Royal honor to Hilde Bjørkum
Hilde Bjørkum during the opening of Førdefestivalen 2018, her last as director. Photo: Oddleiv Apneseth
The leader of Førdefestivalen For many years, he has received the King's Medal of Merit for his efforts.
The award is a recognition of the work Hilde Bjørkum has done, and the commitment she has shown, for culture in general and folk music in particular, both locally, nationally and internationally. She receives the award primarily for her efforts as artistic and administrative director of Førdefestivalen for many years. Bjørkum has been a driving force behind the establishment and development of this festival, which under her leadership has grown to become the largest of its kind in Scandinavia. European Festival Association honoured in 2019 Førdefestivalen with the EEFE award, as one of the five best festivals in Europe regardless of genre.
Much of what Bjørkum has done must be considered groundbreaking work. With creativity, determination and great ability to implement, she has created new meeting places for performing folk musicians from home and abroad. Not least, Bjørkum has facilitated the dissemination of music to new audience groups and contributed to greater respect and increased interest in this part of culture both in the media and society at large. She has distinguished herself as very knowledgeable and quality-conscious, firmly rooted in the strong folk music tradition, but also strategically skilled in developing the festival in step with the times.
Hilde Bjørkum has also made a great effort in her free time, as an active performer of folk music and dance, as an instructor and with positions of trust in many different organizations. As a performer, she has particularly distinguished herself in dance, where she and her dance partner have gone all the way to the top of the National Beauty Contest three times, and won a King's Cup.
The formal awarding of the medal to Hilde Bjørkum has been put on hold until further notice, due to the special corona situation in society.