Totally Stockholm 1
Klassik Montez, Puschan Mousavi Malvani & Mirek M
acke, Photo: Christoph von Löw much influenced by what the market, politicians and media dictate. You can see a lot of conformist behaviour from the artists, where they rather abstain from voicing their opinions, in case they do not comply with current trends, in order to be saleable. Alice: In the art world we often like to believe that we are doing something groundbreaking, but actually, and unfortunately, the art bubble mostly succeeds in only addressing the people already within it, and does not reach outside. In the same way, the concerns of the ‘real people’ mostly do not penetrate in contemporary art. In that sense, we have thought of the term moratorium, a space of temporarily postponed activity where the laws of the outside world do not necessarily apply in the same way. There will be guests from 25 countries at this year’s edition. Can you run us through some of the more exciting international guests, and maybe pick out a personal highlight or two? Andreas: Kalashnikovv Gallery from Johannesburg will show works by the controversial artist Ayanda Mabulu. His work, depicting satirical versions of powerful South Africans, has even got prominent politicians to consider whether Mabulu should be censored. Pontus: The fair starts just after the upcoming Brexit, and we are happy to have invited two very different exhibitors from the UK. Centrala from Birmingham and Turps Art School from London. Turps is an artist-run art school founded several years ago by a group of painters, among others the YBA artist Marcus Harvey. In their education programme they investigate the breadth of ideas in contemporary painting. The Montez family is a fantastic initiative from Frankfurt and they host numerous performances in their exhibition booth, such as a musical performance Paganini vs Bach by Puschan Mousavi Malvani, a classically trained violinist. Alice: It is really difficult to choose favourites, given the number of exhibitors and their range of activities. But, for example, I am very much interested in hearing about the experience of A.C.S., a curatorial collective from South Korea, or Liliput Galería Experimental from Mexico, as the conditions they work in are so different to what we encounter in Sweden. 10 I am also curious about the Polish gallery Swojskije Tropiki’s extravagant travelling caravan, who will transform one of the toilets at the art fair in their exhibition booth and possibly serve fermented cabbage juice to the visitors. This year you’re launching Supermarket Forum, a discussion space for artists. Do you think it’s important for people in the art world to build contacts and relationships across borders, and do you hope the Forum will facilitate this? Pontus: It is always important to broaden networks within the culture sector, especially today when freedom of expression and censorship can take place in so many different ways. Facilitating connections, building new networks and strengthening already existing collaborations is one of the key ideas behind Supermarket. We are one of the major international events in the visual arts in Scandinavia and each of our exhibitors can give completely different stories about the work and life in their country or region to those we get to listen to here at home. It creates such a special environment of discussion, fun and new lasting bonds being built in a very short time span. You really need to visit Supermarket in order to experience this unique atmosphere. Pontus: We try to make the most out of the experience for the exhibitors in our different programmes, and Supermarket Forum is one of them. We saw the need to connect the local with the global, that is, the local art scene with all our international exhibitors on a more thorough basis, and we have high hopes that the quite experimental format of Supermarket Forum succeeds in this. Have you noticed any trends in this year’s exhibitors? Any themes or styles that seem to be very strongly present this year? Pontus: I can feel a certain nervousness in the air. It might be the seemingly tougher political climate that we experience that also affects the exhibitors’ opportunities for funding and mobility. The borders between countries have become higher and more difficult to cross. It is clear that this affects artists to meet each other. Alice: I was happy to see more painting coming in this year in the exhibition proposals. It seems to be re-emerging proud and strong. Andreas: In recent years, artists have often toyed with the concept of truth and created works with counterfeit facts, but with the current uncertainty about what is true and false in times of disinformation campaigns and fake news, one gets the impression that it becomes pointless to work artistically in this direction. What should visitors keep an eye out for? Andreas: There is so much that the visitors need to keep an eye out for! You definitely should not miss out on the Talks & Performance programme, with presentations, panel discussions and performances scheduled every day, all day round – it never stops. Of course you cannot overlook the exhibition booths at the art fair, but it is always nice to take a bit more time to walk around, talk to the artists and get to know them. You will get a much better idea of the artworks in that way too. Andreas: The most important is that you come and soak in the fantastic atmosphere with all its buzz and different art and artists running around everywhere. Finally, what for you personally is the best part of Supermarket every year? Alice: I think it is to see how all the parts finally fit together: the different programme items ready and scheduled, and all the exhibitors, artists and visitors gathering in one place and meeting one another. And for me personally it is to encounter face to face all these wonderful people whom I have been emailing with for months. Andreas: Communication with all the galleries from around the world, and then it is very nice to eventually meet in person! Pontus: Pinpointing a special part is difficult as the whole art fair is a crazy and amazing experience. One can easily spend several days just meeting different artists. Supermarket Art Fair, Sickla Front, Uddvägen 7, Apr 4-7. For more info see www.supermarketartfair.com