“Art is part of democracy”

Ricky Sandberg has left the studio, but continues to create art. “Even though I don’t hold a paintbrush, I contribute to the art scene in other ways,” says the region’s art consultant.

Ricky Sandberg began painting and drawing as a child in Svartlå. He continued during his two years as a medical assistant at the reception at the children's clinic in Boden and during his years at SJ.

– I worked as a train dispatcher in Boden and in Avafors and Niemisel after the Haparanda Line. Hours could pass between trains, which gave me the opportunity to paint a lot, he says.

At the age of 24, he started at Sunderby Folk High School and then studied at the art department and art education department for four years.

– I finished there in 1986 and then worked as an artist until 2009, when I had my last exhibition.

New direction

As an artist, he has primarily painted in oil and sculpted in various materials. Ricky Sandberg is one of the creators of the 17,5-ton steel sculpture The Opposite Sphere in Luleå, better known as Rostbollen.

Over time, his focus shifted from being a performer to becoming a producer. Instead of his own creation, he became more involved in various artistic projects.

Summer and winter biennials over a period of 20 years, the artist group Kilen, snow sculpture festivals at Gültzauudden, the Artists' Collective Workshop, KKV, and the sculpture park at Kronan are examples of contexts in Luleå where he has been involved. Havremagasinet in Boden is another, where a summer exhibition of Russian contemporary art eventually led to the establishment of a permanent county art hall.

Ricky Sandberg wants to create opportunities for cultural practitioners to meet an audience and improve the conditions for the audience to encounter art.

Many years of experience

After ten years as the director of the art gallery in the magnificent former military facility, Ricky Sandberg chose a new path in life. In the fall of 2019, he started as an art consultant in the Norrbotten Region.

– The task is to support those who are active in the field and to create conditions for the audience to encounter art, he summarizes.

His many years in the arts and cultural world are evident during the interview, which contains meandering digressions. The threads connect to his previous assignments and the various projects he is involved in as an art consultant today. Most of it is connected, in one way or another.

– I applied here because I wanted to use the experience I have gained over the years, both as an artist and in projects of various kinds.

Based on the cultural plan

Ricky Sandberg has contact with municipalities, associations, organizations, institutions – indeed, most of the institutions in society that are in some way connected to culture in Norrbotten. He collaborates closely with the Resource Center for Art and the region's other cultural consultants.

Some projects extend beyond the county and the country. One example is the collaboration with art consultants in the four northernmost counties, including those related to the digital art magazine Volym. Another is the Backyard Residency, which is run together with actors in northern Finland and Norway (see below).

“My work is free but always based on the goals set out in the cultural plan. It involves, among other things, promoting culture and art for children and young people and developing international contacts,” he explains.

A project that brings art into the public environment is the framework that has been developed
in the Southern Port of Piteå. Britt Fält was one of the creators when young people and pensioners
summer 2021 met in the exhibition Graffiti on pitemål. Photo: Private.

Digital meetings

Being an art consultant during a pandemic has been a challenge – people have stayed home and few events have taken place. The advantage is that digital meetings have made it easier to connect, a way of meeting that is now a given.

– It has become easier to collaborate in the field of art, both here in the county, in Sweden and with people in other countries. Geographic distances do not constitute the same obstacles as before.

When you took office three years ago, one of the local newspapers wrote: “In his new role, he wants to build bridges between artists, society, the art public and politics and drive the arts forward.” How do you think it has gone?

– When you work with biennials and exhibitions, you work intensively towards a goal. You have a date when it should be finished, you open and meet the audience. In my current work, it's different. You don't finish in the same way, which can feel frustrating. At the same time, I feel that what I do has meaning.

Piteå artists Emil Eklund and Josefin Jonsson are currently exhibiting at the Kulturhuset in
Stockholm. The exhibition "Pastelae – Internet feelings" runs from September 23rd to
January 8. Photo: Matilda Rahm.

Colorful art

On the whole, the art scene in Norrbotten is doing well, he believes. Two artists from Norrbotten, Anders Sunna and Britta Marakatt Labba, are represented at the Venice Biennale 2022. The Swedish National Arts Council and the Moderna Museet have recently purchased contemporary art produced in the county. The 3D artists Josefin Jonsson and Emil Eklund, who both live in Piteå, have a well-received exhibition at the Kulturhuset in Stockholm.

– In addition, we have several returnees, artists who are from Norrbotten and have now moved back.

Ricky Sandberg also mentions Northern Sustainable Futures in Moskosel, a cultural initiative that involves the development of the entire village. Participants in the Backyard Residency project can start in the think tank there, continue working in the KKV studios in Luleå and finally hang the art in Havremagasinet.

The collective idea is something that is also close to Ricky Sandberg's heart.

– I enjoy working with others. I have done that as an artist and I also do that as an art consultant.

Is the roundabout outside the Regional House to be considered a work of art or not? “You can see
"similarities to a road in Norrbotten with a single lamp," notes Ricky Sandberg.

Part of democracy

Ricky Sandberg sees art as one of the pillars of a democratic society.

– Its role is, among other things, to problematize and make visible different tendencies in a complex existence. Art can give us a greater understanding of other people and other cultures. Art is part of democracy and must be free. If it is not, we no longer have a democracy but a dictatorship.

As an art consultant, he wants to both make art happen and get people to see and be touched by art.

– One example is Knutte Wester's exhibition at Havremagasinet about vulnerable children. We went around and guided people and everyone in the group cried. To touch people so that they cry, then you have really reached their hearts.

Text and photo: Ulrika Englund.

Facts

Examples of activities in the art field in Norrbotten:

• In Plats för konst, artists have worked on projects, sculptures or ideas in six municipalities in Norrbotten. The aim is to involve artists in community planning work and use art in the development of shared environments. Plats för konst is a stage in the government mission Gestaltad livsmiljö.
• An application to start a training program for prospective cultural producers in the Barents Region has been submitted to the Swedish Agency for Vocational Education and Training.
• Arts and crafts for the children of Norrbotten is a project aimed at students in eight municipalities in Norrbotten.
• The Råneå Biennial is being organized this year for the third time, with funding from, among others, the Norrbotten Region.