Safemuse held its General Assembly on Monday 28th of February at Sentralen in Oslo, with both physical and digital attendees. 

Thank you Anders Hovind! 

For over a decade, Anders Hovind has been involved in the work of building Safemuse from the very beginning in 2011. He led the project group when we started as a project in Creo in 2011 and joined as a board member when Safemuse was established as an independent organisation in December 2013. In 2015, he accepted the position as chair of the board and has done a truly remarkable job during the six years he has headed the board. He has worked closely with both the administration and board members, and proved himself to be a committed, engaged and inclusive leader, whose efforts have contributed to Safemuse’s growth, professionalisation and achievements so far. 

– Anders has throughout this time been an important and enthusiastic inspirer, sparring partner and supporter for me as a general manager through headwinds and tailwinds! He has been a stayer in this work. And also careful and responsible. A real pleasure to work with and have as a boss. A big thank you to Anders for his work in Safemuse for more than ten years! When Anders now chooses to step back and start a new phase in life, I wish him all the best, says Jan Lothe Eriksen, general manager of Safemuse.

Safemuse would also like to extend its gratitude to Tina Espejord who has been an alternate on board for the past years. We wish both Tina and Anders the best in their endeavors ahead!

Introducing the new board in Safemuse

At the General Assembly, a new board was elected for the upcoming year and we are happy to present a highly competent and committed board: 

Hans Ole Rian was elected as the new chair of the board. Since 2013 he has been the president of Creo, the Union for Arts and Culture, Norway’s largest artists’ organisation with over 10,000 members. Creo was a central contributor when Safemuse was first founded and the association has been an avid and vocal supporter of Safemuse’s projects ever since. The union works to ensure their members working conditions and better pay, whether they are employees or self-employed and artistic freedom of expression is at the core of Creo’s values. 

– I hope that I, together with the administration and the other board members, can keep up the good work that has been done so far, to both strengthen Safemuse and ensure that even more artists will have the opportunity to visit [Norway] for shorter or longer stays, Rian says in an interview with the magazine Kontekst.

– We are proud and grateful to have Hans Ole Rian as the next chairman of the board. He has already stood on the barricades of Safemuse, and I look forward to and look forward to the continuation!, says Jan Lothe Eriksen.

Another new member on the board is Karoline Aaskildt. Karoline is no stranger to the work of Safemuse, as she formerly worked in the Safemuse administration between 2018 and 2021, and has played a key role in developing many of Safemuse’s projects and building the organisation. Karoline is currently completing her Masters degree in musical therapy and has been elected to be an alternate in the Safemuse board. 

In addition the following members continue in their board positions: Terese Mungai-Foyn (vice-chair), Halvard Bakkelund (deputy), Julian Skar (deputy), Heidi Vibeke Pedersen (deputy), and Per Jørgen Ystehede (alternate).