Artists’ International Delegation 2019 to Denmark

Venue 1

ENTER ART FAIR
Enter Art Fair, Refshaleøen, Sønderhoved Matrikel 416, DK 1432 Copenhagen K
Introduction with Emil Lüth, VIP Relations Manager

A bit about ENTER Art Fair (from their website)
Our ambition: To meet the demand for a relevant and high quality international art fair in Scandinavia and to create the first and only ongoing virtual art fair experience.

Enter Art Fair powered by Artland is a new and ambitious international art fair in the Nordics. The first edition of the fair took place at the cultural progressive area Refshaleøen in Copenhagen and as the first of its kind Enter Art Fair and Artland combines the well-known art fair format with a state-of-the-art digital art fair experience.

ENTER is therefore the only fair that actually connects artists and galleries to collectors and other art lovers on an unlimited global scale all year round. The next fair will take place 27th – 30th August 2020.

Enter Art Fair and Artland recognizes the demand from the established International art community for an international high quality art fair in the Nordics. At the same time the mission is to continuously develop and maintain an innovative setting for younger art lovers and emerging collectors – a burgeoning force set to be the groundbreaking collectors of tomorrow.

By combining the physical art experience and personal meeting with a direct reach into the virtual reality, Enter Art Fair and Artland bridges the two.

A bit about ENTER Art Fair (from my notes)
There was a need for an international art fair. Some of the galleries were chosen and others submitted. There is a 3D scan of the fair online as they believe why should it end. You can buy the works online and they are changed every now and then. They visited galleries to build relationships and people took a chance with them. Nice mix of well established galleries and younger ones with more energy to compliment one another. The pink signs in the fair show which galleries are 5 years old or younger. Again this felt like a more traditional art fair that we’d have in the UK, each gallery to their own cubicle space.

Venue 2

CHART Art Fair
Oslo Plads 1 – 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art – CHART design fair venue Introduction with Iben Bach Elmstrøm, Curator of CHART Design

A bit about CHART Design Fair (from their website)
CHART Design Fair presents ambitious contemporary collectible design from across the Nordic region, bringing together the best Nordic design galleries and emerging design studios. Focusing on unique contemporary works, limited edition pieces and collectibles, CHART Design Fair unites established designers and emerging talents whose practices and originality contribute to the development of the Nordic design scene.

In 2019, CHART Design Fair focused exclusively on contemporary practices in two parts: a presentation of prominent galleries and a display of emerging studios and collectives from across the region.

CHART Design Fair provides a unique look at the Nordic scene for collectible design, highlighting both internationally esteemed practitioners as well as local talents, by presenting leading design galleries, designers, artists, and craft­ makers. Exhibited in unison throughout the historic rooms of Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art, CHART Design Fair gathers a cross section of the contemporary design scene, creating a platform to showcase the most original contemporary collectible Nordic design.

In 2019 CHART invited a select group of emerging studios and design collectives from the Nordic countries to present new unique works, many of which were shown for the first time. Studio presentations explored the intersection between art and design and exhibited the most compelling contemporary practitioners currently working across the region.

A bit about CHART Design Fair (from my notes)
This was one of my favourite visits on the trip. I really loved the curation of the fair in how it worked with the space and the work that was on display. Iben asked what would be our equivalent in the UK and Wing-Sie Chan (from a-n) replied with Collect in London. I visited Collect for the first time this year and I think CHART is more like the Open area at Collect. It felt like there’s more of a connection between art, craft and design in this fair so the language of it felt great for me. This year having been on the Crafts Council Hothouse programme spending time mostly with crafters / makers, it was quite a change to spend time away with artists in Denmark. For me it really highlighted my background in design and it’s an area that I would like to explore more in terms of having conversations between artists, crafters and designers.

Meeting with Martin Rosengaard, co-founder of Wooloo and Human Hotel
The Human Hotel story
2002. Back in school, in the days before Facebook (and even Myspace), we had the idea to create a social network for matching artists with exhibition organizers. This became Wooloo.org 2004 A few years later we moved to Berlin and opened up a shop in Mitte where you could request a new life.

