NKF 75 YEARS: AN ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMME
Welcome to join an online panel discussion about NKF's role in the future and the artist in residency programme in the post-pandemic area, with Abir Boukhari, Taru Elfving, Jonatan Habib Engqvist, My Lindh and Björn Norberg
To celebrate the first 75 years of the Swedish section of the association NKF published an anniversary book that from different artists', writers' and curators' perspectives discusses the association's history and what international collaborations mean. Looking back on the past 75 years, it becomes obvious that the Swedish section has survived by being adaptive to the times and changed its ways of working several times in its history. This opens up toward a discussion about what NKF can be in the future.
A couple of years ago the NKF board started to discuss the form and the concept of artist in residency programs. The ecological crises urged us to find new ways of working and collaborating. The pandemic made us understand that it is time to reboot the system and My Lindh and Alvaro Campo will in 2021 start up a new project called Rethinking Artist In Residence. How will the crises connected to the climate change and the Covid-pandemic affect the art scene and how can we find new ways of international exchange without or with alternative modes of traveling? Another important topic is global equality. If we find new ways of exchange, are there ways of including artists that for political and economic reasons have been excluded until now?
The participants of the panel have diverse relationships to the Swedish section of NKF, the NKF residency program and the 75 year anniversary book. The panel discussion is a live online event. It will also be archived online.
* To participate, please email bjorn@nextkindofart.se. You will then receive a Zoom link together with an invitation.
PANEL:
Abir Boukhari is a curator and director of Syria’s first center for contemporary art, AllArtNow, which she co-founded with artist Nisrine Boukhari in 2005. At the end of 2012, the organization offered its space in Damascus to Syrian refugee families and it became nomadic. Since 2019 AllArtNow has entered a new phase with a physical space in Stockholm, AllArtNow Lab. Abir managed several residency programs and In 2020, she started a new program of virtual residency. In 2021 the program will host artists from Spain, Sweden and Canada
Taru Elfving is a curator and writer focused on site-sensitive investigations at the intersections of ecological and feminist thought. As director of Contemporary Art Archipelago (CAA), she is currently developing a multidisciplinary platform for artistic research in collaboration with the Archipelago Research Institute of Turku University in Finland. Her curatorial projects include Frontiers in Retreat (HIAP 2013-18), Hours, Years, Aeons (Finnish Pavilion, Venice 2015), and Lofoten International Art Festival (2008). She has co-edited publications such as Contemporary Artist Residencies (Valiz 2019), and Altern Ecologies (Frame 2016).
Jonatan Habib Engqvist is former board member of the Swedish Section of NKF and the board of editors of the 75 years anniversary publication. He was manager of the NKF project CRIS – Curatorial Residency In Stockholm – for more than five years. He is freelance curator and writer, manager of the project New Småland between 2016-2020 and has been curator of numerous projects internationally. Notably the VR pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2019, Survival Kit 9 in Riga, Sinopale 6 in Sinop, 8th Momentum biennale in Moss and (I)ndependent People at the Reykjavik Art Festival 2012. From 2021 he is co-editor of the Swedish magazine Ord & Bild.
My Lindh is an artist based in Stockholm. She works with installations, video, audio, text and performance and her work has been exhibited at institutions such as Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Färgfabriken, Göteborgs konsthall and Kunstverein München. Together with Alvaro Campo she is currently planning a project called Rethinking artist in residence, within the NKF Swedish section. They will try to find sustainable ways of working with artistic exchange.
MODERATOR:
Björn Norberg is freelance curator and writer, secretary of NKF Swedish section, president of Filmform and artistic director of Ulvhälls hällar art park. He has curated exhibitions for institutions internationally, such as Moderna Museet Stockholm, Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology, Färgfabriken, Kiasma museum of contemporary art in Helsinki, Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde, Bonniers Konsthall, Bildmuseet in Umeå and Nordische Botschaft in Berlin. He is former curator and artistic leader of Dome of Visions Stockholm, curator at Mejan Labs. He is currently working with public art for the city of Uppsala, the city of Gävle and for Public Art Agency Sweden.