This summer, the museum becomes the meeting place for powerful international voices, compelling artistic experiences and stories that echo our shared present. In a unique collaboration with art collectors Arne Austrheim and Tom Sydhagen, we present de:HUMANIZE, an exhibition bringing together 23 artists from across the globe.
The title plays on the word dehumanize—a term that, unfortunately, appears with increasing frequency in today’s news. By highlighting the latter part of the word, the exhibition points to a central idea: many of the works carry a sense of hope, showing how artists from across the world engage with what it means to be human.
Several of the artists come from regions shaped by deep social and economic contrasts. Many have grown up on continents marked by war, conflict, and instability; others live in places where political extremism has gained ground in recent years. Yet their work speaks of resilience, presence, and human dignity.
International Highlights
The exhibition spans a wide range of styles and expressions, including textiles, painting, photography, and printmaking. The exhibition features artworks by a number of prominent names on the international art scene. Among them is South African artist Igshaan Adams, currently presenting a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Bilbao and represented in major museum collections worldwide. Nilbar Güreş - representing Turkey at the 2026 Venice Biennale - is featured in the exhibition as well, with a large-scale artwork.
The exhibition also includes the controversial American artist Andres Serrano, who over the course of his career has achieved both critical acclaim and sparked debate, including accusations of blasphemy. With the exception of Serrano’s piece from 1987, all works in the exhibition were created within the past 25–30 years.
Austrheim and Sydhagen have been collecting art since the 1990s and have previously loaned works to leading Norwegian institutions, including MUNCH Museum in Oslo and Kode Art Museum in Bergen.
Artists in the exhibition: Andres Serrano, Ashfika Rahman, Anne-Karin Furunes, Dash Snow, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Igshaan Adams, Julian Röder, Nilbar Güres, Olia Fedorova, Matthias Frantz, Odirile Khune Motsiri, Omar Mahfoudi, Radenko Milak, Dawit Abebe, Rune Elgaard, Tuli Mekondjo, Aneesah Girie, Sizwe Sama, Shumon Ahmed, Hannah Macfarlane, Dev Dhunsi, Thebe Phetogo og Shuvo Rafiqul.
Curators: Mayra Henríquez og Tor Martin Leknes
Installation and production: Berhanu Mekonen, Ole Langvik Hansen, Gregory Idehen, Denisa Jacobsen og Henriette Bekjorden Hukset
Education and outreach: Henriette Bekjorden Hukset, Synnøve S. Bjørset, Greta Pemberton, Vedvik Studio
Graphic design: Letspixel
de:HUMANIZE is the main exhibition of this year’s Førde Festival.
