Emnet Gaim Kebreab is new chair of the board at Black Box teater

Emnet Gaim Kebreab is new chair of the board at Black Box teater 2024–2026

Emnet Gaim Kebreab is a long-time producer and artistic advisor at Riksteatret. Since 2019, she served as the chair of the board of Teater Manu. In recent years, Kebreab has led efforts to further develop the theater educational program Det multinorske at Det Norske Teatret into a professional study for directors and set designers with multicultural backgrounds. From 2024, Kebreab is also head of the Academic Committee for transversal arrangements in the Cultural Council. Emnet Gaim Kebreab has significant and multifaceted experience from the Norwegian performing arts field, along with solid experience in government relations, funding and organizational development in the cultural sector.

"Black Box teater is a central venue for the independent professional performing arts field in Norway. It is with pride that I take on the role of chair of the board. Black Box teater plays a crucial role as a venue locally in Oslo, but we will also stimulate the theater to grow as an important co-producer for the national and international performing arts field. This emphasizes the theater's national responsibility, where we facilitate artists in reaching a broaderaudience, which will strengthen the visibility and presence of the independentperforming arts field nationally and internationally" –Emnet Gaim Kebreab

New board members for the period 2024–2026:

• Anette Trettebergstuen is the former Minister of Culture in Jonas Gahr Støre's government from 2021 to 2023. She has been a member of the Norwegian Parlament (Stortinget) since 2005 and has been part of the Labor Party's central committee since 2005. Trettebergstuen has extensive experience from cultural policy work and government relations, as well as broad board expertise.
  
• Espen Røyseland has served as a deputy member of the board for Black Box Theatre for the past two years. He is a co-founder and managing director of the architecture firm Transborder Studio. Røyseland has extensive experience in architecture and urban development and has worked on several development projects for the cultural sector.
  
  New deputy member for the period 2024–2026:
  
• Dancer and choreographer Sigurd Johan Heide is the artistic leader of the dance company Kartellet and has served on the boards of the Norwegian Folk Music and Dance Associatio and FolkOrg, as well as in the Dance Advisory Committee at the Arts Council. He holds a master’s degree in choreography from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and has studied, taught, and worked at the RFF Centre and NTNU Dance Studies in Trondheim.

The current board consists of the following members:

Chair

• Gaim Kebreab – Producer and Artistic Advisor (Chair from 2024)
  

Board Members

• Morten Pettersen – Sound Master, Black Box Teater. Employee representative (on the board since 2021)
• Espen Røyseland – Architect, M.Arch. MNAL (on the board since 2022)
• Anette Trettebergstuen – Politician (on the board from 2024)
• Mah-Rukh Ali – Senior Advisor and Author (on the board since 2021)
• Nikhil Vettukattil – Office for Contemporary Art Norway (on the board since 2023)
  

Deputy Members

• Sigurd Johan Heide – Dancer and Choreographer (on the board from 2024)
  

On behalf of everyone at Black Box teater, we would like to express our gratitude to outgoing Chair Suzanne Bjørneboe for the excellent collaboration over many years! Bjørneboe has served on the board since 2008 and has been chair since 2016. She has thus helped steer the theater alongside three different artistic leaders: Jon Refsdal Moe (2009–2016), Anne-Cécile Sibué-Birkeland (2016–2022), and Jørgen Knudsen (2022–present). Suzanne has been a dedicated and steady chair during very exciting and challenging times for the theater.

Thank you for your time and commitment to the theater throughout these years. We hope to continue seeing you just as often at the house moving forward. We wish you all the best in the future!

We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to board members Knut Even Lindsjørn, Jette Christensen, and Karmenlara Ely Seidman, who are now stepping down and have all made valuable contributions to our work.

The Nomination Committee consists of Sudesh Adhana, Ingrid Moe, and Maria Utsi.