3,5% Our voice our gaze
Sweden is continuously changing, so is its inhabitants, in contemporary Sweden there are 2,4 million Swedish citizens with foreign backgrounds, in other words – 24% of the inhabitants have two parents who are born in other countries.
Despite this the majority of swedes that are represented in our media, in contemporary art, as art curators, managers in art galleries and teachers at art schools and preparing education are of white ethnic descent.
Why is it that the representation of us “ the other” swedes are so non-existent within these fields?
If we live by the democratic values: People have the same value and same rights, then all of us that live and work here should be able to feel as a part of this country, that we belong here and are represented in the country where we are citizens.
Let our voice be heard and portray our depiction of Sweden. In this exhibition, the voices and perspectives that are so often missing, are here given a separatist platform where our voices will be heard and our perspective and gaze will be the centre and not in the fringes.
We will, instead of being attributed a voice or a perspective from those who have a given place, demand our own space, a place where our stories and our voices are heard without making us into someone who, in the white room, stands for diversity.
This exhibition shows works from two contemporary creators, an artist, and a director.A poet, an artist and Spoken word pioneer in Sweden. She’s one of the founders and an artistic leader of the platform, movement, and the scene Revolution Poetry (2009 – 2019). She has since its inception been the one behind the artistic quality and the innovative ideas both on and off stage. She’s been working with poetry, creative writing and Spoken Word to strengthen the voices of young people.
Nachla Libre
Nachla Liber is educated in free art on Konstfack and graduated in the year 2019. This exhibition, where our voice and gaze dominate spaciousness, will show parts of Nachla Libres series Syskonskap (siblingship) The photographs portray siblings and the special bond that exists in between them. With Nachla Libres poetical and warm imagery, she captures the subtlety that exists between siblings, the strong bond and the love that can be difficult to describe with words.
“Syskonskap is about bonds and connection. Of what it is to be a sibling, of understanding siblinghood and all its layers, levels and patterns.”
In the room a sound work will be played, in which the voices of pairs of siblings will be heard.Describing, playfully and lovingly the siblings will talk about different events in their lives and how they intertwine them together.
Fernando Illezca
Fernando Illezca is running his own business, Ferhago Film (Ferhago Film & Arts), as a director and producer, he also writes scripts and is an educator. He has recently ascended as segment producer on UR.
This is how Fernando himself describes his practice:
Media has a big role in how we construct our identity. People from the suburbs are often stereotypically shown. The men are criminals and a problem, and the women are exotic or victims. But what will happen if the showing imagery is renewed? If we can give the people new layers and shine light on perspectives that aren’t usually shown on film? My ambition and artistry emanates therefore to describe our time from within and to build new frames of reference.”
In Fernando Illezcas video, Nationell Kris, the viewer meets a brutally straight, honest and beautiful imagery, where the voice comes from the one who owns the story and refuses to let someone else portray their narrative. It’s a work that raises questions of our contemporary society in Sweden and the exclusion that racism and lack of representation creates.
Due to the prevailing circumstances surrounding covid-19, we made a joint decision to show the exhibition online. We can’t view travelling for social purposes as a valid act in today’s circumstances. As in fact, the exhibition is created by POC, we see it as naturally that it must be viewed where all people can take part, not only in the city where the galleries exist. We will move the exhibition and the solid programme to an online platform, and we will install an installation behind closed doors in the physical gallery.
The installation is viewed through the gallery window, this way we turned the perspective, the doorsteps is raised/doors are closed for the usual visitor in those rooms, instead we lower the doorstep in places where it has been too high and invite to a exhibition where our voice and our gaze is in the center, from our perspective on a democratic platform.
Due to disagreements the cooperation with Tegen2 has been terminated prematurely, there will therefore not be any installation installed at gallery Tegen2.
Art curator
Sarah Tawiah Svärd
Information
Nachla Libre and Fernando Illezca
04.06.2020 – 31.06.2020
Opening: 04.06.2020 at noon on www.ourvoiceourgaze.com
3,5% Our Voice Our Gaze
04.06.2020
Vernissage kl 12.00
Programme
Intro Snaaacket
Revolution Poetry intro film.
Revolution Poetry
Lovisa Wessberg – “Mittemellan”
Yodit Girmay, Nachla Libre, Rojda Sekers z “Exotiskt”
06.06.2020
Nationaldagen
Kl 12.00 Sumbu lagar
Kl 12.30 Nachla Libre “ “هجرة
Kl 13.00 2 l tar av Emily Tucker
Kl 13.30 Mango Podd- Decolonizing food
Kl 14.00 Revolution Poetry, Nina Rashid – “Ingen r illegal”
Kl 14.30 Performance med Rossana Mercado-Rojas “Sin nombre”
Kl 15.00 Revolution Poetry, Cherrie Hersi & Julia Frej “L ta bli”
Kl 15.30 Livem lning med Shora Dehnavi
Kl 16.00 Dramaten& Spoken word – Mariama Jobe “Den h r dikten”
Kl 16.30 Snaaacket med Mariama Jobe
Kl 17.00 Samtal mellan Ihsan Kellecioglu och Pernilla Glaser
Corona krisens effekter och om rasism, oj mlikhet och det ansvar som man har som tj nsteperson.
Kl 18.00 Meron Mangasha “Mellan rum”
11.06.2020
Snaaacket med Nattalie Str m
13.06.2020
Revolution Poetry
Nina Rashid “Kvinnan som kunde tala med blattar”
Lovisa Wessberg “Tvivel”
Mango Podd- Decolonizing food
16.06.2020
Artist talk med Nachla Libre
18.06.2020
Snaaacket med Fardosa Abdalla
20.06.2020
Revolution Poetry
Nasra “Svart. Muslim. Kvinna”
Sara Nazari “D den”
Mango Podd- Decolonizing food
09.06.2020
Artist talk med Fernando Illezca
23.06.2020
Afropidia med Teddy och Senay? Eller Emma Dominguez?
25.06.2020
Snaaacket
27.06.2020
Revolution Poetry
Nabila Abdul Fattah “Avs ndare”
Meron Mangasha “Bl tt blod”
Mango Podd- Decolonizing food
29.06.2020
Cinemafrica (Snaaacket)
30.06.2020
Finnissage kl 18.00
Revolution Poetry
Lovisa Wessberg “Identitet”
Sara Nazari “Livet”
Revolution Poetry outro film.
Kl 19.00-20.00 Live Performance med Rossana Mercado-Rojas “Hemma är där hjärtat bort /Homeis where the heart is/ El hogar est donde se encuentra el coraz n”
A sound-collage.