“All festivals should study how Only Connect creates its program. Audiences are taken on a total experience and emerge with new perspectives on space, sound, and life.”
– Torkjell Hovland, Ballade, May 6, 2022

“The 2026 edition of Only Connect was the final act of Artistic Dirctor Bjørnar Habbestad (…) reflecting the expansive vision Habbestad had brought to the festival since 2017 – a wide open programme recognising the porousness of contemporary practice whithout discarding older ways of hearing.”
-Peter Margasak, the Wire, July 2026

Bjørnar Habbestad’s curatorial practice spans experimental music, sound art, and interdisciplinary formats. His artistic collaborations are marked by a deep commitment to sonic exploration, striving to support artistic ideas with production excellence in order to create experiences and spaces for radical listening. Between 2017 and 2026 he expanded the reach of Only Connect from a two-day event in Oslo to a three autonomus but collaborating festivals in Oslo, Trondheim and Stavanger.

 

Selected projects

– Pat Thomas – Artist-in-Residence (2025): Commissioned Madad for Kitchen Orchestra, duo concert with Mark Knoop, and lecture-performance Between the Notes.

– Unboxing Music / Writing in Circles (2025): Installations and performances with Alwynne Pritchard, Cathy van Eck, Sarah Saviet, Jack Sheen, and others.

– KORK+ (2024): Orchestral program spanning acoustic noise, meditative textures, and stylistic collage. Featuring Mofakham, Miller, Rezaei, Ilan Volkov, and ABYSS.

– Particular.Universal (2024): Sound art exhibition co-curated with Monica Holmen. Works by Signe Lidén, Erik Dæhlin, Jiska Huizing, and more.

– Orchestra of Futurist Noise Intoners (2022–23): Commissioned works for Russolo’s Intonarumori, with tours in Norway and Poland.

– UngKurator / Handbook of Wellbeing (2022–25): Platform for emerging curators and composers, mentoring Maia Viken, Luis F. Amaya, Laura Kumwenda.

– Gebrokken – We Listen Together (2022): Sound walk for Only Connect Oslo, exploring urban identity through voice and electroacoustic music.

– KinoKammer (2021): 10-channel audiovisual premieres by Lasse Marhaug and Vicky Bennett, co-produced with Black Box Teater and Recombinant Media Labs.

– Ekeberg kaller! (2020): Outdoor concert in Ekebergparken with music by George Lewis, Ruth Anderson, and Wolfgang Plagge. Featuring Mads Kjeldgaard, David Morton, and Oslo Brassband.

– TEIP (2018): Mini-festival on tape-based experimental music. More info

– Listening to Gerard Grisey (2018): Norwegian premiere of Megalithes and a new commentary piece by Anders Tveit. Performed by NyNorsk Messingkvintett and Brasskompaniet, conducted by Haldis Rønning. More info