The day combines discussions with practical activities, giving you the opportunity to experience, explore and engage with some of the questions being raised. How does art influence a place? Who gets to shape our public spaces? And what happens when different perspectives meet?
The seminar is aimed at those working with public art or public spaces, including professionals in politics, local government, art, architecture and urban development. It also welcomes anyone curious about how art influences the places around us and how these places, in turn, shape us.
Program
09.00–09.15
Arrival, registration and coffee
We begin the day with registration and coffee for all participants.
09.15–09.30
Welcome and introduction
Moderator Pernilla Glaser welcomes participants and introduces the themes of the day. Official welcome remarks will also be given by the City of Helsingborg and Dunkers kulturhus.
09.30–10.00
The development of public art in Helsingborg over time
Martin Schibli, art historian and curator at Dunkers konsthall, presents an overview of the history and development of public art in the city.
10.00–10.30
Keynote I: Open Ground
With Heath Bunting, artist
What if public art were not an object placed in public space, but a way of using it? Artist Heath Bunting explores public land as a commons: something we can learn from, harvest, inhabit and share. Through his work with living structures, wild food and everyday public infrastructure, he asks how art can create new opportunities for participation, independence and collective use.
10.30–10.45
Coffee break and networking
A short break for coffee and informal conversations.
10.45–11.20
Keynote II: Learning from Place
With Johannes Hedinger, artist, curator and researcher
What can we learn from a place before attempting to change it? Johannes M. Hedinger approaches landscapes and cities as complex environments shaped by ecological, social and political relationships. Drawing on his projects, he traces the development from Land Art towards contextual and participatory practices. The lecture explores how art can contribute to understanding and transforming our shared environments, while introducing walking as a method for site-specific exploration, critical observation and democratic engagement.
11.20–11.50
Keynote III: From Monument to Mobilisation
With Trude Schjelderup Iversen, Senior Curator at KORO – Public Art Norway
The morning's third keynote takes an in-depth look at the creation, themes and process behind Matias Faldbakken's public artwork Upprätthållande in Oslo's Government Quarter, presented by the project's curator.
11.50–12.30
Panel discussion: Art as an Arena for Democracy
A reflective discussion with Johannes Hedinger, Heath Bunting and moderator Pernilla Glaser.
12.30–13.30
Lunch
The programme pauses for a one-hour lunch break. There are plenty of restaurants and cafés nearby where participants can enjoy lunch at their own expense.
13.30–15.00
Parallel sessions
After lunch, participants divide into three parallel sessions, taking place both around the city and at Dunkers kulturhus. Each session lasts 1.5 hours and has a limited number of places (maximum 20 participants per group). All sessions are held in English unless otherwise stated. Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and require separate registration.
→ Session A:
Common Ground – A Walk for Wild Food and Living Shelter (with Heath Bunting)
Heath Bunting invites participants on a walk through Helsingborg's public spaces, exploring the land as a habitat, a source of food and a potential place for gathering. Along the way, he shares knowledge gained from his many years of wild food walks and introduces the concept of "topice" – living structures created from trees that grow into hollow shelters and spaces. The walk becomes a practical experiment in what public space can offer us.
→ Session B:
Walkshop: Learning from Walking (with Johannes Hedinger)
What happens to our experience of public space when we change the way we move through it? This afternoon walkshop focuses on experience and experimentation rather than theoretical analysis. Through a series of simple walking exercises, participants are encouraged to challenge their senses, pace, orientation, attention and physical awareness. The exercises are deliberately left open-ended to preserve an element of surprise and discovery throughout the walk.
→ Session C:
Exclusive Guided Tour: Kateryna Lysovenko, Everything Is Possible (with Martin Schibli)
Join an in-depth guided tour of the exhibition by artist Kateryna Lysovenko, led by curator and art historian Martin Schibli. Lysovenko's paintings take Russia's war against Ukraine as their starting point, addressing the killing of civilians, sexual violence, destruction and other consequences of war. Her work explores what war means for individuals on a deeply human level, how experiences of war affect human relationships in the present and what we pass on to future generations, as the trauma of war becomes symbolically embedded in our DNA. Her paintings also raise questions about how societies change over time. Russia's war against Ukraine affects us all. Lysovenko's exhibition is therefore not only about Ukraine, but also about Europe's shared future.
This session is held in Swedish. Maximum 40 participants.
15.00–15.30
Reconvening and closing reflections
Following the afternoon's parallel sessions, participants gather again with moderator Pernilla Glaser to conclude the day, share brief reflections and summarise the ideas and insights explored during the seminar.
Programme subject to change.
Pernilla Glaser will moderate the seminar.
