«Nork Magazine». Cover design by «Bobo in Paradise»

The fourth issue of the arts and culture themed «Nork Magazine» has been released. It invites readers to take an artistic, poetic, futuristic and emotional trip in the very relevant topic of the environment. The publisher and creative director of the magazine is Agnese Zīle, while the visual identity and visual concept were created by the brand agency «Bobo in Paradise».

Stories Editorial October 1, 2019

The «Nork Magazine» is a contemporary lifestyle, arts and culture medium in Northern Norway. It attracts an international audience to the issues and artistic scene of the region. The magazine is a joint project of the publisher and creative director Agnese Zīle and the editor Marion Bovier. Agnese came up with the idea for the magazine after she started living in Tromsø above the Arctic Circle. Agnese realized there is no platform for young artists to showcase their work. Tromsø is a popular tourist destination, therefore most of the local culture magazines target tourists. The «Nork Magazine» compiles stories for both modern travellers and locals, it invites the reader to see the North as a modern and developed part of the world. The magazine tells contemporary and bold narratives from the urban environment, it provides the artists of the region with a visual and textual platform.

The first issue of «Nork Magazine» — «Hometruth» — was published in May 2017, two more issues — «Transformation» and «Troublemaker» — have been released after that. The magazine was available free of charge in various public places. It introduced people to the region from an arts and culture perspective, refusing to follow the common cliché focusing only on the Northern Lights, reindeers and fishery. The fourth issue of «Nork Magazine» is higher in quality and includes works from Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Latvian and other Nordic artists. The brand agency «Bobo in Paradise» created the new visual identity for the magazine, it has both reserved and bright details, while maintaining the Nordic temperance. Life above the Arctic Circle is also explored in the planner for 2019 designed by the creative director of  «Nork Magazine» Agnese Zīle.

The latest issue of «Nork Magazine» has 16 stories in its 168 pages, among which are Linda Curika’s «Her Eyes Shine in Amber», Iveta Gabaliņa’s «My Hand is Warmer Than the Sun» and Liāna Mihailova’s illustrations. The stories, articles and visual series featured in the magazine address the relationship between humans and nature and ask a crucial question — what will the future be if we continue going down the same path? The concept of the magazine is based on the mix of natural and man–made elements, that is sometimes dispersed and abstract, sometimes brutal and flashy. One of the stories combines floral collages and price tags, boxes and plastic objects, thus highlighting the consumeristic nature of society and the boundaries between the «natural» and «artificial» now that microplastic is everywhere, including our bodies.

The magazine is available at the concept store «Zīle», Avotu iela 25 in Riga and on the magazine’s website.