Charity, classical music and Icelandic striptease at HAVEN Festival

Charity, classical music and Icelandic striptease at HAVEN Festival

What’s the link between the Danish Refugee Council, the Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen and a world-famous Icelandic artist performing striptease in a bar called 'Dope og Korruption'? The answer is the new HAVEN Festival, which will take place at Refshaleøen in just a week.

Kjartansson’s 'Dope og Korruption', FOS as 'Small White Man' and Hans Abrahamsen’s 'Schnee'

From the outset, HAVEN has wanted to invite a small number of major artists to push the boundaries of traditional festivals. This year, there will be three very different contributions from the Danish artist and “social designer” FOS, the Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen and the Icelandic multi-form artist Ragnar Kjartansson.

Ragnar Kjartansson, the famo

us Icelandic multi-form artist, will set up a bar at HAVEN called 'Dope og Korruption' - and it won’t be a conventional bar. As a tribute to Istedgade’s bodegas and strip clubs, Kjartansson will set up a bar serving prosecco, Sicilian arancini and truffles. There is sleeze in the air, classical music played on the piano, surprise acts on stage and striptease entertainment provided by Kjartansson himself.  Watch out for the bouncer!

Hans Abrahamsen is one of the greatest living Danish composers. His magnum opus, 'Schnee', will be performed in association with Copenhagen Contemporary on Saturday August 12th at midday. Acting as a satellite stage for HAVEN, the gallery will open it's doors to festival guests for the event entitled 'Snow in Summer', in which the large unadorned halls will be the venue for a performance of Abrahamsen’s masterpiece presented by Crash Ensemble and directed by Alan Pierson. 'Schnee' has generated excitement throughout the music world, not least with Bryce Dessner from The National, who will join with Abrahamsen after the concert to discuss the work and the contemporary classical world in general.

FOS will run his improvisation-based music system 'Small White Man', in which he uses a lighting installation to live-conduct an ensemble of six musicians playing six 2x20-minute concerts. FOS, who made 'Small White Man' in collaboration with Nis Bysted (Thulebasen), says: “It can be compared to a social event, where an architectural setting determines the cultural values. Nothing comes about by chance.”

Charity organisations and volunteering

HAVEN has decided to have a token system in which festival guests can choose to donate their token to one of four charities: Hjernebarnet, founded by parents of children with brain injuries; Dignity (The Danish Institute against Torture); The Danish Refugee Council; or The Danish Diabetes Association. Festival guests will also be able to meet some of the organisations in the festival site. It is planned to make the system an annual fixture with different charity organisations.

There are just a few tickets left for HAVEN, but you can still enrol as a volunteer, which will give you an all-days ticket and also allow you to make your contribution to HAVEN’s first ever festival. If you work before or after the festival, you need to offer 16 hours, while volunteers during the actual festival will only have to offer 8 hours. You can enrol H E R E.

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