(It took months before someone finally did!)

2006 We also ran an Avantgarde Dating service matching artists as couples based solely on their work. The idea was to challenge the concept of monogamy. 2007 In NYC we took experimental matching to the next level with our Life Exchange. Participants left a Chelsea townhouse with each others clothes, keys, wallets and lives. 2008 Back in Europe, we organized a festival that matched artists, creative projects and experimental architects with unused Berlin spaces.

(So much fun! Berlin was still full of cheap spaces back then.)

Our festival favourite was Fictive Days, a project that invited people to live as their preferred fictional character for 2 weeks…

(and stay in character of course!)

…and two of them ended up getting married – for real!

(They’re still married today)

2009 Then came the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen where we helped 3,000 activists find housing by matching them to local hosts.

(Here’s a Peruvian shaman conducting a ritual for Mother Earth with her Danish host)

2010 After that big task, we moved down in scale and asked a small Danish village to stop watching TV for a week and adopt their neighbor’s life instead.

(Watch that story unfold itself here)

Commissioned to create a work for the Manifesta 8 biennial, we invented a non-visual residency program and matched 5 international artists with 5 blind locals to live and produce work together in a completely dark space.

2012 – 15 The City of Copenhagen hired us to create a 3-year program for visiting artists to live with local hosts, collaborate on projects, and publicly exhibit the results inside their private homes.

2014

A science conference requested our help with hosting 30 scientific Ph.D students so we reached out to a large community of beekeepers and matched them together.

(This resulted in a ton of home-brewed mead)

2012

Oh, forgot to mention that we also invented a Spiritual Council that matched local politicians with clairvoyants helping them to look into the future.

(watch the film about this unique collaboration)

Or that we built a huge public candy machine and sold edible sweets made from the hair of bankers guilty of ‘insider trading’ during the financial crisis.

(That has nothing to do with matching people but what a trip it was to get their hair…)

Venue 3

Kunsthal Charlottenborg – CHART art fair venue
Nyhavn 2 – 1051, Copenhagen, Denmark

A bit about CHART Art Fair (from their website)
CHART Art Fair is the leading contemporary art fair in the Nordics, located at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in the heart of Copenhagen. The fair presents visitors with an exclusive collective presentation of the best galleries in the Nordic art scene. In providing audiences with a single entry point to the Nordic gallery scene, CHART creates an opportunity to experience the highest quality contemporary art in the Nordic region today.

Since its foundation in 2013, CHART Art Fair has established itself as the most prominent international platform for contemporary art galleries from across the Nordic region. Uniting tradition and innovation, CHART Art Fair challenges the boundaries between fair and exhibition.

CHART Art Fair builds on a foundation of collaboration, facilitating a collective presentation of internationally renowned contemporary art galleries. Exhibiting in unison at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, the fair rethinks the traditional art fair format by inviting collectors and visitors to experience a contemporary art fair in a setting that resembles an exhibition.

A bit about CHART Art Fair (from my notes)
This felt more like the type of art fair we would have in the UK such as The Manchester Contemporary for instance. Both in the way it was laid out and the type of work on show. It was very hot during our visit and although there were lots of fans around the venue it really didn’t invite you to stay there for very long. There were 2 main rooms with smaller spaces around the venue hosting other exhibits. It wasn’t very easy to find your way around and notice the smaller places such as installations or artists studios.

Venue 1

Ta·da art space
Ta·da, Fanøgade 36, 2100 København Ø
Introduction with Anne-Louise Knudsen

A bit about Ta·da art space (from their website)
Ta·da is an artist-run space situated in a laundromat in Copenhagen, Denmark. The exhibitions mainly consist of 9 x A3 frames/formats placed above the washing machines. At times, different ways of interacting with the space will occur.

