Şaneşîn
Hässelby (Sweden)
Inaguration: 20th February 2020
“A stage, a meeting place and a rewriting of history. With Şaneşîn, Nasim Aghili, Björn Karlsson and the Council of United Creoles have transformed Hässelby into a place that reflects grievability.
A society is a weave of innumerable stories but
history is often written as only one. Not seeing and hearing the full
story can mean mortal danger for people who are not seen and heard, as
well as a major loss for the majority culture that owns the dominant
narrative.
When artists Nasim Aghili and Björn Karlsson, in collaboration with
the Council of United Creoles, initiated their work in Hässelby the
central question was which bodies are permitted to make their mark in
the urban space. Which experiences are allowed to be seen?
The Stockholm suburbs Hässelby and Vällingby feature much public art
that reflects an idea of a 1950s populated by a relatively homogenous
working class. The amphitheatre Şaneşîn provides our contemporary age with a representation. Şaneşîn reflects the Creole experience, which encompasses migration, multilingualism and an anti-racist struggle.
The circle of stones, the brick-built benches, and the mulberry
bushes evoke a majestic expression. Mounted on a text-clad pole
supporting a solar cell, a loudspeaker emits the sound of Maya Angelou’s
poem Still I Rise. Şaneşîn is a stage where grievability and resistance are displayed as everyday actions.”
/Public Art Agency
Photo: Ricard Estay (Public Art Agency)
*Şaneşîn, kurdish for pavillion, balcony or the place where kings sit.
aghili/karlsson were one of the artists/groups participating in Public Art Agency Sweden’s project Art is Happening, together with the community based association Rådet av Enade Kreoler in Hässelby-Vällingby. Together we worked on questions around autonomy, sustainibility and meeting places in Hässelby and Vällingby, mirroring the knowledge and experience of the Creole identity.
The collaborative work resulted in the permanent piece Şaneşîn* – parts of an amphiteatre made by Iranian travertine and Swedish (Ölandsten) a limestone + a solar panel driven poem by Maya Angelou everyday at 5 pm.
Info about Rådet av Enade Kreoler: https://www.facebook.com/enadekreoler
Info about Art is Happening: https://publicartagencysweden.com/konst/art-is-happening/on-art-is-happening/
aghili/karlsson were one of the artists/groups participating in Public Art Agency Sweden’s project Art is Happening, together with the community based association Rådet av Enade Kreoler in Hässelby-Vällingby. Together we worked on questions around autonomy, sustainibility and meeting places in Hässelby and Vällingby, mirroring the knowledge and experience of the Creole identity.
The collaborative work resulted in the permanent piece Şaneşîn* – parts of an amphiteatre made by Iranian travertine and Swedish (Ölandsten) a limestone + a solar panel driven poem by Maya Angelou everyday at 5 pm.
Info about Rådet av Enade Kreoler: https://www.facebook.com/enadekreoler
Info about Art is Happening: https://publicartagencysweden.com/konst/art-is-happening/on-art-is-happening/
