Arctic Art Forum in Arkhangelsk – Focus on Slow Culture

Arctic Art Forum – Slow Culture presents Discussion of the Quality of Everyday Culture

Arctic Art Forum

On November 25th and 26th Arctic Art Forum will take place in Arkhangelsk in northwest Russia. Finn Andersen, director of the Danish Cultural Institute in St. Petersburg, opens the forum, together with Andrey Shalyov, Norwegian Honorary Consulate, Michele Renee Widerøe, NODA (Northern Norwegian Center of Design and Architecture), Maxim Bomstein, general director of Malye Karely holiday village, Maria Skomorokhova, general director of Pervaya Studia event agency, and the curators of Arctic Art Forum, Ekaterina Sharova and Kristina Dryagina.

Besides participating at the opening, Finn Andersen takes part in a debate about sustainable development in cities and beyond. The main theme of the forum is slow culture, the concept is explained in the program:

“Culture is the sofa that we sleep on, it is a toothbrush we use in the morning, it is a timetable at the bus stop, it is the bus itself. 

Slow culture is about production of things, which influence everyday life of people in the North. 

A dress, an interior, an illustration, a lamp, a park, a plate, a poster, a wagon – all these things are produced by designers. The time which is used for production can correlate with the quality of the things. What would we choose today: quality or quantity? Fast food, fast culture or the uniqueness of the place?”

Last year’s edition of Arctic Art Forum had Embodied Knowledge as the main theme. The Participants challenged established ways of understanding the concepts of a capital, a professional and the contemporary.

DCI has contributed in implementing Arctic Art Forum, with funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers, as part of a project with the aim of strengthening Nordic-Russian cooperation concerning questions about the climate and sustainable cities.

Images: www.arcticartforum.com