Cultural power from Norrbotten was heard in the Riksdag

The power of the north – culture paves the way was the title of a morning in the Riksdag's second chamber that the Culture Committee invited to. The background is in an initiative where the four northernmost regions in Sweden come together around the importance of culture in our counties and communities.

Norrbotten was represented by, among others, Johannes Sundelin (S), chairman of the regional development committee, Mats Taaveniku (S), municipal councilor Kiruna, Liv Aira, artistic director Jillat - Sami dance center, Gunilla Röör, theater director Norrbottensteatern and Theodor Ringborg, CEO Konsthall Tornedalen.

– Investments in children and young people. Culture is like a rare earth metal that we have plenty of in Norrbotten, and if you can extract it early, you have a lot in return, said Johannes Sundelin (S), chairman of the regional development committee in Norrbotten, in response to the question of whether they were allowed to choose a strategic issue to strengthen in the cultural area.

“Artwork in a basement in Stockholm”

After the afternoon's introductory panel, consisting of regional politicians responsible for the cultural sector and regional development in their counties, cultural actors took the stage.

– Even though the art hall will be located in a village with 63 inhabitants, we are the country's most accessible art hall. There are good public transport and other connections as well as accommodation options, right on the border with Finland, which you can see through the window. We see it as part of our area here in Tornedalen, said Theodor Ringborg, CEO of Konsthall Tornedalen, and continued:

–We want this institution and are happy that we have been granted protection class 3 at the art gallery. This means that we can borrow works from, for example, the National Museum, because currently most of Norrbotten's artworks are in basements and collections in Stockholm.

“Innovative and cutting-edge”

Gunilla Röör, theatre director of Norrbottensteatern, spoke about her long relationship with the theatre, which is now her workplace.

– As a young actress, I made a pilgrimage to Sweden's first county theatre, which was then and is now innovative and at the absolute forefront of Swedish theatre, she said.

Nina Björby (S), Region Västerbotten, invited to the Arctic Arts Summit, which will be held in Umeå next summer. Mats Taaveniku (S), municipal councilor in Kiruna, spoke about the appointment as European Capital of Culture 2029.

– Kiruna is a fairly new city, but the culture and our diversity that has existed in symbiosis in this place is very old, he said.

Text and image: Dan Wergelius