A temporary art hall in the crumbling and long abandoned mental hospital at Danvikstull by the Nacka shores is the location of one of the coolest additions to Stockholm’s art scene – Temporära Konsthallen.
It’s a cold yet sunny day and the old building is equally chilly inside as the biting frost outside. Light pours in through the big hall windows and fills the unique space, and I think it’s safe to say that there’s no place quite like it in Stockholm.
Friends since the age of five, artist and choreographer Anna Asplind and art historian Linda Karlsson are the girls behind the project. Linda actually opened her first art gallery when she was five years old in the basement of her house, and has since been involved with various gallery projects.
When Anna moved back to Stockholm after spending four years in Berlin, she was met by an art world that was by comparison quite closed. Together, they started to form ideas regarding a place in Stockholm with a more open and welcoming attitude.
“We share a lot of common thoughts and beliefs which we are now in position to realize. There was a different and more dynamic climate in Berlin, with new spaces popping up all the time and more opportunities for artists and creativity in general. People were more likely to take risks.”
Why a “temporary” art hall?
“It’s going to be temporary in its physical form. We want to open up closed spaces and make something more of them – like the building we are in now, an old hospital from the 18th century that hasn’t been used for decades. People in the area are interested in taking part of it. By opening it up to the public we share a piece of Stockholm’s history. A place like this has character and is inspiring to work with; it’s not just a ‘white box’. By moving our project around, we are trying to prevent stagnation in our thinking and organization.”
I like the idea of the art not being for sale. What was the motivation behind that decision?
“This was a part of our first exhibition concept where we were working with hierarchies. Initiatives like these are often forced to commercialize and so are artists in a way. Money creates hierarchies.”
How did you select the artists that inaugurated the museum?
“The artists were selected partly by chance and partly hand picked by us. The first artists were drawn by lots, the second group picked by the first and so on. We just let it loose. This is a part of our mission, to experiment with curating. The next exhibition in April is sprung directly from these thoughts. We invited SENOREN which is a new group of artists that experiments with their own artistry within their collective.”
Temporära Konsthallen at Sjökvarnsbacken 15 – Danvikstull, Nacka
The next exhibition – Senoren – opens on April 13.
