Meet our new Board Member: Ingrid Haug Erstad

Director of Bergen Assembly: Ingrid Haug Erstad.

Ingrid Haug Erstad

Director, Bergen Assembly

We are thrilled to introduce Ingrid Haug Erstad as one of the newest members of the International Biennial Association (IBA) board. Elected during our 11th General Assembly in Lyon, Ingrid brings a great experience and motivation to the board with her commitment to rethinking contemporary art’s role in society demonstrated through her work in Bergen. As Director of Bergen Assembly, Ingrid has fostered innovative programming that bridges artistic engagement with social relevance, supporting collaborations between artists, institutions, and civil society. Her experience and contribution will be invaluable as IBA continues its mission to foster biennials as transformative spaces for artistic and cultural exchange, and as spaces of dialogue.

Reflecting on her election, Ingrid shared:

“This space, the IBA, and other opportunities establish dialogue and exchange with biennials and colleagues in the field have been invaluable to me and to our institution. These connections have been essential as we navigated the pandemic and other significant challenges. I value the support and insights that these networks provide, and I truly hope to contribute to them in a meaningful way.”

Ingrid Haug Erstad is the Director of Bergen Assembly, a triennial platform for contemporary art in Bergen, Norway, dedicated to supporting new formats of artistic engagement. Founded in 2011, Bergen Assembly critically explores how art is created and experienced, offering programming developed through collaborations with artists, cultural institutions, and civil society. With a background in art history and curatorial practice, Erstad’s involvement with Bergen Assembly spans over a decade, beginning as curatorial coordinator in 2016 and later transitioning to director in 2018 – shaping Bergen Assembly’s long-term vision through he her commitment to cross-disciplinary engagement and socially relevant programming. In 2022 she co edited the publication Local Perspectives on a Global Format alongside Max Bach, a publication that collects six local responses to biennials in Shanghai, Ljubljana, São Paulo, Aichi, Dhaka, and Glasgow. Before joining Bergen Assembly, she held curatorial roles at Bergen Kunsthall and at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, developing a wide range of programs across live events, exhibitions, and screenings. She also ran MULTIPLEX, a Berlin-based project space for artist films and moving images, and collaborated with E-flux on initiatives such as Time/Food and Agency of Unrealised Projects.