‘The Art of Living on Art’: Creatives Navigating Sweden's Cultural Life
Eight writers, journalists, and artists, currently or formerly in ICORN residencies in Sweden, participated in ‘The Art of Living on Art’ course, held in Gothenburg at the end of 2023. Developed in collaboration between Nätverkstan and hip-hop artist Khaled Harara, the course was designed to support ICORN residents in navigating the Swedish cultural infrastructure.
Inspired by Khaled Harara’s own experiences of establishing himself as an artist in Sweden, the idea for ‘The Art of Living on Art’ has long been in the making. Following the end of his ICORN residency in Gothenburg in 2015, Harara continued his higher education by taking a course in ‘International Cultural Project Management and Leadership’. This prompted him to develop ways in which ICORN residents can continue their work and start new projects in Sweden while dealing with the challenges between expectations and reality, shares Harara. What eventually came about was ‘The Art of Living on Art & Navigating the Cultural Infrastructure in Sweden’ course for ICORN residents, organised by Nätverkstan and Harara.
‘The Art of Living on Art’ was a three-stage course held in Gothenburg at the end of 2023. It engaged eight current and former ICORN residents in Sweden, including artist Sara Khayat, writer Raafat Hekmat, rapper Justina, and writers and journalists Ahmad Azzam and Saiful Baten Tito. The course was designed to equip ICORN residents with professional knowledge, tools, and networking skills to continue their work in Sweden after their two-year ICORN residencies. ‘The Art of Living on Art’ focused on providing deeper understanding of the processes within Sweden’s cultural landscape, the financing of cultural project, the competencies required, and the participants’ relevant experiences and motivations.
Sara Khayat and Raafat Hekmat shared that participating in ‘The Art of Living on Art’ was useful in underlining the importance of networking and collaborations with Swedish cultural professionals and other ICORN residents. Khayat and Hekmat added that writing funding proposals and gaining more insight into cultural management in Sweden were valuable experiences.
Khaled Harara said:
‘I hope that ‘The Art of Living on Art’ will become a part of the ICORN system. The course can make a difference to ICORN residents in acquiring the skills and networks to continue to be successful after the ICORN residency’.
‘The Art of Living on Art & Navigating the Cultural Infrastructure in Sweden’ was coordinated by cultural project manager Jesper Eng and cultural experts Karin Dalborg, Anna Johansen, David Karlsson from Nätverkstan. Eng stressed the importance of sharing knowledge and experiences and is now working on arranging a second round of the course in 2024.
This article was written in collaboration with Johanna Bäärnhielm, Nätverkstan.
