Geir Tore Holm (b. 1966) grew up in Manndalen in Kåfjord, but lives and works on the farm Ringstad in Skiptvedt.
Holm's artistic background is broad and versatile. He works with video, photography, performance, and installations. Since graduating from the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art in 1995, he has communicated, written, and taught about contemporary art.
Knowledge from the North
Holm is also a qualified landscape gardener and is concerned with the interaction between people and the environment, agriculture and life. His upbringing and background from Kåfjord are strongly present in his projects. From the north, he has brought with him knowledge of nature and cultures that meet and change, and has transferred this to slightly more southerly areas where he lives and works.
In 1993, he started Balkong together with his partner Søssa Jørgensen. Using the home as an exhibition space, questions are raised about what art can be, and in what contexts it can exist. Art as practical dialogue has since been central to their work.
The Nordic lands
The experiences from home have led to a wide range of engagement. In 2003, together with his partner Søssa Jørgensen, he began working on Sørfinnset School / The North Land in Gildeskål in Nordland. This perpetual project revolves around the use of nature, ecology, knowledge exchange, and construction. He is involved in Essays, a collective research project based in the Karukinka Natural Park in Tierra del Fuego, Chile.
The Savio Prize
Geir Tore Holm has participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. In 2007, he was project manager for the establishment of the Academy of Fine Arts in Tromsø. He has also received a number of scholarships and awards for his work and is a recipient of the Norwegian National Grant for Artists. In 2015, he received the first Savio Prize. The jury's citation specifically mentions Holm's efforts to raise awareness of Sami and Northern Norwegian art, and the invaluable significance this has had, and will continue to have, as an inspiration for new generations of Sami artists.
