Katie Paterson, Future Library, 2014-2114 Photo © Rio Gandara / Helsingin Sanomat Future Library is commissioned and produced by Bjørvika Utvikling, and managed by the Future Library Trust. Supported by the City of Oslo, Agency for Cultural Affairs and Agency for Urban Environment.
FUTURE LIBRARY
Karl Ove Knausgård, Ocean Vuong, and Tsitsi Dangarembga to hand over manuscripts to the 100-year art project, Sunday 12th June 2022 in Oslo
Future Library is a public artwork by Scottish artist Katie Paterson that will unfold over a century in the city of Oslo, Norway. Each year a new author is invited to contribute a text to the Future Library, with the writings held in trust, unread and unpublished, until 2114. An annual handover of the manuscript takes place in Oslo, and this year, three acclaimed authors will be part of the ceremony, after the previous two years of handovers have been postponed.
The handover takes place in June and welcomes the Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgård (year 2019), Vietnamese American writer and poet, Ocean Vuong (year 2020) and Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker, Tsitsi Dangarembga (year 2021). All Future Library authors are also invited back to Oslo, and several have already confirmed their participation. Previous authors to contribute include Margaret Atwood (2014), David Mitchell (2015), Sjón (2016), Elif Shafak (2017) and Han Kang (2018).
The handover ceremonies include walking to the Future Library Forest with the authors and the opening of the manuscripts’ resting place, the silent room in the new public library Deichman Bjørvika. The silent room will be home to all the manuscripts contributed to the project until their eventual publication in the year 2114. The room is designed by artist Katie Paterson and architects Atelier Oslo and LundHagem.
On Monday the 13th of June a symposium on the topic of nature and future will take place in the new public library Deichman Bjørvika. It will be the first of the annual symposiums to take place the coming 93 years. All three authors being honoured this year will contribute to the conversations alongside the artist Katie Paterson, moderated by Claire Armitstead, Associate Editor, Culture, the Guardian.
The events will be live streamed and spread worldwide.
For further information about Future Library and the events taking place for the handover ceremony in June, please visit the Future Library website at the link below.
