Following the focus on Norway at Ceramic Brussels 2025, Norwegian Crafts will present an artist talk with three Norway-based artists at the fair's 2026 edition. The event is part of Ceramic Brussels' official programme. Explore more of the events here.

When: Saturday 24 January 2026, 11:30 CET
Where: Ceramic Brussels (Tour&Taxis – Shed1&2bis: talk area / hall C)

The event will consist of three short artist presentations by Nina Malterud, Heidi Bjørgan and Daniela Bergschneider. The presentations will be followed by a conversation between the three artists, moderated by Marthe Yung Mee Hansen, adviser and producer at Norwegian Crafts. The conversation will explore perspectives on the Norwegian ceramics scene across three generations, touching upon topics such as glazing, sceneography, and working with ceramics in combination with other materials.

Three Norwegian galleries are participating in the fair in 2026: Format, QB Gallery and Skog Art Space. All three artists in the talk are represented with artworks at Ceramic Brussels.

NINA MALTERUD
Nina Malterud (b. 1951) graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Oslo (1971–74) and has worked as an artist since then. From 1994, she was a professor of ceramics at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts, and between 2002 and 2010 served as Rector of the same institution. Subsequently, she has held various roles as a senior advisor at both national art academies and at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design at the University of Bergen, particularly concerning artistic research and PhD education.

Malterud had a solo exhibition at Kode in Bergen in 2022 and in that same year, she was awarded the Ulrik Hendriksen Honorary Prize and Appointed Officer of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav. In 2025 she was curator for the exhibition An Impatient Desire at Lillehammer Art Museum, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Norwegian Association for Craft Artists.

HEIDI BJØRGAN
Heidi Bjørgan (b. 1970) is an artist educated at Bergen Academy of Art and Design and Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. She also holds a master’s degree in curatorial studies from the same institution in Bergen. As both artist and curator, she has been a key force in reshaping the discourse on contemporary craft in Norway since the early 2000s.

Bjørgan’s artistic practice is grounded in a continuous exploration of rule-breaking. She challenges established traditions and glaze recipes, particularly within her ceramic work. As a curator, she is a driving figure in the development of innovative exhibition design in Norway, integrating the scenographic potential of the gallery space as an essential component of her artistic expression. A central thread in Bjørgan’s work is the exploration of contrasts: fragility and rupture, presence and force. Her objects often appear poised between breakdown and resilience, radiating both vulnerability and strength. This tension between the deformed and the inviting has become a hallmark of her artistic universe.

DANIELA BERGSCHNEIDER
Daniela Bergschneider (b. 1986) is based in Bergen (Norway), where she completed her master’s degree in fine art at UiB’s Faculty of Art, Music and Design in 2020. She also studied at the University of Paderborn and the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg.

Bergschneider has participated in group exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including Beginning, Becoming at Format, Oslo (2025), the Annual Exhibition of the Norwegian Association for Craft Artists (2020/21/22/23), Open M Art Fair in Hangzhou, China (2025), Pieces by Hint Project in Aarhus (2024), Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale in Fiskars, Finland (2024), The sky from above at Oplandia Senter for Samtidskunst in Lillehammer (2024), Remnants of the Future at Officinet in Copenhagen (2022), and Hybridia at SOFT Gallery in Oslo (2021). Her works are included in the collections of the National Museum in Oslo, KODE Museum in Bergen, the National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Trondheim, the Equinor Art Collection, as well as the collection of the City of Gothenburg.

MARTHE YUNG MEE HANSEN (MODERATOR)
Marthe Yung Mee Hansen currently works as an adviser and producer at Norwegian Crafts, and as a freelance art writer. She graduated with a master's degree in Museology and Cultural Heritage Studies from the University of Oslo (UiO) in 2020, and did her undergraduate studies in Art History and Media/Cultural Studies at UiO and Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea.

In 2024, she was part of the curatorial group for European Ceramic Context at Bornholm and the prize jury for Talente – Masters of the Future organised by Handwerkskammerfür München und Oberbayern. Prior to joining Norwegian Crafts, she worked as a curatorial assistant at the Munch Museum and a research assistant for Oslo School of Environmental Humanities (UiO).