Talk

In Conversation: Maria Metsalu and Runa Borch Skolseg

Welcome to a conversation between performance artist Maria Metsalu and author, critic and performance maker Runa Borch Skolseg

In her new performance “Permanent Resident”, artist Maria Metsalu proposes fear not as a temporary emotion, but as the fundamental architecture of the self. This is the starting point for the artist's latest production, which joins a series of works that connect the body to more abstract dimensions.

This will be the jumping off point for a conversation between Metsalu and Oslo-based author, critic and performance maker Runa Borch Skolseg the day after the new work’s world premiere.

The event requires a ticket, with discounts for National Museum members, students, artists, and cultural workers.

Maria Metsalu (b.1990) is renowned for her work that centers the body as a site charged with expression, vulnerability, and agency. Her performances delve into the tension between abject embodiment and flawless high-tech, exploring the intersection of identity, voyeurism, and corporate technologies. The artist co-founded the performance collective Young Boy Dancing Group (YBDG), where she continues to push the boundaries of performance and visual art through a post-apocalyptic, DIY aesthetic.

Runa Borch Skolseg (b. 1988) is a writer, critic and performance maker. She co-curates MIND EATER with choreographer Louis Schou Hansen — an institutional-critical festival dedicated to emerging artists, critical thinkers, and performative practices.