Supported by a dedicated and passionate team since 2002, Insomnia remains a festival fueled by love that has forged friendships worldwide. The festival is community run and strives to reflect the ambition and dedication of our local experimental music scene.
Insomnia Festival is located in Tromsø, in northern Norway. Its location far above the arctic circle, in the outskirts of Scandinavia, provides a brilliant vantage point for artistic curiosity. While Tromsø only houses some 80.000 inhabitants, you’d have to drive more than 9 hours to get to a bigger city. As such, much of the north’s culture converges here– a micro metropolis of sorts.
The festival welcome challenges, and curiosity is in its DNA – Insomnia itself is an experiment, established because the North needed a meeting point for electronic music and contemporary sounds. It is a place to gather, dance and experiment, all the while helping the electronic music scene of the North thrive. Through commissioned works and a curious approach to interdisciplinarity the festival encourages artists and guests to challenge borders and genre definitions. Insomnia aims to continually push the limits of electronic music culture by providing a platform for both emerging talents and established artists to explore and experiment. With a multitude of collaborations running throughout the year, the Insomnia team also aims to expand the horizons of the electronic music community beyond the primary festival. Insomnia is a non-profit event, and its main goal is to create an artistic melting pot and platform for innovative artists above the Arctic Circle.
The festival also combines new music with new technology and design through public seminars during the festival. To stimulate its scene and the local community, its insights programme invites leading researchers and workshop hosts every year. The festival takes shape through live concerts, DJ/club events, seminars, children’s club events, workshops, exhibitions, performances, installations and debates. Insomnia has something for everyone who’s looking for new horizons.