.......​coming soon! WITH STAGEDOOR IN THE BUILDING: Dance – Art – Culture – Café.

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Rjukan Varelager - was once the largest department store in Norway, the hustling and bustling hub of delivery of sardines, coffee, potatoes, flour, tobacco, and everything else that was needed to build a town in the midst of Norwegian wilderness some 100 years ago.

​​Due to the very special Covid situation (we got the key to the premises 1st of March 2020...) we had some time in the very beginning to give the dignified historical interior a hand-made make-over, all in the Martin Andersen signature ``bricolage`` style. 

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In June 2021 RSA opened the BEST FØR CREPERIE as a local social arena in Rjukan with more events and activities.

At the same time, we opened our art centre, and hub of various activities...and  ​ FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS now, ... RSA has dedicated substantial time, resources, and energy to transforming the historic Rjukan Varelager into a vibrant cultural venue. We are now delighted that the association Stagedoor—well known in the local community  as the long-standing organizer of Elvelangs (annual light festival) —is taking over the task of bringing life and activity into what will become a Creative VÆRE-lager (“warehouse - of- being”).​

The vision going forward is to establish an inclusive, low-threshold social arena at Rjukan Varelager—a natural gathering place foreveryone in the local community who seeks a creative meeting point.​

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Stagedoor is led by Mette-Lill Alvefoss, with a professional background in dance, and Hilde Widvey, educated in textile-art at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. The future operation of the Culture Café at Rjukan Varelager will thus be rooted in two strong creative environments, providing a solid foundation for the international artist residency program that will be woven into the local community.

Both Alvefoss and Widvey also work at the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum, linking the activities at the Værelager with the rediscovery of local cultural heritage—recognized by UNESCO since 2015.