Since January, O—Overgaden has been in close collaboration with Cassie Augusta Jørgensen and Anna Sofie Mathiasen, the two young artists who were selected from a strong group of almost 100 applicants for this year’s INTRO program.

Jørgensen’s and Mathiasen’s visual voices are in the middle of an exciting development which, over the months, will form two large solo exhibitions consisting of, among other expressions, stop-motion animation, gardening TV shows, remakes of Brian De Palma scenes, installation, and a showgirl performance, which will be shown at O—Overgaden this November.

Taking our popular culture as a point of departure, the two artists respectively focus on the stereotypical (mis)conceptions of the trans woman and the course of a mental illness when they take over O—Overgaden’s two floors with socially relevant contemporary art this autumn. We can’t wait to show you the result!

Anna Sofie Mathiasen (b. 1995, DK) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo (2020) and lives and works in Copenhagen and Oslo. With a starting point in her very own and clearly cartoon-inspired style, Mathiasen constructs visual universes that mix historical archive material, animated characters à la DR’s B&U department, educational tools, and personal memories. Her video essays of stop-motion, voice acting and hand-drawn animation create narratives which, for O—Overgaden, delve into a medical and therapeutic treatment process. From the folly to gardening programs: How is a mental illness processed and what does it mean for one’s self-image?

Mathiasen has previously exhibited at Kunsthall Oslo; Sol in Nexø, Denmark; Guttormsgaard’s archive in Blaker, Norway; Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo; and Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno in Valencia, Spain. She is represented by Galleri K in Oslo.

Cassie Augusta Jørgensen (1991, DK) is a visual artist, choreographer, and dancer living in Berlin, educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (2022). In recent years, Jørgensen has perfected her showgirl-ship through her work with theater, acting, her background in classical and modern dance, her favorite underwear, and with references to everything from filmmakers such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Brian De Palma to inspiring artists such as Valeska Gert, Lindsay Kemp, Hollywood Lawn, and Jackie Curtis. Jørgensen’s works are shaped by by film, History of Dance, and being a trans girl, in all its tragedy and liveliness. Her practice creates folds and gaps in history that speculate on fiction and reality and bring new narratives to our attention.

Jørgensen has previously been exhibited by Auto Italia London, 1.1 Basel, and Sophiensaele Berlin.

Supported by Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen’s Foundation, INTRO is an extended program—a one-year collaboration with O—Overgaden tailored to the individual artist/group. It includes financial support for production and travel as well as artistic, curatorial, administrative, and technical advice from leading Danish and international voices in the arts. The one-year collaboration culminates in a large solo exhibition at O—Overgaden. The program aims to push at the discussion of “best practice”, exploring how art institutions can best support younger artistic voices.

Previous participants in the O—Overgaden INTRO program include Dina El Kaisy Friemuth and Sóley Ragnarsdóttir (both 2021), Kim Richard Adler Mejdahl and Iselin Forslund Toubro (both 2020), as well as this year’s artists Tora Schultz and Isabella Solar Villaseca, whose large solo exhibitions open at O—Overgaden on 18 November 2022.

O—Overgaden is now initiating the Open Call for 2023–24, looking to start collaborations with two new young artists.

Both programs run from January 2023 to January 2024, with solo exhibitions opening in November 2023.

Please note that applications are only open to artists with a strong connection to the Danish art scene and who have graduated (MA or equivalent) from a Danish or international art academy within the last five years.