21 July

We arrived in Tromso around 5pm, with a slight delay due to the last plane change. At first glance, Tromso is a very quiet, almost deserted place. I feel like in the movie Truman Show with Jim Carrey, everything is perfect, in place and well calculated.

The walk to the supermarket made me realise how much how steep the relief of the place is, high hills with sloping streets and multiple terraces.

22 July 

I slept incredibly well, despite the night being full of light. We got to know the city centre, the place where people move around, mostly tourists. The air is salty, the smell of the sea is strong and at the same time the climate is mountainous. At 11:00 a.m. we met the whole team near a school, Steinerskolen i Tromso, the starting point of what was to be a dream route, the Sound Walk. We set off together on the pre-planned route, led by Anja. We each quietly tried to focus first on what we heard and then on what we saw. I paid attention to the sounds in the background, remembered the heavy traffic behind the block where I lived as a child, at the same time the sounds of seagulls, the sea and the wind. In fact, that was the concept and idea of the Sound Walk, what sounds you hear and what it reminds you of in particular. We had three 15-minutes stops.

Most of the walk was along the edge of the water. I did two sketches. Not necessarily for the project in, but simply to fully enjoy what I was seeing and to discover my surroundings through drawing. That surrounded me, the sea, the wooden houses, the shacks, the grass, the trees, the path I was walking on.

The walk ended with a few conclusions drawn in the café of the Arctic University Museum in Tromso, a place I will definitely come back to visit at my leisure.

23 July

At 10:00 a.m. we had a substantial meeting with the team. We agreed on the details of Timisoara, the opening day, the questions we should ask the museum administration, the layout and plan of the exhibition, as well as discussing the idea and concept of the work I will have exhibited in the museum.

Before the meeting I visited Polaria, a landmark for Tromso, where I focused on the study of seaweed and less on the variety of fish and seals that make up the most important exhibit there.

After meeting the team, I resumed the Sound Walk route from the previous day. This time even more quietly and in more detail. Of course I stopped to enjoy another pencil sketch in my sketchbook and notes. I returned home tired, but full of valuable information and excited about what I saw. On the way home we passed through an area of old wooden houses, typical of northern Norway, a good opportunity to document with photos.

24 July

We resumed our walk from the previous evening, discovering and studying their specific houses, made of wooden frames and painted in different shades of colours.
At 2 p.m, the whole team met at the Northern Norway Science Centre in the Planetarium room, where we watched the documentary “Extreme Auroras”, a film that explains the Aurora Borealis phenomenon and its impact on the local community from a scientific point of view.

We walked back to the city centre via the Botanical Gardens, a place I will visit again – more quietly and in more detail in the coming days. We discovered another part of Tromso. Part of the universities and science centres, a cool non-residential area.

A second part of the day we visited the Arctic Cathedral. To get there we took a walk along the bridge that connects the island to the east side of the city. The cathedral is a landmark for the city and an architectural ensemble representative of the Nordic countries, in short, lots of concrete, clean lines and cool atmosphere.

25 July 

Today we left early for the Museum of the Arctic University of Norway in Tromso. We chose a route on the outskirts of the centre, through streets full of picturesque houses, typical of northern Norway, built of wood and covered with vertically arranged planks in pastel colours.

After a few short stops for photo documentation, we arrived at the museum, probably the largest in size and diversity in Tromso. We visited the part that talks about the geology of the place, then watched three documentaries that scientifically explain the causes and formation of the aurora borealis.

At 13:00 we caught the guided tour about Tromso during the Second World War, then continued to visit the part about the Sami minority and eclectic objects. I left the museum loaded with a lot of information that helped me understand the context of the place.

26 July

A sunny day, perfect for today’s plan, a visit to the Botanical Garden.

This garden is the northernmost botanical garden in the world, made up of Arctic and Alpine plants. After a tour of the entire garden area, I stopped on one of the rocks to sketch an alpine laurel bush. This sketch is a study for what I think I want to do in the Timisoara museum project.

After lunch we visited the Nord Norsk Art Museum in Tromso. A small museum in size, but it contains some valuable pieces by local artists.

27 July

A cold day, with a sun that no longer warms like the rest of the days. We visited the Polar Museum, a place full of stories about polar expeditions, hunting and the struggle for survival in a harsh and arid environment.

A museum that speaks indirectly about the connection man has created with nature to survive when it demands its rights.

Close to the polar museum we visited the Ehemalige Werft, the old shipyard and launch site. A former industrial area that has been transformed into a public space while preserving the industrial elements that were functional.

28 July

Departure day from Tromso. First stop was Oslo, where I had time to get into the city and visit the Munch Museum, with its three versions of the Tipat, lithograph, pastel and painting.