In connection with the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB Grant Exhibition 2025, we invite you to an artist talk with Rafiki, 27 November from 18:00 at Oslo Kunstforening. The conversation will be led by freelance educator Lisa Andrine Bernhoft-Sjødin and will be held in Norwegian.

Rafiki (b. 1989) is based in Oslo and Cape Town. In the works presented in the exhibition, Rafiki has woven photographs pixel by pixel using beads – a slow, meditative process that challenges the boundaries of what a photograph can be. The works grow out of the artist’s experiences with war and belonging – the conflict in Eastern Congo and the feeling of existing in several realities at once. Inspired by theories of dark matter in astrophysics and Central African cosmologies, Rafiki explores the invisible forces that hold people and societies together – despite everything. The beads symbolize the hidden particles and connections that exist beneath the surface; small and fragile on their own, yet strong together. Rafiki presents the main body of their works at Oslo Kunstforening, and one work at Deichman Bjørvika.

The annual grant exhibition is considered one of the most important art awards in Norway and has been organized by Oslo Kunstforening since 2008 with support from Sparebankstiftelsen DNB. A total of 78 artists have participated in the exhibition so far, and 21 have received the grant. The recipient of this year’s grant, which has increased to NOK 300.000, will be announced during the exhibition period.