The Cultural Landscape
Utvald Kulturlandskap
In the mountain village of Leveld, the landscape is characterized by divided inland fields, many stone fences and clearings. Narrow strips of pasture land run from the bottom of the valley up to the homesteads, at an altitude of 700 - 950 meters above sea level. Many farms in this small village produce milk and meat from cattle, sheep and goats based on grass production and grazing on large inland and outfield areas.
The farmsteads, with many old buildings, are located along the village road up the valley side. The varied landscape and various types of farming have resulted in a rich and diverse vegetation. There are rich marshy and old pastures here, and on the dry meadows, which are poor in lime, both mountain plants and more southern species such as spotted pig's ear, downy giant, hairy sedge, tar flower, mountain hill star, mountain timothy and mountain lady's mantle grow. The area has high botanical value and a characteristic mixture of southern species and mountain plants.
For the summer exhibition in 2023, THE SMELL OF PINE CAN MAKE RAIN, artist Randi Nygård was inspired by the fact that Leveld is a Selected Cultural Landscape, a "unique agricultural landscape with great biological and cultural-historical values, created by humans in interaction with nature through generations", as it was stated on the UKL website.
Nygård took as his starting point facts about various interactions in the cultural landscape, including that the smell of pine creates clouds, that cultivated flowers often need a foot in the ground to get enough light to germinate, that sheep and squirrels talk to us, that living microorganisms can hold clouds together, that bogs breathe water, that birds chirp so softly that we cannot hear them, and that plants sense the world around them as a whole.
She worked with root mounds that embrace us, with flowers that comfort our eyes, with local rose painting and with the fact that in older times, when we saw the world around us as much more spiritual and alive, elf and elf were the same word. Nygård was surprised that the smell we humans most easily recognize is the smell of wet earth, and that when we measure how many millimeters the earth's surface rises, we do so with a signal from another galaxy, probably from a black hole.
In addition to installations, drawings and collages, the exhibition contains two scents. One is inspired by the fact that pine can create rain and the other was created especially for Leveld. In it, the cultural landscape is expressed in the form of smells of earth, hay, grass, flowers, sheep and pine. The scents were developed in collaboration with artist Simon Daniel Tegnander Wenzel. The scent of pine can create rain contains the exact molecule that pine trees release into the air and which can form clouds. In addition, there is the smell of wet earth and rain.
The exhibition was a collaboration with Utvalde kulturlandskap and along the path to the barn there was a sign and sticks with texts the artist has created based on new scientific facts about perception and interaction in the cultural landscape.
The project was also supported by the Arts Council of Norway.
Hikes
We encourage our guests to draw inspiration from the surrounding area and the mountains. Ål and Leveld have a varied and beautiful hiking terrain for both short and long hikes, in all seasons. In winter, there are over 100 km of prepared cross-country ski trails in Ål.
Hikes starting at Kunstnartunet:
Leveldrunden
From Kunstnartunet, walk 500 m north towards the road sign to Hemsedal. Follow this uphill until you reach Øvrevegen in Leveld. There you walk along new and old farmyards through the entire village, with views down to the Kunstnartunet. Along the road, several Bjørneboe quotes hang on barn walls, garage walls and on old houses. The route is nice for both walking and cycling.
Eivind Fredlaus
Follow the path next to the outhouse down to the river and over the bridge. Here there is a sign for Eivind Fredlaus' stone cave. Parts of the path are on the illuminated trail, which is great for both summer and winter.
Haugsnatten
Walk from Kunstnartunet south about 2 km to Leveld Church. Take the forest road across the river. There are several forest roads that are nice hiking trails. The hiking trail to Haugsnatten is signposted. Here there is a nice view over Leveld and into the mountains towards Reineskarvet, Brea and Blåbergo.
Mountain hikes:
Both summer and winter there is good hiking terrain in the high mountains near Leveld. The Stølsvegane are nice cycle paths and in winter there is a large network of groomed ski trails. To get up to the mountain you can either follow the road towards Hemsedal (see previous page) or take bus 336 to Bergsjø and start the trip there.
Fishing:
It is possible to fish in the river behind Leveld Kunstnartun and in other rivers and lakes with a fishing license. Information can be found here: https://www.visital.no/gjore-i-al/fiske/
Fishing permits can be purchased at several places in Ål, including at the Tourist Information Office and in sports shops. In some areas, fishing permits are sold from boxes in the terrain or on the way into the area.
For the Bergsjø area, there is a joint fishing permit that covers around 20 lakes and ponds.
Det er ellers mykje å finne om turar og aktivitetar i framlagde brosjyrar på Turistkontoret i Ål.
Hiking equipment:
Through BUA Ål you can borrow free hiking equipment such as skis, slalom equipment, tents and backpacks during your stay in Leveld.