Arty Party 2023
Project
May – November 2023
Welcome to Arty Party, Kunsthall Stavanger's exciting event for children! Held one Sunday each semester, Arty Party is an event for children aged 0 to 12. Here we invite an artist to create a programme that is especially developed for children.
This autumn’s Arty Party artist is performer and clown Marie Kallevik Straume. She is bringing her co-creators Anna Marie Simonsen and Cecily Nash to join the party. Together we are brought into Marie and her team’s universe, informed by their background as clowns and theatre makers. Expect clowning, disco, an open mic stage and more.
The event is free of charge for all.
Arty Party has received generous funding from Sparebankstifelsen SR Bank, Sparebanken Vest and Norske Kunstforeninger.
Marie Kallevik Straume
Marie Kallevik Straume is a performing artist and clown from Stavanger. She is trained at École Jacques Lecoq and LAMDA. Together with her clown partner Anna Marie Simonsen, she is currently touring the world with the productions Troll and Naughty Cabaret. Troll was directed and created in collaboration with Cecily Nash. The performance has been mentioned in international press, including The Guardian, which gave Troll four out of five stars and called the performance "irresistibly silly."
For Arty Party, Marie is bringing both Anna Marie and Cecily to Stavanger to create a genuine clown party for kids. When Marie is not performing as a clown, she works as a performer and producer in the Stavanger-based company Mågå. Marie received the Government Grants for Artists for 2022 and 2024-2025.
Cecily Nash
Cecily Nash is a director and theatre-maker based in London. She is a graduate of the two-year professional physical theatre and LEM courses at École Jacques Lecoq. She co-created and directed the award-winning clown show Troll. Cecily’s credits include The Road (Norway Clown Festival 2023, dir. by A de Castro), The Campers (2022 UK tour), The Frida Kahlo of Penge West (OffWestEnd nomination for Lead Performance in a Play), feature film Widow’s Walk (Amazon Prime) and various voice works including channel 5's The Floogals. Cecily’s latest collaboration, Bangtail, is set to premiere with Pleasance Theatre Trust at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024.
Anna Marie Simonsen
Anna Marie Simonsen has worked as a performing artist in London for the past seven years. She has now moved back to Norway and works across borders. In 2019, she graduated from Goldsmiths University with a Bachelor's degree in Drama and Theatre, and since then she has trained as a clown with, among others, Spymonkey and Phil Burgers/Dr Brown. Simonsen is also the artistic director of the Norway Clown Festival along with Amanda Tunsberg and Marie Kallevik Straume. Simonsen's socially critical solo performance, Naughty, has been performed on various stages in Europe from 2021 to 2023.
From the performance Troll. Photo: Lyncey Nicol
Marie Kallevik Straume. Photo: Hanne Nygaard
Cecily Nash
Anna Marie Simonsen. Photo: Hanne Nygaard