Tromsdalstinden (in the back) O.Blom on the stage built by Rural Sjösten (Photo: Petra Polcicova)

Outsiders: A Personal Reflection on Identity, Ritual, and togetherness.

Set under the Aries full moon on the 17th of October 2024, the event Outsiders opened the Insomnia Festival, Norways longest running festival for electronic music. The Insomnia Festival has been exploring new sounds and innovative ideas since the first edition in 2002. As an organisation Insomnia Festival has an open source structure, meaning; the Insomnia Festival is created by and for the people in Tromsø who enjoy underground music and art.

Author: Charlotte Bendiksen

Sculpture by Isak Mölster (Photo: Petra Polcicova)

Outsiders was the first Insomnia event that took place Outside, deep in the arctic wilderness. We chose the location Freidigtunet, a location that was historically considered holy ground for reindeer herders, underneath the towering holy mountain Tromsdalstinden. A lot of the information around these sacred grounds are lost today because of the Norwegian state’s forced replacement of indigenous families, especially the reindeer herders, in the 1920s.

The space is kept by the senior charity foundation “Gutta på Skauen”, also the name of a resistance movement during the second world war, which can be directly translated to “The boys in the woods”. “Gutta på Skauen” are a group of local volunteers, living in the valley area of Tromsdalen, who build and keep facilities such as benches, fire places, toilets and a construction that can be described as a wooden hut called the Lavvo (drawing influences from traditional Sami structures), as a charity action, on the grounds of Freidigtunet.

All these facilities are open to use for any and every outdoor enthusiast who pass by on the trails that are prepared (for hiking in summer and skiing in winter) by the municipality of Tromsø. For many years Freidigtunet has been one of my favorite locations in the world, a place where I have celebrated birthdays, performed moon rituals, brought a few very special dates, or just made a pit stop enjoying a hot beverage, while hiking or skiing.

Audience (Photo: Petra Polcicova)

From Vagabond to Home

When I reflect on my journey to creating the concept around the event Outsiders, I am struck by how deeply my life has been shaped by the sense of being an outsider. In my vagabond childhood, I lost count of all my different homes. I felt disconnected, rootless, and as if I were always in my “traveler’s clothes” with nowhere to arrive. My ancestral history is the history of fishermen farmers; men who’s work took them away from their families and strong, independent women who single handedly kept the family and farm afloat in a harsh and unforgiving climate. Strong men and women of few words, who’s silences kept my family’s indigenous heritage obscured from me until my late teenage years.
Following my sailor grandfather’s footsteps, or rather sea legs, I pursued travel and adventures. As a touring DJ I was lucky to meet and connect with dancers and drifters from all corners of the world. I found a musical family that led me to feel at home in several of the remote destinations I visited, not necessarily linked to a particular location, but as a feeling of all the odd varieties of oneself that are connected to several places and communities.
The underground of electronic music became, as it has to many before me; a hidden (and probably therefore protected) refuge, where I felt safe to explore my own identity. It was there, on the physical as well as the metaphorical dance floor, I realized that being an outsider is not merely a condition to overcome, but a lens through which I see and create.

Charlotte Bendiks (Photo: Eleni Kontostathi)

A Celebration of Counterculture and Collaboration

During the pandemic my fast paced DJ-life slowed down. It gave me time to stay still and reflect. I embarked on a project I call «Homework» — an introspection into my roots and to the land where I was born, working toward gaining a deeper understanding of the complexities of my own identity through exploring the history of my ancestors.

At home in Tromsø, a city that can be labeled a geographical Outsider, the idea of an event where arctic mysticism, marginalization, storytelling and counterculture would bring people together, started to take shape. In collaboration with the Insomnia Festival and the artist collective Spacement we set out to create a gathering in the extreme version of public space; outside in the dark arctic forest, in winter…
Together with André Enger Aas of the artist collective Spacement, who’s work focus on blending the familiar with the abstract, science with spirituality, while also touching upon universal human experiences such as love, loss, identity and belonging, the curation for Outsiders was made.

