Janna Holmstedt

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A Radical Shift of Scenery

This project is a cooperation between the artists Janna Holmstedt, Anna Högberg, Johan Tirén, Johan Waerndt and produced in collaboration with planners at the Office of Regional Planning.
 
   
 
   
 

 
 

 
A 3-room apartment was temporarily transformed into a ”black box” – a stage for in-depth discussions during the important period of consideration of a new Regional Development Plan for the Stockholm Region, RUFS 2010. 200 politicians, officials and regional stakeholders were invited to participate in workshops during one month, Sep, 2008.

Background

Sustainability, innovation, knowledge competitive economy, clean and safe environment and attractivity are often occurring themes in the re-branding of city regions today. This is also the case in Stockholm, Sweden, where an extensive work with a new Regional Development Plan for the Stockholm Region, RUFS 2010, is in progress. The process involves officials, politicians, business interests, NGOs and other regional stakeholders.
The pronounced ambition for RUFS 2010 is to create “The most attractive urban region in Europe”. The Stockholm Region is located relatively far from the European center, but yet distinctly identifies itself with the European norm, seeking to compete with other metropolitan areas in order to reach a position on the global market – attractive to visitors, foreign investors and the so-called creative class. This easily gets us into questioning: What do we mean with an attractive society?


200 politicians, 30 days and a black apartment in Huddinge

As visual artists, we have been commissioned to contribute to the RUFS 2010-process, and since 2007 we have closely followed the work at the Office of Regional Planning in Stockholm. In our reflective work on the planning process, the renewal of the region’s policies and identity is critically examined.
After a period of research and involvement, we presented the concept of a communicative platform. The platform was situated in Huddinge south of Stockholm, where a 3-room apartment was transformed into a ”black box” – i.e. a flight data recorder, or the performative space of a theatre. During thirty days in September more than 200 leading politicians and regional stakeholders were invited to the apartment for discussions and workshops elaborating the final plan.
The flat was painted black from floor to ceiling. Three different workshops were held and white markers distributed. In the beginning the surfaces were empty, unwritten, but during the process the walls were covered with notes and signs. The apartment became a scene for performative action, and at the same time the immaterial ideological production was left as traces on the interior surface.

The workshops: A Sustainable Soup 2030, Subjective Maps and Agora
The workshops focused on a number of borderlands and potential conflicts. For example the demands for economical growth in relation to ecological and social sustainability, and the need for planning versus space for organic growth. The apartment was used as an interface between the private and public sphere, highlighting interrelated systems such as water and energy supply, sewage, broadcasts, communication, recreation, social relations etc. Although the participants represented local municipalities, the business world and NGO:s, they were in the workshops also involved as subjects on a more private level with multiple and contradicting experiences.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Report from a Black Box – Open house: Oct 3-4, 2008 the doors were opened up to neighbours and the general public.

Photos: Holmstedt, Högberg, Tirén and Waerndt. Panorama photos at the top: Natasja Jovic

The project was funded by the Office of Regional Planning and the Culture Administration within the Stockholm County Council, Sweden, in association with Konstfrämjandet, an Association for the Promotion of Art. Project manager: Ann Magnusson. The cooperation continues during 2009-2010, please see "To Mushroom" and "Sharing/Dividing a Society" and the book with the same name.


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