“A creative place for all ages”
There was great interest when the Crafts and Design Center opened its doors last Friday. Many people wanted to be part of the opening of Norrbotten's new meeting place and tourist destination.
– It was only when people started pouring in that it felt “real,” says Linnea Nilsson, one of the project managers who has worked hard in recent months to get everything in place.
760 square meters in the classic Shopping in Luleå have been given new life. Here, Norrbotten's rich tradition of crafts, craftsmanship and design will be made visible. Practitioners can show their creations, interested parties can meet each other, visitors can try their hand at it and new generations can try creating with their hands.
– We have so many incredibly skilled craftsmen and artisans in our region, and it is difficult for them to get the attention and space they deserve. Many work in solitude and have difficulty getting out. It is important to have a physical and central exhibition space, says Anette Winblad von Walter, cultural manager at Region Norrbotten, which runs the three-year Crafts and Form Center project.
Norrbotten Region's cultural director Anette Winblad von Walter (left) and deputy cultural director Christine Hemdal Sandling were delighted to see the center filled with curious visitors.
“Knowledge is about to be lost”
The center will be an inclusive gathering place for crafts, arts and crafts, design, form and architecture. There will also be room for sustainable construction and a designed living environment. The goal is to preserve the cultural heritage, but also pave the way for the future.
– Knowledge is being lost. It is not passed down from generation to generation as it has been in the past. Here, everyone, both children and young people, can take part in knowledge when we have craftsmen here who can teach. You may also have memories as a Norrbotten resident. I have many memories of bark crafts, and carving kåsor yourself. But I have not sat down as an adult and had the opportunity to practice it. Hopefully it will be a creative place for all ages, says Anette.
The exhibition "Birchwood - the traveled material" includes a long list of beautiful objects.
“Grateful to be up and running”
For project managers Sofia Öberg and Linnea Nilsson, the inauguration marked the end of an intensive work period, and the start of another.
– We got access to the premises in mid-February, so it's been about a month since we actually decorated the 760 square meter area. It's been very intensive work, we haven't really had time to stop. But just when people come and you can feel this hustle and bustle, I'm very grateful to be up and running, says Linnea Nilsson, who is a crafts and design consultant at Region Norrbotten.
Project leaders Linnea Nilsson (left) and Sofia Öberg were pleasantly surprised by the great interest on the opening day.
Will accommodate groups of children
The activities will now be built on step by step. The exhibitions will be supplemented with vernissages, lectures, educational activities for children's groups and workshops.
– It also gives a “why” when you see how many people actually come to the opening, it feels really encouraging for the business going forward. Many people have wanted a physical place to meet and also to work practically. Then we were able to show the workshop space that we have, says Linnea Nilsson.
Many people had come to Shopping for the opening of the Crafts and Design Center.
Her colleague Sofia Öberg was slightly surprised by how many people came to the opening on a weekday in the middle of the day. After the opening speeches, the exhibition space quickly filled with visitors admiring the objects on display. The previously empty and quiet room was filled with conversation and life.
– We knew that there were some who were interested, but the fact that there were this many feels really great. It feels fantastic that people can now come in and see these great exhibitions.
Four inaugural exhibitions
The premiere exhibitions are:
- Bäver - the most traveled material, produced by Bror Forslund and Kerstin Sylwan
- Something in-between, tactile works created by craftswoman Laura Blake
- MANNAME, innovative and traditional doudji created by the craft collective GEA!
- Erskine in the North, produced by Norrbotten Museum
Laura Blake's works in wood and textiles are meant to be touched.
The exhibitions can be seen by anyone passing through Shopping during the center's opening hours. Initially, this will be two days a week. Linnea Rålenius, project coordinator, will have the center as her workplace. The workforce will be supplemented by an educator who is not yet in place.
Evening classes from this fall
– We plan to have program activities already this spring, maybe in May or June. Then we will get started properly in the fall. Then we will be able to welcome children's groups and have evening classes, and be open to check out exhibitions three days a week. Now at the beginning, before we have everyone in place, it is open two days a week, says Linnea Rålenius.
Linnea Rålenius has been hired as project coordinator. She highlights that crafts and handicrafts are common leisure interests, but that they rarely find a place in the public space.
Something that will also be added are exhibitions linked to the Arctic Design Center project. It is about supporting the work with the policy area of designed living environment in the county. It is about how we build and create our communities so that they become places where people thrive and feel good. Something that is highly topical in Norrbotten, with a societal transformation that will happen quickly.
– At the Crafts and Design Center, we from the Arctic Design Center will have a place where we can showcase current student work in the area of designed living environments, current research connected to the area, but also show what is actually happening out there in our municipalities. So that everyone can follow the journey, keep up with the development work that is happening right now, says Carolina Weinz, project manager of the Arctic Design Center in Norrbotten.
Regional politician Helena Ölund (S) is looking forward to visiting the center when she is in Luleå in the future.
Also present at the inauguration was Helena Ölund, chairwoman of the regional development committee. The decision about the center was one of the first after the new committee took office following the last election.
– That we have a meeting place for all ages is so important and much needed, she says.
For opening hours, contact information and programs: see the website
Text and image: Sara Stylbäck Vesa