Preparations for the project started in 2005 at the initiative of Thomas Liljenberg and Bo Samuelsson in dialog with Magdalena Bosson (then President of Kista Science City AB) regarding the possibility of establishing a contemporary art institution in Kista. A point of departure was Kista Science City’s visions document about the science city, but here the vision of technology and science was exchanged for one about culture and social commitment. Today KAC collaborates with other initiatives, scientists and institutions in the areas of art – urban development – social entrepreneurship. Surrounding the project is a network of local, national and international players, a working group and reference group with representatives from government, the business sector, higher education and the arts.

Driving force and motives
KAC takes its departure from the transformed and complex meaning of the concept site in our contemporary global society. A development that both challenges and creates new possibilities for art and art institutions. Public art has always played an important role in portraying the individual in society. However the global society has long since challenged and left behind the concept of “public art”, as we have defined it according to yesterday’s centralized art terminology, manifested in sculptures, mural paintings and monuments. For what the glocal city needs is public art that works both locally, by putting human beings in focus, and at the same time can recreate the site as the weave of historical, political, global and economic significations that every site in today.

KAC is therefore the idea of the contemporary art institution as a mobile, open office without walls and a workshop that connects the site with its players. It is also an idea about art as practice to recreate society and a collective sense of community – as a critical instrument for influence and change. The interesting thing today is not WHAT is done in the form of art – but rather HOW and WHY it is done. Thus a large part of KAC is about reflecting, developing and communicating this HOW and WHY. And about creating opportunities for artists to develop practices where people can participate.

The major challenge in the project is to develop a context that involves different groups in society. The local players in Kista are a segregated group consisting of an expansive international business sector and, on the other hand, a group of inhabitants who live in the shadow of the economy. A future art institution must answer the needs of both these groups in order to be a part of urban development, integration and the work to further democracy. Another challenge has to do with structural questions about the role of the artist and the concept of art and the obstacles these put in the way for social mobility, interactivity and participation. KAC challenges the traditional image of the artist as a solitary producer, as well as ingrained perceptions of the general public and those who commission artwork as passive consumers.

Realization
KAC is made up of workshops, seminars, presentations and collaborations. A semitransparent mobile building, which can be set up in different public places in Kista, is a focus for workshops. The building is a dynamic model for a future art institution, while it is also a living interface for the project; a piece of art with references to contemporary art, painting, architecture and social theory. Inside the building workshops with invited participants take place. The project is open to anyone who is interested: inhabitants, businesses, associations, organizations and artists. Together with the participants we define the institution and its role in relation to the site. Visualization of the discussion and the workshop takes place directly on the building’s semitransparent walls; which literally form the “canvas”, “sculpture” and “structural components”. The building becomes a living description of the project’s objective to create a common meeting place. Within the framework of the project various collaborations also take place; with schools, companies, institutions and organizations.

Initiators
The initiators of KAC are the artists Thomas Liljenberg and Bo Samuelsson. The working group connected with the project includes Mats Fahlander (architect), Jörgen Gassilewski (artist, writer and journalist), Cecilia Parsberg (artist), Hans Andrén (development manager), Sten Sandell (composer) and Anders Krüger (artist).

KAC communicates via a website, a newsletter, events, presentations, workshops and seminars.