Ta·da is run by Rikke Goldbech and Anne-Louise Knudsen

The laundromat is open daily between 07.00 – 21.00

A bit about Ta·da art space (from my notes)
Anne-Louise who introduced us to the space was born in Denmark and later went to Central Saint Martins to study Graphic and illustration. In Denmark it turns out it is not an advantage to study abroad, you can only really get into the arts scene if you have studied at at least 1 of the 3 universities there. So, Anna-Louise found others who had also studied abroad to join and something together in the areas that they live in. The gallery space was supposed to be a trial for 6 months but has carried on to this day. It is a simple concept of 10 x A3 frames as they wanted something to go well with the space. This is the minimum requirement for an exhibition but if you want you can add more, again if it is in keeping with the space. For instance, one exhibit involved a karaoke evening in the laundromat with 3D objects exhibited on the open evening.

Sometimes it can be confusing for those using the washing machines there. One lady thought an artwork that was in English was instructions and panicked that she couldn’t read them. The owner doesn’t like disturbing the business but over time, the artists / curators have learnt what works well and what doesn’t.

When they first opened, they had a new exhibit every month. Communication with participants makes up a lot of the work. Openings would be on Friday nights. Artist run spaces are hardly ever open as you need someone there to invigilate. By having it in a laundromat, it helps to have the exhibition on show when it is open.

Venue 5

Copenhagen Contemporary
Curator Refshalevej 173A, DK-1432 København K
Introduction with Jannie Haagemann, Head of Exhibitions, Senior

A bit about Copenhagen Contemporary (from their website)
Copenhagen Contemporary (CC) is Copenhagen’s international art center showing installation art created by world stars and new emerging talents. CC occupies the magnificent former B&W welding hall offering a total of 7,000 m2 of beautiful industrial halls with plenty of space to show the technical and large formats in which many contemporary artists work: total installations, performance art, and monumental video works. Art that can often be entered and sensed with the whole body.

CC is one of Scandinavia’s largest exhibition venues for contemporary art and a lively meeting place for a wide audience. CC creates collaborative partnerships and organises events with a number of different partners across cultural genres locally and internationally. You can attend art talks, art walks, concerts, creative workshops for children, visit CC’s own shop offering Scandinavian design, and experience the unique and historical city district of Refshaleøen.

Since 2016, CC has organised exhibitions featuring, among others,Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Carsten Nicolai, Ragnar Kjartansson, Pierre Huyghe, Bill Viola, Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, Sarah Sze, Christian Marclay, Anselm Kiefer, SUPERFLEX, and Doug Aitken.

A bit about Copenhagen Contemporary (from my notes)
They had to prove that a space was needed in Denmark for large scale installations. They are dependent on private foundations. They would like more performance based exhibitions.

This place is epic and is a really exciting space to be in! The signage design is lovely and the scale of the artworks really created an atmosphere in the space which is one of my favourite ways to experience art! Claudia Comte, I Have Grown Taller from Standing with Trees, was the first exhibit we saw leading into Donna Huancas, LENGUA LLORONA. I had never seen either artists work before. The curation was really great, in the first room with Claudia Comtes work the light was a softer yellow light and then in Donnas exhibit it changed to white light. There was also a scent in this room adding to the atmosphere in there. I would highly recommend this gallery as a visit for those who love large scale art.

Venue 4

OK Corral
Rolighedsvej 9, DK – 1958 Frederiksberg
Introduction with Johannes Sivertsen

A bit about OK Corral (from their website)

After three successful years at Carlsberg-byen, Ok Corral has relocated to a large backyard basement on Rolighedsvej 9 in Frederiksberg. In addition to changing the address, Ok Corral also has new members.

OK Corrals aim is to give young curators and artists room for experimentation and the opportunity and space to present solo- and group- exhibitions of high artistic quality.

Wednesday – Saturday from. 13 – 17
Only open during exhibition periods.

A bit about OK Corral (from my notes)
OK Corral was an artists run gallery and studio space. They received funding from the Danish Art Foundation which helps them to pay people to do their website etc. They have open calls for shows, the artists in the gallery spaces don’t tend to exhibit there and try to help a younger generation of artists as they feel the need to pass the help on. They mostly have solo shows. They hired a manager for the space, Louisa who is an Art Historian. Louisa curates the show, they go through applications together thought. There is no commercial interest for them. They have 1 show per calendar month. They are a group of 7 artists. It’s easy to start an artist runs pace but it’s harder to keep it going.