Info in English

Next Century is a series of visits to Region West Sweden by artists from South China, particularly Shanghai. During the project period April 2019 to September 2020, 10-20 Chinese printmakers will be invited to visit west Sweden printmakers on shorter or longer terms. They will be accomodated in improvised forms, work with us in our workshops, exhibit publicly and lead workshops for collegues and for the public.

Next Century Exhibition Tour 2020:
Grafik i Väst 11.1 – 29.1
Ålgården i Borås 8.2 – 23.2
Binnebergs tingshus 29.2 – 15.3 
Marks Konsthall i Kinna 21.3 – 5.4
Litografiska Akademin i Tidaholm 30.4 – 31.5
Vänersborgs Konsthall 22.8 – 26.9

Swedish partners. Seven workshops and seven exhibition venues will participate:

1. Grafik i Väst, Göteborg,
2. Ålgården - Konstnärernas Verkstäder and Gallery, Borås
3. Litografiska Akademin, Konstlitografiska verkstaden in Tidaholm with the International Lithographic Symposium in August 2020
4. Marks Konstgrafiska Verkstad, Kinna
5. Skaraborgs Konstgrafiska Verkstad, in cooperation with Skövde Konsthall
6. Vänersborgs Konstgrafiska Verkstad in cooperation with Vänersborgs Konsthall
7. KKV, printmaking departments, Göteborg

Konstgrafiska Verkstaden Dalsland in Åmål participates as an observer. They will recieve the same information as the rest of us and be summoned to the same meetings but have no vote and no committments.)

The touring exhibition.
The Chinese artists are picked by our Chinese counterpart cooperation partner, independent curator Waverly Liu, in cooperation with and representatives for the West Sweden printmakers. Our works will tour together. An artists' council will use corresponding expressions and set up pictorial culture encounters.

Sales.
Most of the exhibited works will be for sale. Deliveries will take place during late 2020.

Workshops and lectures.
In connection to the exhibitions will workshops and lectures will be arranged. Some of these will be directed to the public, which will be invited to practise hands-on printmaking and to mingle with our guests. We will in particularly direct these events to recent immigrants and youth.
The purpose is here to promote a general interest in and knowledge about graphic arts and maybe even find new members to our labyrinthine network of associations.
A pedagogical groove with a global perspective will be developed in our talks and lectures. Relevant subjects might be technical innovations within picture-making or recent development of imagery as a language of democracy.

Lodging
Waverly Liu has stressed that a majority of the Chinese artists appreciate visits ”behind the curtains” and would thus rather stay in private homes than in anonymous hotels or hostels.

A siblings project.
The Next Century project has a sibling; during 2020 and 2021 we want to visit China under similar or corresponding circumstances.

A regional Network.
West Sweden has a vital artistic and cultural life in which printmaking holds a strong place. We want to emphasize this. In addition to the partners of the NC project there are several collective print shops and studio associations with a printmaking profile. Examples are Ateljéföreningen Kanten and Bolaget Vardagsbilder (Everyday Pictures).
Our Chinese visitors have expressed appreciation of our culture and our ways of cooperating, which they find ”exotic and interesting”. Through Next Century a regional network is established. Thereby the warm spirit of our collective is strengthened and might continue to attract artists from countries where commercialism and/or political power has a stronger grip on cultural life.

Artistic ideas.
Participants. Young, Chinese friends have repeatedly expressed exaltation over things we inherited frpm our grandparents, for instance art, porcellaine and embroidery and other appliances with patina. They say they don't see so much of the kind in their own environment.
But Chinese culture of today seems to be very innovative, energetic and aimed forward.
By showing contemporary Swedish and Chinese prints side by side, we can highlight similarities and differences in temperament and attitudes, and found a most solid ground for comparative talks and a true cultural meetings.

Description 5/4 2019
Björn Therkelson,
project leader