Aabent Rum

Aabent Rum is an artistic development program – organized and curated by Aaben Dans with support from the The Danish Arts Foundation.

Aaben Dans invites one or more artists per year to come to Roskilde and work with a method or artistic project of their choice. The Aabent Rum program offers a fee, space to work in and organizational, artistic and technical support by sharing the competencies of Aaben Dans. Artists commit to sharing their work either through a showing, conversation or other format that is appropriate.

Please see the list of artists who have been in the development program in previous years here

Aabent Rum 2025: Senses in Focus

In 2025, we have invited a group of individuals to focus on senses, viewed from different professions within the arts and science. This exploration is not limited to human senses. Our senses are every biological being’s way of experiencing and existing in the world – hereby creating a complex network of communication, connecting all living things with one another.

With this artistic research project, we hope to bring new perspectives on how we view senses.

The people behind:

Niels Christian Holm Sanden, academic employee and PhD, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen

Tone Roald, Associated professor, The subject of aesthetics at the University of Copenhagen

Tina Unger, Agronomist and director, Sct. Hans Haverne

Ida-Elisabeth Larsen, choreographer, dancer og dance dramaturg, Institute of Interconnected Realitets

Thomas Eisenhardt, choreographer and artistic leader, Aaben Dans

Senses – building a bridge between bodies, consciousness and the world around us

This comes from Aaben Dans’ participatory performance-hike Between The Senses which guides the audience through a given landskab, experienced through 12 senses: breathing, seeing, hearing, smelling, thermoception, proprioception, vestibular senses, taste, interoception, touch, chronoception and thought.

With this performance-hike, we open a door to a curios and expectation free perspective on the idea of sensing – from the notion, that what you give thought will also grow. Through a set of meetings, each participant will facilitate a presentation for the rest of the group, based on their own expertise. The presentation can take any form that brings new perspectives to the subject and engages further discussion.

There is no concrete result of this search. Whatever comes of experiences and recognitions, will be shared knowledge, that all participants can take with them, anywhere they please.

The process will be documented by a short film made by Nanna Nielsen, that will premiere at GASP festival https://graspfestival.dk in September of 2025

More about Aabent Rum

Previous artists in Aabent Rum

2024

Olivia Rivière (DK/SE) and Lisen Pousette (SE) explore the layers of reciprocity, relationships and cooperation, both in close proximity and from a distance, in conversation with Idaa Elisabeth Larsen and Aaben Dans. Their work starts with ideas of resonance, understood from an acoustic phenomenon and as something describing relationships and affect. Through their sonic and somatic practice “the sonorous body”, they search for strength in the body, for synergies and polysemy between them.

2023:

Ruth Rebekka Hansen with the performance and installation of “Ripe Body”.

2022:

Katrien van den Velden, Lara Vejrup Ostan and Ida Mariboe Nielsen with the love-performance SONG OF SONGS.

Julie Rasmussen, Maren Fidje Bjørneseth and Rickard Fredborg in collaboration with filmmaker Morten Arnfred and music by Daniel Nicholson – the movie THE MEATLUMP.

Fabio Liberti a moveable installation of plastic and meat THERE IS NO AWAY/A SELF PORTRAIT.

2021:

Snorre Elvin + Nanna Stigsdatter with the performance “Pour It”.

2019-2020:

Antoinette Helbing with the solo “The Laughing Game”.

Georgia Kapodistria with the solo “BETWIX AND BETWEEN” and a group showing.

Anna Lea Ourø and Amalia Kasakov with the duet” Just Ok”.

Terms and conditions

Aabent Rum is a choreographic development program curated by Aaben Dans.

Choreographers receive an honorarium and a small budget. They can choose to spend money on putting together a creative team, researching other people’s artworks, investigating a method or diving into their artistic work. Aaben Dans provides skills and knowledge to support the artist’s development.

The choreographers are carefully selected according to these criteria: they must be at the beginning of their professional career, they must have an artistic core and drive, they must have something to say and be based in body and choreography, and they must live in Denmark.

The choreographers provide inspiration for Aaben Dans, the professional environment and the local audience in smaller screenings, interventions, workshops, symposiums or other public events.

Aaben Dans emphasizes the relationship with the artist and invites the artist(s) of the year to participate in conversations, lunches, in the warehouse, in the administration and onto the stage. Aaben Dans is interested in the artist’s process, thoughts and development in both the present and the future.

For mutual benefit

In addition to studio and production space, we make the expertise and know-how of the theater available to the young artists. They decide what makes sense for them to work with – right where they are in their artistic career. Aaben Dans watches and listens – and provides ongoing guidance. The choreographers respond with inspiration – both to Aaben Dans, to the professional community and to the local audience in smaller screenings, interventions, workshops, symposiums, digital or other public events.

Watch the video below from Aabent Rum 2023 with Ruth Rebekka Hansen.