A Parallel History – The Independent Art Arenas of Skåne 1968–2008
16 October–13 December 2009
A Parallel History – The Independent Art Arenas of Skåne 1968–2008 is a unique and comprehensive project, comprising a publication and an exhibition focusing on the independent art arenas of Skåne, that is, all the organisers who start an arena by their own initiative and pursue a public or collective activity which extends beyond the framework of the individual artistic practice.
The exhibition highlights a selection of the arenas and initiatives that have constituted a dividing line or expressed new tendencies in visual arts in the last decades. Based on a rich source material in the form of photographs, invitation cards, posters, letters, publications, articles, TV material and a selection of artworks directly related to the arenas and initiatives presented in the exhibition, we particularly wish to bring to the fore the arenas that offer a platform for new currents in art as well as international exchange and tendencies. In order to be able to include important initiatives active before 1968, the exhibition is divided into six decades, from the 1950s to the present.
The independent art arenas make up an extensive and variegated range of initiatives with widely differing modes of operation and motive forces. Representing an important and self-evident part of every dynamic art scene, they are, however, largely undocumented in art history. With this exhibition we want to present a singular and vibrant art scene of Skåne, which has not been The art arenas presented in the exhibition include: Galerie Colibri, (Malmö), KRW (Malmö), Drakabygget (Örkelljunga), Galerie S:t Petri (Lund), Ubbeboda Art Center (Ubbeboda), Musem of Instant Movement/Balderup Institute of Art (Balderup), Pictura (Lund), Rostrum (Malmö), Galleri T.V. (Malmö), Läderfabriken (Malmö), Galleri 21 (Malmö), Rooseum (Malmö), Rum (Malmö), Beckerell (Malmö), Galleri Isidor (Malmö), The Pineapple Project Room (Malmö), and many more.