In 2007, the festival acquired permanent administrative leadership for the first time. Rickard Borgström was employed as director and began working towards the 2008 festival, which he and Taru Elfving would curate under the title Towards a Future Present.

The organisers had great ambitions concerning wider contacts with the outside world, and the duration of the festival was extended to a record-long three months. Several art projects engaged local residents, and a strong commitment was made to an extensive communications network, including a seminar and large youth project called LIAF Junior, which took place under the direction of the artists’ collective Institutt for Farge [Colour Institute].

Along with the now-established Kjølelageret venue, the Lorentzen plant in Svolvær harbour was used as an exhibition space. The festival also branched out from Svolvær, with activities in Kabelvåg and Laukvik. An open call was sent out for submissions of video works, and a programme was put together from the material that arrived. Twenty-four artists took part in the main exhibition. Students from Nordland kunst-og filmfagskole [Nordland Vocational College of Art and Film] organised the project Icebreaker as a kind of side festival. A workshop was arranged with students from art academies in Tromsø and Ramallah, Palestine, the week before the festival opened. In summary, one might say that the desire for collaboration, inclusion and outreach was pronounced in 2008.

Link to the website of LIAF 2008