This is the second Norwegian Nests in The Conference of the Birds, presenting the conflict that has arisen in Tromsø between kittiwakes and people.
The black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is the most numerous of the gulls in Norway. However, the kittiwake population in Norway has declined by as much as 60-80 percent in the recent decades. Of the seven seagull species in Norway, five are in danger of extinction. For the kittiwakes climate change has led to more difficult access to food in terms of harsh weather on the bird cliffs, the kittiwake’s natural habitat in the ocean. The threats from predators (mainly hungry white-tailed eagles, great black-backed gulls, and corvids) have also caused the kittiwakes to not succeed well in breeding. In Norway and other countries, large numbers of kittiwakes have therefore fled their natural habitats, seeking refuge among people in cities. In the city of Tromsø, the population has increased from 14 pairs of kittiwakes in 2017 to 400 in 2022.
Tromsø Municipality’s vision and slogan “Together for a warm and vibrant Tromsø” focuses on the integration and inclusion of all the city’s residents. But the municipality does not take the same responsibility when endangered birds seek refuge. Instead, the municipality covers buildings with netting so that the kittiwakes can no longer make their nests on window sills of the urban buildings. Measures that prevent the kittiwakes from nesting can be seen as an active way of contributing to their eradication. Human considerations come first, while the homeless birds on the run must constantly find new places to nest.
The public debate has been one-sided and the media has largely sympathised with the angry residents who want to remove the red-listed kittiwakes from the city. Racism is a term seldom used about birds and animals, but the discussions in the media have been both merciless and one-sided. At the same time, there are many who have sympathy for the homeless kittiwakes and the attitudes are gradually changing.
Several artists are now involved in a unique project in collaboration with the Tromsø Centre for Contemporary Art and the architect Kjeld Nash and the artist/designer Lawrence Malstaf, hired by the municipality of Tromsø. Together with researcher Tone Reiertsen and others, they have been researching what kind of urban living conditions may be suitable for the kittiwakes. Now they have created the first mobile kittiwake hotels, a mix between a refugee camp and a sculpture park for kittiwakes that have been placed in the park outside the Tromsø Art Association. The project has so far been a success and a steady number of kittiwakes are finding new and secure homes on artificial cliffs outside the art gallery.
The Conference of the Birds has followed this transdisciplinary process with great interest, where artists, architects and the municipality has worked together to find creative and good solutions to the urban kittiwake refugees. We were particularly excited about how this process has taken shape and how the conflict has changed during the project, both in the way that the media is now more inclined to see the wider perspectives (including the bird perspective) which has led to a change in the public perception. This is yet another example of how art can move the mind and awaken knowledge, joy, empathy and awareness of our birds in an engaging and thought-provoking way. Rooted in research, this can expand perspectives and elevate conflicts into new and more empathetic spaces of opportunity.
In August 2023 The Conference of the Birds initiated the symposium Can Birds and Humans be Friends? during the exhibition I Love Seagulls! at the Tromsø Centre for Contemporary Art. Our intention was to provide an insight into the interdisciplinary work with the kittiwakes in Tromsø, and bring the conflict into a larger bird perspective conveyed through the artists and researchers involved. We wanted to focus on the more-than-human context and elevate the dialogue from the conflict-filled and problem-based to more philosophical, aesthetic and practical aspects. We invited artists, architects and researchers to present their work with the kittiwakes and to engage in dialogue with the public.
Here is the jamsession between David Rothenberg and the kittiwakes, Kitty wee wee.
You can read more about the symposium and see the different talks in the posts below.
Can people and birds become friends?
How can artists and more-than-human perspectives be included in future social planning?
An endangered bird seeks refuge in the city
It’s all about coexistence
Fuglan Veit – how can research, art, traditional knowledge and dialog be united?
What kind of consideration and dialog do you have to have as an architect and designer when the customer is a bird and the client is a municipality?
How a book saved the whooper swans in Finland from extinction
