Places we visited, all good change makers!
Selected organisations / places we visited together with Ostend in March 2019!
Vår Lokal:
Vår Lokal is an art gallery for local artist in Gnesta. It started 2 years ago as “Samklang” by Mani Dagaranfar to open up the art scene in Gnesta for all types of persons. They arranges concerts, ArtLab and other artistic gathering. After a need to change space, the organisation changed name to “Vår lokal” where the feeling of community and being “home” is the main feature for this initiative. All artists that are connected to “Vår Lokal” is paying a fee for the different initiatives they start to help keep provide for the organisation. When asked, Mani defines “Vår Lokal” with one word: Togetherness.
The place also has a restaurant for lunch, and offices to rent.
We had the opportunity to talk with Mani during lunch to understand why this initiative was taken when Gnesta already has another Art Gallery (ArtLab Gnesta).
ArtLab Gnesta:
Art Lab Gnesta is a place for experimental connections between art and society.
They create meetings between art and artists, the local community, schools, art institutions and others who work with issues related to art or society – locally, in Sweden, and abroad. They are located at the old brewery in Gnesta,with studios, meeting rooms and an art gallery.They put on exhibitions, arrange workshops, publish, and arrange talks and other events both in the brewery, in public spaces and at those we collaborate with. In their residency program, they invite artists to come and experiment, producing new art that inspires discussions about our time and its challenges. The exhibition program present these issues through the work of invited artists. Art Lab Gnesta is an independent initiative created in 2010 and run by the Art Lab Gnesta Association.
Läsfrämjarinstitutet (LFI):
LFI is an organisation working for a better integration through reading, books and storytelling. They target children and parents of foreign background through interactive reading. They do conferences, workshops and other learning experiences for schools or organisations who wants to understand their changemaking method “Läsa för Integration” (Reading to Integrate)
They have a weekly activity “Läslandet” (the country of reading) where activities concerning reading, literature and culture is arranged for the youngsters and their parents.
They are also lobbying on issues connected to promote reading, multilingualism, integration and democracy.
We talked with the initiator of the organisation, Marlen Eskander.
Stadsbiblioteket:
The city library of Stockholm has a large range of literature from fictions to more subject-based books. As in Every library in Stockholm they also have children and teenage literature as well as audiobooks. The twist is that the city library is the biggest one in Sweden with more than 400 000 books and have a daily rate of visitors at around 2500 person. They also do a range of activities: visits of authors, reading groups and smaller courses for the public to enjoy.
Gallery: C6 Intercult Stockholm host for Ostend April 2019
C6 Sweden - a Host for Ostend
