Relief of ship being lifted by a man.

Possible Monuments?

Program type: Discussion Series
Thematic: Expanded Narratives in Public Art
HomePublic ProgrammesExpanded Narratives in Public ArtPossible Monuments?

A digital seminar where artists and writers have responded to “Franska tomten”, a site in Gothenburg harbour with connections to Sweden’s colonial past in the Caribbean. The seminar addresses the need of remembrance and memorialization in honour of the victims to this history and its contemporary consequences.

Relief of ship being lifted by a man.
Image 1 of 1. Detail from Wilhelm Hennings’s work on a facade at Franska tomten, Packhusplatsen, Gothenburg. Picture: Malin Griffiths.

Artists and writers have been invited to respond to” Franska tomten” (the French lot), a site in Gothenburg harbor with connections to Sweden’s colonial past in the Caribbean. In the form of proposals for monuments, physical or performative, video essays and written text, the artistic responses are presented by their authors, in conversation, in this documented digital seminar and online platform.

Considering recent actions directed at public statues with colonial connotations, as well as the underdiscussed Swedish involvement in colonial trade, the seminar addresses the need for remembrance and memorialization in honor of the victims of colonialism and its contemporary consequences.

Documentation of webinar and artistic responses

Contributors

Aria Dean, Ayesha Hameed, Daniela Ortiz, Fatima Moallim, Hanan Benammar, Jimmy Robert, Morgan Quaintance, Runo Lagomarsino, Ylva Habel, in dialogue with Lisa Rosendahl, curator GIBCA 2021.

Organised in collaboration by Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art (GIBCA) and Public Art Agency Sweden, the seminar is part of the biennial’s ongoing engagement with Franska tomten and alternative historiography.