Sponsored by Bindal Municipality, Peacepainting invited Tunisian artist Salah Ben Amor to visit the municipality of Bindal.
The island of Kerkenah off the coastal town of Sfax has an old boatbuilding tradition that is to this day maintained. This is a precise coincidence with the old boatbuilding traditions in Bindal, Norway that go back as far as the Viking Ages. Boats were built Bindal for, among other things, exploration of Iceland and also for Lofoten fishing.
Kerkennah, Tunisia
Bindal, Norway
Bindal Municipality on Helgeland is known for its Bindalsfæring, which is a traditional wooden boat that has been made in Bindal since the Viking Ages. It is one of the most beautiful wooden boats in Norway, and it is known for being light and snug in the sea.
Since the craft of building this traditional boat is in danger of extinction, Espace des art and Peacepainting wanted to include this in our activities. Artist and boat builder Salah ben Amor was therefore invited to the Bindal.
During Salah Ben Amor’s visit in Bindal, he visited a traditional boatbuilding workshop and the Bindal museum displaying handcrafts related to shipbuilding, forestry and timber industry. He also participated in our annual wooden boat festival, Nordlandsbåtregattaen and sailed in the Bindalsfæring.
Bindal’s annual wooden boat festival, Nordlandsbåtregattaen.
Presentation and exhibition
During his visit, Ben Amor held presentations about the boatbuilding traditions on the island of Kerkennah in Tunisia to inspire and emphasize the importance of maintaining these ancient techniques.
After the lecture at Bindal museum, Ben Amor unveiled an installation dedicated to peace. Boats made by Tunisian children, decorated with flags and seals in many colors, were intertwined Norwegian and Tunisian flags. The installation was originally created to honor the victims of the terrorist attack at the Bardom Museum in Tunisia earlier this year, but on Friday 26 June a new terrorist act took place in Sousse, so that the seriousness behind the installation suddenly became even clearer.
Opportunity for further contact
Bindal municipality, wants to work to establish contact with wooden boat environments in other countries. In many places, knowledge of traditional wooden boat building is dying out. By creating a network, one can get more attention about this craft culture. Many thanks to Frithjof Plahte, Sinkaberg Hansen, Bindal Kraftlag and Hermod Pettersen who contributed financially so that Salah could visit Bindal this summer. He got to experience the Nordlandsbåtregatta, and visited Alslia and Reppen, important traditional boat building environments in Bindal.
Salah Ben Amor
Salah Ben Amor is a 65 year old artist and boat builder from the island of Kerkennah outside the city of Sfax in Tunisia.
