Salt is a cultural project that brings people together in the Norwegian Arctic Circle

On a remote island beach in the Norwegian Arctic Circle lies Salt, a unique cultural project which encompasses art installations, a performance auditorium, and the largest sauna in the world.  Located on the island of Sandhornøya, Salt aims to bring people together with a sparsely populated, yet beautiful area.

“There’s not much interest in this area because there are so few people here,” explains co-founder Helga-Marie Nordby. “With myself and my partner’s previous experience with festivals we wanted to create a place to meet and experience nature, with a focus on the history, presence and future of the Arctic. It’s about being outdoors, and most of all it’s just a place to walk around and experience the landscape”

Salt, which opened to the public last year, brings to the landscape a series of site-specific art installations such as a black and white film from artist Yang Fudong, and a newly opened sauna – the largest in the world – which features a full length glass front looking over the sea, live concerts, readings and an ambient soundtrack by artist Biosphere.  As a traditional ritual the founders felt it would be a necessary part of the project, and based the design on traditional Norwegian fish racks. “The first place we worked on the idea of Salt was in a sauna. It’s a special experience, being there, sweating, sitting without shirts together. It’s an intimate place and we like to experiment with that.”

The project ties in with our Travel Report findings, where we saw how people are seeking more unique experiences over package holidays, with transparent sleeping capsules above the Sacred Valley and services such as Whimsy helping those seeking more adventurous travel.

Photography by Martin Losvik and Gunnar Holmstad