About
What is GRAC?
GRAC stands for Grim Residency for Artists and Curators. We facilitate residency programmes in different scopes and formats, for artists and curators working across contemporary art practices. GRAC invites artists and curators from Norway and abroad to the region and connects them with local networks, resources, tradition and expertise. In this exchange, new collaborations, ideas, and long-term relationships are created, benefiting both tourists and the local community.
GRAC’s geographical scope is the entire Agder region. We are based in Kristiansand and Hovden, and work actively to strengthen a cultural and artistic axis stretching from Odderøya in the south, along the Setesdalsveien valley, all the way to Hovden in the north. This geography brings together urban art institutions, rural knowledge systems, nature, craft traditions, music, and performing arts. GRAC’s role is to connect these elements and position Agder as a place for artistic development, production, and exchange.
In Kristiansand, GRAC is located in an old mill in the Grim neighbourhood. This is an area shaped by industrial history and currently undergoing transformation. By establishing a residency programme and public art activities here, we aim to contribute to long-term cultural infrastructure, social sustainability, and accessible meeting places. We believe that art and culture can play an active role in neighbourhood development and in shaping new forms of belonging.
GRAC runs several residency programmes throughout the year, welcoming artists and curators with diverse practices. The residencies provide time and space for research, experimentation, and production, and are always connected to a public dimension, through exhibitions, performances, screenings, talks, workshops, or other forms of engagement.
Advisory board
- Erik Pirolt (artist)
- Ann Cathrin November Høibo (artist)
- Ingrid Michalsen (Kristiansand business association)
- Lene Dalgård (Knuden art scool)
- Sven Persson (sound technician)
Thank you to our supporters and partners
- Kristiansand kommune
- Kulturdirektoratet
- Agder fylkeskommune
- Cultiva stiftelsen
- Sør-fondet
- Strai kjøkken
- Kulturrom
Our Team
Gustav Oliver Gunvaldsen
Creative lead & co-founder
91606067
olivergunvaldsen@gmail.com
Gustav Gunvaldsen is a visual artist with an MFA from the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art (NTNU) and a BA from Lofoten Art and Film School. He is a co-founder and researcher at Lab Genalguacil, an artistic laboratory focusing on rural innovation and place-based practices. Gustav was the initiator and organiser of Skogsus, a performance art festival in Kristiansand.
He has worked for several years as an art technician for a wide range of artists and art institutions in Norway and internationally. Since returning to Kristiansand in the summer of 2024, Gustav has focused on developing GRAC, where he serves as production lead and creative sparring partner for all artists and curators in the programme, alongside maintaining his own artistic practice.
Henriette Wulff
Project manager & co-founder
47374374
henriettewu@gmail.com
Henriette is a concept and business developer working across art, culture, urban development, and place identity. She previously worked with strategic organisational development and digital transformation at the Norwegian Police Directorate. Her background includes initiating and developing cultural and place-based projects such as Monument Festival, Lilleborg Torg and 8.2, projects focused on making cultural heritage and craft traditions accessible to broader audiences.
She currently works full-time with projects and operations at GRAC, where she develops long-term cultural infrastructure and cross-disciplinary collaboration in Agder. Henriette is also the founder and managing director of Vinbaren på Mølla, and holds a Master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship, with a strong commitment to inclusive and socially sustainable cultural initiatives.
Madeleine Noraas
Head of communication & co-founder
99354133
21421madeleine@gmail.com
Madeleine Noraas is a visual artist and curator based between Basel and Kristiansand. She is co-owner and operator of Vinbaren på Mølla in Kristiansand and a curatorial member of the exhibition space Palazzina in Switzerland. Madeleine is also the founder of Polyamoral, a culinary platform that supports artistic experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. She holds an MFA from the Institute of Art in Basel and a BFA from the Malmö Art Academy.
At GRAC, Madeleine works with communication, overall branding, and the coordination of the residency programmes. She is known as a highly hands-on contributor with a strong problem-solving mindset, an ability to see possibilities where others see limitations, and the courage to think ambitiously!