petersen), The Arctic Centre (Paula Kankaanpää, Scott Forrest, Nicolas Gunslay, and Raija Kivilahti), and Finnish Railways Locomotive Engine Shed in Rovaniemi (Mr. Karjalainen). Also a big thank you to Konsthall C, Overgaden Institute of Contemporary Art, and Torpedo Kunstbokhandelen for hosting the documentation DVD & WEBSITE launches in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo.

Special thanks are also due to NIFCA’s director, Cecilia Gelin, and to NIFCA’s board members for their supervision and commitment to the project: Ellen Sæthre McGuirk, Vignir Jóhannsson, Maaretta Jaukkuri, Ewa Kumlin, Åsa Sonjasdotter, Nanna Gro Henningsen, Jan Kenneth Weckman, Áslaug Thorlacius, Jørn Mortensen, Lisa Daram, Anne-Birthe Hove, Rita Jokiranta, and Astri Luihn.

We also want to express our sincerest gratitude to Project Coordinators Aura Seikkula and Kyongfa Che for their enormous assistance with research, loans, fundraising, communication, travels, logistics, and a myriad of details. Without their professionalism and tireless efforts, the project would not have materialized. Special thanks are also due to Curatorial Assistant Ellen Wettmark for invaluable assistance with fundraising, communication, public relations, and travels. Also a very big thank-you to Interns Jaana Kalliomäki and Erik Tulinen, and to all the volunteers for their generous effort, commitment, and patience during the realization of the exhibition: Frida Andersson, Sandra Asgeirs, Kári Gunnarsson, Ruth Jakobsen, Eliza Kraatari, Lona Lynge, Pia Lynge, Iramghan A. Malik, Connie Munch, Edward Mørch, Anne Skole Overgaard, Chris Rafael, and Heidi Simppala. Big thanks also to preparators David Geyti, Morten Goll, Kolbeinn Hugi Höskuldsson, Harry Jóhannsson, Niko Rissanen, staff members from the Greenland National Museum and Archives, and Erik Tulinen for their invaluable assistance with construction and installation. And to photographers Allan Broekie, Knud Josefsen, Eija Mäkivuoti, Bjargey Ólafsdóttir, Innuteq Petersen, Ivaaq Poulsen, and Erik Tulinen for documenting the exhibition.

Warm thanks also to fundraisers Anne Holmfred and Maria Svensson and to Financial Manager Kati Tapaninaho, without whom there would have been no exhibition.

We are also very grateful to Ninon Liotet for her sensitive design of the exhibition’s User Guide and DVD publications, Program and Documentation websites, and PR material; to Thomas Goldhahn for the excellent programming of the exhibition's DVD and websites; and to Thomas Goldhahn, Joachim Hamou, and Jane Jin Kaisen for editing the audio and video documentation footage. Special thanks are also due to Eija Mäkivuoti for e-press releases and NIFCA website design, to Mitro Kaurinkoski for assistance with information and communication, to Connie Munch and Anne Skole Overgaard for editorial assistance during the production of the User Guide, and to copyeditors and translators Stephen Fruitman, Simon Fujiwara, Erik Gant, Elisabeth Ravn Johansen, Jonhard Mikkelsen, Leif Rantala, Ólöf Gerður Sigfúsdóttir, Kim West, and Kristian Østberg for excellent copyediting and translations.

Also a big thank-you to Press Coordinator Hamayun Latif Butt and Press Text Writer Anne Holmfred for helping us communicate the project. To Scott Forrest, Jón Ólafsson, Ólöf Gerður Sigfúsdóttir, and Daniel Thorleifsen for moderating the public events. To Peter Culley, Nive Nielsen, and Birgit Ernstdóttir Remmel for interpreting during the public events. And to Elva Björg Einarsdóttir & Jo Tore Berg, Scott Forrest, Firouz Gaini, and Inge S. Rasmussen for writing individual reports on the project’s various acts.

We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to all the artists, cultural organizations, curators, academics, theorists, and institutions who took the time to meet and/or correspond with us during the research of the exhibition. Their insightful commentary, criticisms, and introductions have been crucial to the conceptualization of the exhibition.

Last, but not least, we want to extend our sincere appreciation to all the foundations, institutions, and companies, which have supported the exhibition financially: Nordic Council of Ministers, The Living Art Museum, Stoðir hf., The Reykjavik Academy, Greenland National Museum and Archives, Teachers’ Training School of Greenland, The Faroe Islands Art Museum, The Nordic House in the Faroe Islands, Finnish Railways, The Arctic Centre, The European Cultural Foundation, The Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art, Nordiska Museikommittén, Svenska kulturfonden, IASPIS – International Artists' Studio Program in Sweden, Mentanargrunnur Landsins, Arts Council of Lapland, FRAME: Finnish Fund for Art Exchange, Færøernes Landsstýri, NACS: Nordic Association for Canadian Studies, Det Kongelige Grønlandsfond, Kulturfonden Danmark-Grønland, Embassy of Canada in Finland, OCA (Office for Contemporary Art Norway), Atlantic Airways Ltd., Icelandair, Hotel Hans Egede, Puukeskus Oy Rovaniemi, Air Logistics Aps, Skipafelagið, Ljóð-Tøkni, Royal Arctic Line A/S, Hotel Føroyar, The Nordic House on Iceland, Hótel Leifur Eiríksson, Dronning Ingrids Hospital – Central Laboratoriet, Nuuk Værft A/S, U.S. Overskudslager, Dansk Veteranbiludlejning, Den Danske Trådvarefabrik, Beredskabsstyrelsen, Rovaniemi Art Museum, and KNR (Greenland National Broadcasting Company).

Kuratorisk Aktion (Frederikke Hansen & Tone Olaf Nielsen)
November, 2006