Anne Helene Gjelstad (9 May 1956 in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

) is a Norwegian photographer and fashion designer. As a photographer, she mainly works with

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s, fashion and documentary, but also with interiors, products and lifestyle. Gjelstad is educated from

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design () was established in 1818. In 1996, the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts (''Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo'', KHiO), along with the Norwegian National Academy of ...

from 1982. She then had her own fashion

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

for design and production of exclusive models. For 5½ years, she also had her own knitting production in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

for the Norwegian and international market. In 2009, she completed at two-years course in digital photography at ''Bilder Nordic School of Photography''. She has also participated in workshops with

Morten Krogvold Morten Krogvold (born 3 May 1950) is a Norwegian photographer and writer. Krogvold is especially known for his portraits of artists, politicians and other celebrities. He has published numerous books, held numerous exhibitions. Early life and ed ...

Mary Ellen Mark Mary Ellen Mark (March 20, 1940 – May 25, 2015) was an American photographer known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were "away from mainstream society and t ...

, and

Joyce Tenneson Joyce Tenneson (born May 29, 1945) is an American fine art photography, fine art photographer known for her distinctive style of photography, which often involves nude or semi-nude women. Biography Tenneson earned her master's degree in photogra ...

. In 2009, she also worked at Mary Ellen Mark Studio in New York City. In 2020, she worked on a project in

Kihnu Kihnu is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of , it is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga and the seventh largest island of Estonia. With a length of and width of , the island's highest point is above sea level. Kihnu belongs to P ...

, an island in the Baltic Sea considered Europe's last

matriarchy Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of Power (social and political), power and Social privilege, privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. Whil ...

. She met women from the island during a Nordic Knitting Symposium. She later said that out of 35 women she photographed, only 10 are still alive.

Exhibitions

;Collective Exhibitions: * ''Stå ikkje dær å frys'' on

Det norske teatret Det Norske Teatret ()Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabløs. It opened in 19 ...

, Oslo, December 2008 * ''På en tråd'' in

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

, August 2009 * ''Fotografiets dag'' on Preus Photo Museum, August 2009 * ''Zoom Norway'' in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

2010 * ''Oaxaca XV exhibition'' curated by Mary Ellen Mark – Centro Fotografico Alvarez Bravo; Mexico 12 March – 31 May 2011 * ''Intangible Cultural Heritage photo exhibition'',

National Art Museum of China The National Art Museum of China (NAMOC; ) is the national art museum of China and one of the largest art museums in the nation. Located in Beijing and opened since 1963, it is a level-1 public welfare institution funded by the Ministry of Cultur ...

, 17–26 May 2014 * ''The Lonka Project'', Willy-Brandt-Haus,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, 27 Januar 2021 – 11 April 2021 ; Solo Exhibitions: *''SCAPES -Norwegian kids, teens & nature'': Exhibition on tour in Estonia on an invitation from the Norwegian Embassy in Tallinn in 2010 og 2011 **

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

: ''Deco Galerii'', 11–29 May 2010 **

Tõstamaa Tõstamaa is a small borough () in Pärnu municipality, Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. Tõstamaa has a population of 466 (as of 1 January 2020). Tõstamaa St. Mary's Lutheran church was built in 1763–1768. Tõstamaa Manor Tõstamaa Man ...

: Tõstamaa Secondary School (mansion and museum), 8–30 June 2010 **

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. History The name ''Haapsalu'' derives from the Estonian words ' ...

: Haapsalu City Hall, 3–31 August 2010 **

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

: ''Villa Artis Galerii'', 3 September – 7 October 2010 **

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

: Narva Main Library, 17 October – 30 November 2010 **

Elva Elva may refer to: Places *Elva, Estonia, town in Tartu County, Estonia *Elva Parish, municipality in Estonia *Elva (river), a river in Estonia *Elva, Illinois, unincorporated community in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States *Elva, Manitoba, u ...

Tartu County Tartu County ( or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of the territory of E ...

Museum, 11 January – 28 February 2011 **

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa ( , ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within ...

Kärdla Kärdla (; ; ) is the only town on the island of Hiiumaa, Estonia. It is the capital of Hiiu County and the administrative center of Hiiumaa Parish. The Chairman of the District Council of Kärdla is Tõnis Paljasma. Geography Kärdla is located ...

Culture Centre, 4–21 March 2010 * SCAPES – Norwegian kids, teens & nature, at Fotografiens Hus, Oslo, 31 March – 30 April 2011 * MY FOCUS, Fotografiens Hus, Oslo 1–18 December 2011 *''Big heart, strong hands – a portrait of the older women on Kihnu and Manija islands; Estonia'' **

museum, 24 April – 30 September 2011 **Pärnu:: The Museum of Modern Art 5–31 October 2011 **Tallinn: The Estonian Parliament at

Toompea Toompea (from , "Cathedral Hill") is a hill in the central part of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The hill has an area of and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas. Toompea is part of the medieval Tallinn Old Town, a ...

16 November – 15 December 2011 **Rakvere: Rakvere Culture Centre **Tartu:

Estonian National Museum The Estonian National Museum () founded 1909 in Tartu is a museum devoted to folklorist Jakob Hurt's heritage, to Estonian ethnography and folk art. The first items for the museum were originally collected in the latter part of the 19th centur ...

**Narva: Narva Museum **Hiiumaa: Hiiuma Museum * ''Matriarchy'',

Side Gallery Side Gallery is a photography gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, run by Amber Film & Photography Collective. It opened in 1977 as Side Gallery and Cinema with a remit to show humanist photography "both by and commissioned by the group along with wo ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, 29 october – 23 December 2022

Awards

* ''Letter of appreciation'',

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia () is a Cabinet-level governmental agency in Estonia in charge of conducting and designing Estonian Foreign policy. History The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia was established in 1919 soon aft ...

, 26 November 2020, «for the promotion of Estonia’s cultural heritage as well as the exciting and unique life of Kihnu and Manilaid in Norway and the world.» * Gold winner in category Photographers Project in Gullsnitt 2010 for pictures of old ladies in

and

Manilaid Manilaid is a Estonian islet in the Gulf of Riga, located between the island of Kihnu and the mainland's Tõstamaa peninsula. Together with the neighbouring smaller uninhabited islets Sorgu and Annilaid, Manilaid forms the village of Manija. ...

; Estonia * Portrait of the year 2017 * Represented Norway in World Photographic Cup 2018 og 2019 * Gold medal portrait in the annual competitions by the Norwegian Association of Photographers in 2018Portrett 2018
/ref>

Books

* ''Alt om maskinstrikking'' 1994; (in Norwegian) * ''Norsk Strikkedesign: A Collection from Norway's Foremost Knitting Designers'' (co-writer), 2002
Scapes, Norwegian kids, teens & nature
blurb.com
MY FOCUS
via archive.org * ''Lekre masker og lekne sting'', photo,

Gyldendal Norsk Forlag Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, commonly referred to as Gyldendal N.F. and in Norway often only as Gyldendal, is one of the largest Norway, Norwegian publishing houses. It was founded in 1925 after buying rights to publications from the Denmark, Dan ...

, 2013; * ''Vakker strikk til alle årstider'', photo,

, 2014; * ''Big Heart, Strong Hands'', text in English and Norwegian, Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2020; (2nd edition, 2021)

References

External links

Home Page (English)

Garnpakker m/oppskrifter

''Stå ikkje dær å frys'' – images

Menneskelige landskap (in Norwegian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjelstad, Anne Helene Photographers from Oslo Norwegian fashion designers Artists from Oslo 1956 births Living people Norwegian women photographers Norwegian women fashion designers