In Sigerfjord village, just outside Sortland in Northern Norway, is Lihallen Kulturgård, an Arctic Art Gallery.

Lihallen, Sortland, Vesterålen

The house was once a retreat for tuberculosis patients – a place to relax, breathe fresh Arctic air and enjoy the peace and quiet of the mountains and the fjord. Today, Lihallen is the art gallery, studio and home of painter Tove Hov Jacobsen and her husband, Hans Jørgen. The house is their love project – and it shows.

Tove and Hans Jørgen organise concerts and literary evenings in their home, and sometimes hire it out for smaller meetings and parties.

Lihallen kulturgård, Sigerfjord, Arctic Norway

I’m here for a board meeting and it’s one of the prettiest locations I’ve had the pleasure to meet in.

In the elegantly restored living room, we debate the future of international adoptions. Odd how the surroundings can influence the discussion. It would be difficult not to be positive, creative and productive in this environment.

Beautiful – indoors and outdoors.

An Arctic Art Gallery

In between debates, we browse Tove’s gallery. I love her use of colours – vibrant, yet soft.

I’d like to return for a relaxing stay in warmer weather. No meetings, just me, a notebook (OK, maybe my MacBook, too) and a few books. And if I should forget those, no worries: the gazebo has a small library. Just picture the scene below in green rather than white – or have another look at the top photo…

Lihallen practicals

  • Sortland is the major city of the Vesterålen Archipelago in Northern Norway. It’s a 2-hour drive from Harstad/Narvik airport (EVE) or about 20 minutes from the small Skagen airport. Better yet, Hurtigruten, the Coastal Express, anchors in Sortland daily, both north- and southbound.
  • More info on Lihallen is here. The website is in Norwegian only, but you can at least enjoy photos and get contact details.
  • I can’t draw a straight line for the life of me, but if you’re artistic (or want to be), Tove organises weekend painting courses in Sortland.

Where have you had your best meetings?