GLOCALSITESWOP

The point of departure is to find an artistic form that reflects the differentiated and ambiguous meanings “site” has come to acquire in today’s global society. In the final work two different geographical sites, as well as their inhabitants, will collaborate in an audiovisual manifestation. The path to realizing a glocal site swop is through a process that involves people and institutions. A journey that is as important as the final work. The progress of the project will therefore be reported in stages on KAC’s website / log.

Departure point
The interesting thing about what a site is in today’s society is that it points to a dialectic relationship; between, on the one hand, constantly increasing abstraction and globalization in any given space and, on the other hand, the all-increasing need to create spaces and authenticity. In a time when almost every corner of society is marked by the global economy and a multiplicity of cultures the biggest challenge for individuals and society is how to deal with the merging of global and local perspectives. Every local politician today knows how important it is to tout the local environment and the resources it can provide for the development of the region in global competition. But the glocal society is also largely defined by our ability to see and, above all, recreate the local site in a global perspective.

Another point of departure is the concept of “bifocal” and the meaning it brings to the discussion of understanding sites. The first person to notice the meaning of double vision in order to understand a site was the 18th century thinker Benjamin Franklin. During one of his educational trips to Europe he discovered how important his reading glasses were for him to understand French culture. Thanks to his bifocal spectacles he could see both the food he was eating at dinner parties – and the host he was talking to across the table. In glocal site swop bifocal manifestation is a way to increase the understanding of sites in a global economy and multicultural society.

Site swop
The term site swop is found in both music and mathematics, where it signifies syncopated rhythms and balls’ relationships to one another (e.g. in juggling). In short the term can be said to signify a condition where two things occur at the same time / and in interaction with one another. This meaning is transferred to the work, but here the balls or the syncopated rhythms are replaced by two geographical sites that are linked in a complex relationship (swop). The relationship can also be described as a double projection, in which both places are joined in a common site (glocal).

Audiovisual work and social process
The artistic interface glocal site swop consists of an audiovisual work of art. A central part of the work is a musical composition that derives from both sites’ topography, geography, social life and the distance between them. An initial study is made of site analyses, which are carried out jointly with inhabitants in each site.

THE CITY & THE FUTURE

The City & the Future takes place in collaboration with Thorildsplans Gymnasium (upper secondary school).
During the spring of 09 students at Thorildsplans Gymnasium will work with Kista-Husby as a starting point for analyses and thinking about urbanity and urban development. KAC will carry out city walks and workshops with students, as well as arrange and participate in the exhibition that the school will make of the project in Kista Science Tower in May 2009. The result of the project will also be presented here on KAC’s website.

STREET CORNER TALKING

In the spring of 2009 the artists Thomas Liljenberg and Bo Samuelsson developed a proposal for the design of a glass wall in Kista Galleria. The proposal, entitled Street Corner Talking, is a 16 x 4.5 meter large light- and text-based piece of art. The glass wall is situated in the newly built Kista Galleria, in the corner facing Jan Stenbecks torg (formerly Torsnästorget). Kista Galleria is one of Scandinavia’s largest gallerias and shopping malls. An important meeting place for those who live and work in Kista. During 2009 the galleria was expanded to house new fashion and design shops. For more info: Street Corner Talking Blog>>