Beslutens

Beslutens is a contemporary art collective focused on decision-making, uncertainty, and collective action. The group originated in Oslo, Norway in 2015, formed by visual artists Lena Håkonsen, Morten Kildahl, and Sara Thorsen. The name derives from the Nordic term for “the decisions” and signals an interest in how choices shape social situations.

History and structure

Beslutens operates with a rotating membership and a project-based workflow. Members collaborate on installations, performances, and participatory works that invite audiences to engage with processes of judgment, negotiation, and governance. Projects are often organized around site-specific inquiries and long-term inquiries into how groups arrive at shared conclusions.

Practice and methods

The collective employs a mix of sculpture, sound, video, and interactive technologies to render decision-making visible. Works frequently involve audience participation, collective decision tasks, and real-time feedback mechanisms. Ethical considerations, transparency, and the politics of consensus are recurring themes, with an emphasis on ambiguity rather than definitive answers.

Notable works

Crossroads (2017) presented a walk-through environment where visitors confronted sequential choices shaped by others’ prior decisions. The Tally (2019) used a wall of counters that altered in response to group input, highlighting cumulative effects of small decisions. Thresholds (2022) invited participants to move through a space whose physical layout changed based on collaborative scoring of different options.

Exhibitions and reception

Beslutens has been shown in multiple contemporary art venues across Europe. Critics describe the work as conceptually rigorous and socially engaged, offering a calm but incisive examination of how communities decide together.

See also

Decision theory, Participatory art, Social practice art.