Freedom of the Seas, 2025

Protagonists in the film: Svein Harald Holmen, Fisherman in Vardø, Professor Emeritus Carsten Smit, UIO, Professor Emerita in Law Kirsti Strøm Bull, UIO, Anonymous fishbroker, Minister of Fisheries Cecilie Myrseth (former),  Maja Sojtaric, political editor at Nordlys. (The largest Northern Norwegian Newspaper), Political commentator Lars Nehru Sand at NRK.  (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation).

The exhibition Freedom of the Seas is rooted in the doctrine of ‘Mare Liberum’

—Latin for ‘free sea’—from the 17th century. It declared that the seas were free for all and should not belong to anyone. This perspective prevailed until the mid-1950s, when maritime 

nations began asserting territorial claims over ocean resources.

How do power structures, globalization, and capitalism challenge the universal right to the sea?

In what ways do fisheries policies and political power dynamics impact local communities along the Norwegian coast?

The centerpiece of the exhibition is the film Freedom of the Seas. By following legal and political processes, it sheds light on why the protagonist, Svein Harald Holmen, struggles to make a living from fishing—even though the waters outside his hometown of Vardø are abundant with fish.