Art Fair 09 - Hello Newcastle! This is Norway Calling!

It was a misty Thursday morning when reports came of an invasion, the like of which have not been seen for 1200 years! Norwegians again had crossed the North Sea to land in Newcastle. These 21st century Vikings, however, were a little different.

Instead of the traditional long ships, long planes were the transport of choice. In replacement for the horned helmets and swords in hand, this time it was woolly hats and works of art instead.

After landing on English soil Anne Jarulf and Randi Antonsen were whisked off to the Sage, Gateshead and were met by a building of outstanding modern architecture shining in the early morning sun as well as the vibe and excitement of 100's of exhibitors, artists and staff preparing for the days to come.

With the Paintings of Anne, Randi, Gunnveig Nerol and Georgina Askeland on the walls, brochures, cards and flags decorating the Norway2UK stand, ourselves and the Norwegian Bazaar artists prepared ourselves for the night that was to come. At 18.00 the doors were opened to 1000's of VIP's including mayors, celebrities, business leaders, and most importantly, to the Norwegian community who live in the North East.

With the excitement building and the wine flowing everyone at The Sage was enjoying the art, people and conversation. Through the night people flocked to Norway2UK stand to view the works on show and to chat to Anne and Randi about their work. After 3 hours of meeting, greeting and talking to hundreds of people it was safe to say that we were all happily exhausted with our days work and as the time passed 21.00 and the waves of people began to die down, we could all begin to relax a little more.

As we walked out the doors of The Sage to a warm, clear, Newcastle night, we left to fill up on good food and good sleep, ready to do it all again tomorrow, and for two more days after that which promised to be filled with all of the same excitement as the first.