Welcome to an afternoon and evening of art and conversation in Kristinehamn and Björneborg, located in the province of Värmland in West-Central Sweden. Experience and talk about art at Kristinehamn’s Art Museum, the streets, and squares of the town, and at the Björneborg People’s House and Park. Join us to encounter with art – how it affects us, places and contexts, and dig into some interesting ideas of the role art plays in society and in democratic movements!
The afternoon kicks off with a meeting with artist Ulrika Sparre and her work, in the exhibition Allt är bra (All Is Well) as well as on the streets of Kristinehamn. The evening continues at the Björneborg People’s Park with a new, temporary artistic intervention enabling us to explore and discover the site. The intervention revives and updates the People’s Park tradition of a Fire Festival marking the end of the season. The programme is both a conclusion of Ulrika Sparre’s solo exhibition at Kristinehamn Art Museum and the beginning of a public art project in the People’s Park, to be developed in 2021–2022. Artist and art educator Alessandra Di Pisa will hold a lecture entitled Den fria konsten – en förutsättning för ett demokratiskt samhälle (Artistic Freedom: A Prerequisite for a Democratic Society).
Participants
- Ulrika Sparre, artist
- Alessandra Di Pisa, lecturer
- Anders Larsson, Director, Björneborg People’s House and Park
- Maria Lobell, Director of the Culture Administration, Kristinehamn Municipality
- Mikael Sandberg, Director of Culture, the National Organisation of People’s Houses and Parks
- Annika Enqvist, Curator and Head of Public Programmes, Public Art Agency Sweden
- Joanna Zawieja, Curator and Head of Art in Urban Development, Public Art Agency Sweden
Registration via e-mail: boka@bjorneborg.com RSVP by 5th of September
Location: Kristinehamn Art Museum, public places in Kristinehamn and at Björneborg People’s House and Park.
How to get there: Pre-booked bus or in your own car
Measures to combat the transmission of Covid-19: We will comply with the restrictions and recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Sweden and provide plenty of space to maintain social distancing during the journey. A great part of the programme will take place outdoors.
Cooperation: The joint public programme on 11 September is a collaboration between Kristinehamn Culture Administration, Kristinehamn Art Museum, Björneborg People’s House and Park, the National Association of People’s Houses and Parks, Public Art Agency Sweden and artist Ulrika Sparre.
* “I Wait Under the Stars” takes its title from a work by Ulrika Sparre. The work was displayed at Picassoudden in Kristinehamn Municipality in the summer of 2021, as part of the exhibition Allt är bra (All Is Well) at Kristinehamn Art Museum. The presentation of the public artwork “I Wait Under the Stars” will be extended, as it will be temporarily relocated to Björneborg People’s Park, in early September, to mark the beginning of a long-scope art project on site in the park, to be inaugurated in May 2022.
What’s Going On? – Background on the Public Art in Björneborg People’s Park
The National Association of People’s Houses and Parks and Public Art Agency Sweden initiated a collaboration in 2020 to develop and produce one or more public artworks in one or more of the country’s People’s Parks, in cooperation with the People’s Houses and Parks’ membership associations. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing, the interest in and need for our public parks have intensified. The historical, contemporary, and future role of the People’s Parks as citizen-driven meeting places and stages for local communities has increased in importance, while park activities have been hard hit by the restrictions caused by the pandemic.
In autumn 2020, several People’s Parks were invited to collaborate. Three parks were selected. Local project groups were formed and held meetings with the People’s Houses and Parks organisation and Public Art Agency Sweden to map out themes and artists of relevance for the commissions.
In consultation with the local project group of Björneborg People’s Park, Ulrika Sparre, an artist with a local connection, was invited to participate in an initial research trip and an on-site meeting, in spring 2021. The artist and the local project group decided to pursue a collaboration on the creation of a public artwork for Björneborg People’s Park, which will be completed and inaugurated in May 2022.
Kristinehamn Art Museum is a Swedish municipal art museum. Kristinehamn Art Museum is located in the district of Marieberg, northwest of the city centre of Kristinehamn at Lake Vänern. The museum is focused on modern and contemporary art.
Björneborg People’s House and Park. Since 1911, the association has been a hub in the small town of Björneborg, a natural meeting place and a provider of culture for all ages. From the association’s stages, the country’s greatest performers and entertainers have spread joy, music, and glamour. Björneborg People’s House and Park hope to be able to continue this tradition for at least another hundred years.
People’s Houses and Parks: The National Association Folkets Hus och Parker is a politically and religiously impartial social movement with some 500 membership associations. Together they constitute a wide spectrum of meeting places and activities throughout the country. It is a social movement that works to provide space for everyone, by creating encounters that promote democracy, social development, cultural experience and entertainment, education, and creative artistic activity. The association was formed in the year 2000 as a result of a merger between Folkparkernas Centralorganisation (formed in 1905) and Folkets Husföreningarnas Riksorganisation (formed in 1932). The head quarter office is located in Stockholm, Sweden where they work with, among other things, member service, opinion formation and popular movement development. The national association is divided into seven regional districts and owns 140 cinemas across the country through its member organisations.
Public Art Agency Sweden develops contexts in which contemporary art and public space converge. Public Art Agency Sweden produces permanent and temporary art projects in public environments and engages artists in urban development projects, as well as disseminating knowledge and experiences in Sweden and abroad.