Exhibition, performance and talk in collaboration with Grafikens Hus

The Public Art Agency Sweden’s collection of graphics and Grafikens Hus’ graphic works created for the Penninglotteri in the 1990s are examined as the artist Afrang Nordlöf Malekian tackles questions about class, democracy and dreams. In a collaboration between the Public Art Agency Sweden and Grafikens Hus’ three-year project Collecting Thoughts, the artist explores the history of graphics as artistic expression, as well as a means to portray social changes – in an exhibition, performance and as a participant in a talk opening on September 5th.

Long-term collaboration between the Public Art Agency Sweden and Grafikens Hus

Grafikens Hus and the Public Art Agency Sweden have initiated a long-term collaboration within the framework of the project Collecting Thoughts. The collaboration’s point of departure is the Art Agency’s graphic collection. Grafikens Hus lost its entire graphics collection in a fire in 2014. Since then, the museum has been working on building a new art collection. The process has raised questions about what kind of art is selected for a collection and what stories these works tell. Which stories are heard and which are excluded? In the Public Art Agency’s collection there are many duplicates of graphic works of art which are now transferred to Grafikens Hus. In this way, the artworks can be viewed by more people through exhibitions, mediation and research projects.

Exhibition & performance

In the exhibition Suddenly it happens! the artist Afrang Nordlöf Malekian begins in the history of the lottery and puts a selection from the Public Art Agency’s graphic collection in dialogue with a unique set of new lottery tickets. The idea is based on Grafikens Hus’ collaboration with the Penninglotteri during the years 1995–1998 when 75 graphic works of art were produced and then reproduced in miniature on each lottery ticket. The lottery as a phenomenon, with the task of bringing dreams and fantasies to life, becomes the starting point of a performance on September 17th. The artist Afrang Nordlöf Malekian connects graphics, the history of the lottery and the capitalization on people’s dreams in the exhibition Suddenly it happens!. Just as a win or loss in a lottery can affect people’s lives, the artist allows the audience to decide the fate of the Public Art Agency’s graphic artwork through his performance. The work is part of Afrang Nordlöf Malekian’s ongoing residency at Grafikens Hus.

Talk – the role of graphics today

What is the state of graphics today? An art form that is rejected by some and loved by others for its collective and democratic aspects. Artists and experts from different generations meet to discuss the issue at the Public Art Agency on the opening evening on September 5th. The talk is moderated by Macarena Dusant, Process Manager and Curator for Collecting Thoughts at Grafikens Hus and Annika Enqvist, Curator and Program Manager, at the Public Art Agency Sweden.