Doctoral Defence (Artistic Research) at NTNU's Department of Art & Media Studies

On Friday, 6 March 2026, after four years of collecting, writing, and doubling, I defended my PhD at NTNU's Department of Art and Media Studies – the first defence in Artistic Research in the department's history. The trial lecture topic was: Performative strategies in the hybrid script: Analyzing Make Her See in light of Stella Bruzzi's theory of performative documentary. 

PhD project exposition in the Research Catalogue: Hybrid Narratives: Approaching Maternal Experience through Collecting, Writing, and Doubling

Evaluation Committee:
Opponents: Dr. Cecilie Levy, University of Amsterdam; Professor Lasse Gallefoss, University of Inland Norway
Administrator: Associate Professor Anna Ulrikke Andersen, NTNU

Supervisors:
Professor Nina F. Grünfeld, University of Inland Norway (main supervisor)
Professor Birgitta Hosea, University for the Creative Arts (co-supervisor)

Women’s Health in Motion – Art, Research, and Experience

Arranged by Dance in Trøndelag with Nina Wollny and Revisiting Nina's Solo, in collaboration with Nord University, Steinkjær Cultural Centre, and the Norwegian Women’s Public Health Association.

Program: Screening of Hauser’s short film Losing Nobody, a performance of Wollny’s piece Nina’s Solo, followed by research and author talks, and concluding with a panel discussion.
Event announcement by Dans i Trøndelag.
Event report by Nasjonalt Kompetansesenter - Kultur, helse og omsorg, Sandra Dahlen.

Panelists:
Nina Wollny - Dancer
Denise Hauser - Filmmaker
Liv Bjørnhaug Johansen - Nurse and Author
Kari Ingstad - Professor of Sociology, Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University

27/08/2025

How to include artist parents? - Manifesto Handover and Panel Discussion

A presentation and handover by Kunstnernes Mammakollektiv of the manifesto How to Include Artist-Parents, developed collectively to highlight challenges and contribute to more sustainable structures for artists with caregiving responsibilities. A panel discussion with guests and an open conversation with the audience followed the handover.
Host: Trondheim Kunstmuseum

Panel participants:
Tonje Wik Olaussen, Curating Producer, Rosendal Teater
Katja Lindeberg, Performing Artist
Denise Hauser, PhD Fellow in Artistic Research, NTNU
Nina Wollny, Dancer
Lena Katrine Sokki, Visual Artist
Kristin Tårnes, Visual Artist
Siri Gjære, Musician
Martin Palmer, Senior Advisor, Arts Council Norway 

02/06/2025

Public Presentation of the PhD Artistic Doctoral Result - Cinemateket Trondheim

Project Title: Hybrid Narratives - Approaching Maternal Experience through Collecting, Writing, and Doubling in the Development of Mixed Media Film

The artistic outcome of the PhD research comprises a series of audiovisual and written experiments, each accompanied by reflections on process. The final presentation was delivered across two 45-minute sessions, combining a live performance and reading with screenings of documentary edits, an animatic, a screen test, and video loops. Together, these elements offered insight into the hybrid and exploratory methods at the core of the project. The event was made possible through NTNU’s Artistic Research Programme.

Supervisors: Nina Grünfeld (INN), Birgitta Hosea (UCA), Asbjørn Tiller (NTNU)
PhD Committee: Anna Ulrikke Andersen (NTNU), Lasse Gallefoss (INN), Cecilie Levy (PhD)