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The art project Tänka med jorden (Think with the Earth) is now being established by Art Lab Gnesta in collaboration with Nynäs manor & Nature reserve and Sörmland Museum. The project aims to establish a sculpture park at Nynäs Castle and has recently been granted a three-year regional development grant by the Swedish Arts Council. The park invites reflections on the role of man as part of nature. An experimental place where artists, young people and audiences can meet in questions about how we live in, use and protect our surrounding landscape. The project is carried out in collaboration with students from schools in Nyköping, Gnesta and Trosa.
The artistic work is based on Nynäs Castle, its more than 800-year history, the surrounding landscape and the 3822 hectare nature reserve. New works of art – some permanent – others more temporary, will be developed by invited artists.
– It feels so good that we have now managed to create conditions for encounters between art, culture and nature. To explore, discover and create together with artists, children and young people from Sörmland and parts of the region’s activities will in the long run be a vitamin injection for the whole county! says Åsa Kratz, chairman of the committee for culture, education and outdoor activities Region Sörmland.
– The sculpture park at Nynäs will be an exciting gathering place, both for a wide audience and for the art field. Our ambition is for all municipalities in the county to be involved in a permanent operation. In the longer term, this investment will be important for the development of contemporary art in Sörmland and we are very happy about the collaboration, says Sanna Svanberg, image and design consultant, Sörmland Museum.
– We look forward to raising the discussions about coexistence that both young people from Sörmland and many artists are already involved in, and to dare to stay in the difficult questions about the future that we jointly face. Working with soil under the nails to create completely new works of art at Nynäs with its long history, it really becomes a way of Thinking with the earth, says Caroline Malmström, artistic director at Art Lab Gnesta.
The collaboration’s first artist is Åsa Elzén, from Näshulta in Sörmland, who in 2021 is working on a new work of art in collaboration with students from Öknaskolan’s nature management high school.
About Art Lab Gnesta
Art Lab Gnesta is a place for experimental connections between art and society. They create meetings between art and artists, the local community, schools, art institutions and others who work with art or community issues – both locally, nationally and internationally. They are located in the old brewery in Gnesta, where they do exhibitions, workshops, publications, talks and other events. In their studio program, they invite artists to explore and produce new art that fuels the discussion about our time and its challenges.
About Nynäs castle and nature reserve
Nynäs Castle is an almost complete mansion, with original objects that reflect the lives and homes of the owner families and their servants for almost four centuries. The castle’s equipment is owned and cared for by the National Museum. The nature reserve around Nynäs Castle was established in 1971 and is one of Sörmland’s largest. To the surface, it covers a total of 3822 hectares and extends over both sea, land and lake. Today, the reserve is managed and managed by Sörmlands Naturbruk, part of Region Sörmland’s business area Culture & Education. The historical heritage with the knowledge and experience of past generations preserved in the lands, buildings, objects and documents is an indispensable resource for an estate that looks ahead! Today, Nynäs Castle and Nature Reserve offers a solid range of exhibitions, tours and guided nature experiences during the summer season.
www.nynasslott.se
About Sörmland’s museum
The County Museum is located in Nyköping and has operations throughout Sörmland with, among other things, exhibitions, programs, courses, advice and cultural environment assignments as well as collection and management of the museum’s collections. Today’s questions about a sustainable society and the importance of democracy are at the center. Through collaboration with both municipal and independent artists, the regional art activities will contribute to the development of the image and form area in Sörmland.
www.sormlandsmuseum.se