Utstilling | "Håp om forsoning" på Sildemuseet i Dokken

Kristine Synnes' art project ‘Hope for reconciliation’ draws attention to a dark and, for many, unknown chapter in Norway's recent history.

The Romani people, one of our national minorities, have travelled and lived nomadically in Norway for 500 years. For as long as they have lived, travelled, rowed and sailed in Norway, the Romani people have been perceived as different and on the margins of society. In the period 1900-1990, oppression and assimilation were systematised, and the minority was subjected to gross abuse such as forced settlement and sterilisation. More than 1,500 children were taken from their parents and sent to orphanages. In 1998, the Norwegian authorities officially apologised for the way the Romani people had been treated. Much of the Romani people's culture, language and history has been lost, while society at large lacks knowledge about the minority.

Artisan and architect Kristine Synnes (b. 1971, Haugesund)'s art project ‘Hope for Reconciliation’ consists of three parts. A boat from the museum's collection, which belonged to a traveller, the 3.6-metre-long sculpture ‘HOPE’, and a workshop section for all visitors.