Gudebergjordet is a farmland in the middle of the city of Fredrikstad, Norway. We started to have our first discussions about this area in 2021, and to map the location and the practices around it in 2022 during shorter visits. I learnt how little arable land is available in Norway – only 3% of its total territory – and how much it is dependant on import when it comes to food production, while this specific farmland of premium quality topsoil having a national value is not much present on the mental map of locals.

With Østfold Internasjonale Teater we decided to look for an artistic framework which can engage citizens to think and relate to Gudebergjordet in a different way, and experiment with farming practices in collaboration with local partners that host and care for a diversity of human and non-human entities. 

Resting with the Land aims to map and investigate the area of Gudebergjordet, the local ecosystem and farming practices, as well as our relation to the land, soil and food production by living on site and inviting the audience to a series of artistic explorations. During participatory workshops we mapped the area through sensory and somatic practices, and imagined possible futures from human and

non-human perspectives.