Can a patch of forest land be a public work of art? Together with curator Maija Kasvinen, Malin Arnell and Åsa Elzén discuss their current art project “Skogen kallar – Ett oändligt kontaminerat samarbete” or “Dansandet är en form av skogskunskap”.
For the next 50 years until 2069, the duo has leased a 3.7 hectare triangular piece of forest land on Fogelstad Säteri’s land in the Municipality of Katrineholm. This forest land has a strong historical connection to the well-known feminist and peace group, the Fogelstad Group, which was established in Sweden in 1921. With their project, Arnell and Elzén want to explore the artistic and legal potential of taking a patch of forest land out of production, with the aim of securing its survival in an infinite future. The work can be seen as a tribute to the Fogelstad Group’s activities, as well as an act of resistance against the exploitation of forests in the anthropocene age.
The project has been funded by the Swedish Arts Council.
Malin Arnell, with a PhD in choreography, works as an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator in a participatory, performative, and ecologically and socially engaged art field. Arnell processes materialities in objects, language, time, and bodies with the help of spatial and architectural interventions, choreographic structures, and pedagogical models.
Åsa Elzén is an artist who lives and works in Näshulta, Sörmland. Elzén’s practice is transdisciplinary and she works with the concept of “the fallow” in relation to temporality, the climate crisis, queer feminist- and more-than-human history and historiography. For some time now, she has been focusing on the legacy of the Fogelstad Group (formed in Sörmland in 1921) and their practice in relation to ecology and resilience.
Maija Kasvinen is a curator who has studied in Stockholm and now works at the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike). She has worked with public art and enjoys talking about art’s relationship with society, including in the podcast “Kuution jälkeen” and at the annual meetings of the chamber of commerce.
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