The intention behind Outsiders was to blur the boundaries between art and activism, fostering a deeper connection between individuals and their environments. We wanted to invite artists, audiences and random outdoorsy passers by to participate in dialogue and reflection on social interactions and societal structures, promoting alternative ways of thinking and living through music, installations and aesthetics, while also committing to reclaiming and celebrating our cultural heritage, the divinity of the land, and the resilience of the people who belonged to the land before us.

Freidigtunet, our chosen venue, was both accessible and exclusive. Open and free to all, it still demanded an effort: a two-to-three-kilometer hike through the forest. The journey was symbolic, representing the crossing of thresholds between the mundane and the extraordinary. The act of moving into the darkness of nature became a metaphor for embracing uncertainty, difference, and transformation. The guided tour through the forest offered a period of stillness and introspection, before a lazer portal marked the end of the trail.
After crossing the lazer portal, a Lavvo set up by Joar Nango and Tobias Prytz, offered a pit stop on reindeer skins around a fire, where hot Palestinian coffee with cardamom was offered freely, a small gesture of hospitality that carried deep cultural resonance.

Arriving at Freidigtunet the largest construction was a visually striking stage made of scavenged natural materials by artist Rurik Sjösten. The stage and trees around Freidigtunet were illuminated by the installations of Ellen Vikström, a multidisciplinary artist that explores the intersection of tactile materials and hypnotic environments. The video installation of Mimi Midorikawa and sculpture of Isak Mölster added to the feeling of being part of a multi-dimensional experience, deepening the sense of temporal fluidity, connecting past, present and future in a shared narrative.

Gutta på Skauen  (Photo: Petra Polcicova)

Ritual as Transformation

As the fog swirled and rhythms pulsed under the Arctic sky, Outsiders became more than an event—it became a statement. It challenged participants to rethink the boundaries between self and other, art and life, nature and culture, insider and outsider. Drawing from a rich tapestry of artistic practices and social activism, Outsiders demonstrated the transformative potential of art when it becomes a lived experience. The interplay of light, sound, and natural materials created mesmerizing experiences that transformed Freidigtunet into a pulsating open-air stage. The performances of local artists and dear friends, resonated with themes of individuality and collective experience, demonstrating how music can transcend physical and cultural boundaries. Outsiders reaffirmed the importance of embracing difference and creating spaces where otherness is not only accepted but celebrated.

The warm October wind—a rare gift from the Arctic—seemed like a blessing, a reminder of the universe’s benevolence. It must have been 10 degrees that late october night. We couldn’t see one another, but we felt each other, bound by the sacredness of the land beneath our feet. This sense of belonging extended beyond the event. Outsiders reminded us all that to be an outsider is to be part of a larger tapestry of stories and identities—a powerful reminder in an increasingly polarized world.

Johanne Aasen, a retired physiotherapist and keen ice bath enthusiast told me these beautiful words to describe her experience at Outsiders: “It was a magical experience that evening; the walk on the trail with more and more light and sound, to a place in nature where you normally experience darkness, moonlight, silence, light from a campfire and small talk – nature was transformed into a colorful place filled with music and lots of sound. The sound was absorbed into nature in a way adjusted and adapted. It was a good place to be in a completely new way, and I want more!”

At its heart, Outsiders was a ritual—a dance with the forces of life and a call to reclaim and celebrate cultural heritage. Hidden in the dark, 200 bodies danced under the fog and moonlight. It was here, in a darkness that might ordinarily inspire fear, I felt a deep sense of arrival. The dark forest became a sanctuary, a place of protection. For me, the experience was transformative. This was home—not a place, but a feeling of connection to the land, to the people around me, and to my own multifaceted identity. In the Arctic forest that night, we were all Insiders —and in that shared identity, we found a profound sense of togetherness.

Vegard krane (Photo: Eleni Kontostathi)