Between Reality and Fairytales

Opening: Saturday, 18th August, 1-4pm, in front of Town Hall in Högsby, Sweden.

In the exhibition, Between Reality and Fairytales, participates 19 young Swedish artists. It is one of the largest exhibitions in Sweden with young Swedish contemporary Art this year. The exhibition takes place in and around the small village Högsby, situated in Småland, Sweden. The works could be found in old stores, libraries, along the river, and other deserted areas. Most of the works is produces for this exhibition. An extensive program with guided tours, workshops and lectures will also take place.

Högsby is situated in the heart of Småland, famous among many tourists for the moose and the deep forests. Many tourists come to Småland every year to fulfil their romantic dreams to experience the nature. At the same time, the area experiences the struggle to survive in the global world. A struggle that often comes from then many companies is outsourcing their production to other countries with unemployment as a result. Most people that emigrated from Sweden to USA from 1860 to 1930 were born in Småland. Småland is also a region that many Swedish authors and storytellers like John Bauer, Astrid Lindgren and Vilhelm Moberg, let their stories take place. Lindgren writings give a more romantic view of Småland as a kind of a lost world. In an opposite way, Vilhelm Moberg, describes the hard realities of life. The struggle to survive that forced people to move to USA and how many failed and how personal dreams have to give away for realities. Högsby today exists between being fulfilling the idea of idealised dream world, and the hard reality of the global economy, a economical declining area struggle to find new ways to survive.

The title could also been as a comment over the art world 2007 and where it?s heading the next year, moving between the social critique and artists that concern themselves with personal imagined worlds, like storytelling and fantasy.

The selection of artists is from new generation of up-coming Swedish artists.

The exhibition is collaboration between Kalmar Art Museum and Högsby with kind support from Swedish Art Council and Regional Council in Kalmar County.

Participating artists: Conny Blom, Kalle Brolin, Alessandra Di Pisa, Carl Johan Engberg, Ulrika Erdes, Klas Eriksson & John Hellberg, Karin Hasselberg, Sofia Hultén, Oscar Guermouche, Malin Lindmark Vrijman och Marlene Lindmark, Johan Lundh, Kristina Müntzing, Jesper Nordahl, Magnus Petersson, Daniel Segerberg, Anna Strid och Frida Tebus.

Curators: Martin Schibli & Anneli Berglund, Kalmar Art Museum

Between Reality and Fairytales / Mellan Realitet och Sagoland
Kuratoren: Martin Schibli, Anneli Berglund

mit Conny Blom, Kalle Brolin, Alessandra Di Pisa, Carl Johan Engberg, Ulrika Erdes, Klas Eriksson & John Hellberg, Karin Hasselberg, Sofia Hulten, Oscar Guermouche, Malin Lindmark Vrijman / Marlene Lindmark, Johan Lundh, Kristina Müntzing, Jesper Nordahl, Magnus Petersson, Daniel Segerberg, Anna Strid, Frida Tebus