opening hours
Thu 22 May 10:00 - 17:00
Fri 23 May 10:00 - 19:00
Sat 24 May 12:00 - 17:00
Sun 25 May 12:00 - 17:00
FREE ADMISSION
present tense
It is a virtue to "be present", and rightly so. But what does it mean to be present, in a moment when history rhymes crudely, when the future isn't what it used to be? What is the present, if not a rope strung high and tense across a chasm of doubt, between what we once were and what we might yet be?
A paradox: the tension keeps us from falling; the tension tires us out. With every step, our action echoes, ripples in the rope. Words are never enough, and the cold wind steals them from our lips – but what more do we have?
We have each other, and the possibility of a tomorrow that's different to today. But different how?
STPLN invites you to be present at Present Tense, a group show by members and alumni of The Lab. With a strong emphasis on participation, Present Tense will be as much an experience as an exhibition, in which your own creativity and engagement can add to and change the works and performances.
Join us in asking – and answering – the question "different how?"
Participating artists and designers:
Alexandra Grigorean / Anna Arvidsdotter / Anna Näsström / Annelien Denys / Annita Douka / Betty Norling / Duncan Geere / Felicia Hansen / Paul Graham Raven / Hanna Ågren / Jennifer McCormack / Marika Hedemyr / Mark Bond / Edwina Primananda / Paul Khadra / Robin Sandquist / Simon Rydén / Susan Putnins / Tijana Opavski
Curatorial & Production team
Visuals & Graphic design: Simon Rydén / Jenny Käll Karlsson
Curatorial text: Paul Graham Raven
Production & Logistics support: Annita Douka / Anna Näsström
Produced by STPLN
Contact Enes Musa for more information
scheduled workshops, concerts, and performances
Thur 22 May
14:00 Co-create Malmö: Co-designing platforms for participation – Annita Douka [workshop]
Participatory Design Interviews
How can physical spaces and digital platforms support collaboration among citizens, organizations, and companies to build more sustainable and democratic systems? Participate in a semi-structured interview conducted by participatory designer Annita Douka. Your insights will contribute to the design of environments that foster co-creation and community engagement in Malmö.
More info and sign up link here
18:30 Av jord är du kommen - A mixed reality walk for cemeteries – Marika Hedemyr [performance]
Led by Theia, an ancient planet that collided with Earth billions of years ago and shaped our moon, you walk through the cemetery with your mobile phone in your hand. Time is suspended and through digital layers you are taken through micro and macrocosm, in a story about our interconnectedness and what we leave behind. The work is performed live at Gamla kyrkogården 22-25 May, and presented in the exhibition at STPLN.
Fri 23 May
14:00 Co-create Malmö: Co-designing platforms for participation – Annita Douka [workshop]
Participatory Design Interviews
How can physical spaces and digital platforms support collaboration among citizens, organizations, and companies to build more sustainable and democratic systems? Participate in a semi-structured interview conducted by participatory designer Annita Douka. Your insights will contribute to the design of environments that foster co-creation and community engagement in Malmö.
More info and sign up link here
16:00 Dialogues with Nature – WeCurate [workshop]
“WeCurate” is a series of workshops on active choice where we harness our creativity and take a step away from the influence of algorithms. Our choices help us reflect on our relationship with ourselves and the world around us. We decide how we engage.
A walk is more than the distance between A and B. Join artist and activist Felicia Konrad and poet Jennifer McCormack on this mediated walk in urban nature. Slow walking and breathwork help us steep our senses in the city. Jennifer will read from “How to be Malmö”, a love-letter to the city.
No sign up needed, just drop in!
17:00 A Thread of Sound – Paul Khadra [concert]
In this performance sound becomes a thread stretched across two geographies: Sweden and Lebanon, places I carry within me and move between. Through layered field recordings collected in both places, this performance explores the paradox of presence: how we are shaped by where we are, and where we've been.
The piece unfolds as a dialogue between landscapes, languages, and textures. Each sound becomes a question: How do we carry memory into the moment? What futures flicker in the cracks of now? And can simply listening deeply and attentively be an act of presence, of resistance, of imagining otherwise?
No sign up needed, just drop in!
18:30 Av jord är du kommen - A mixed reality walk for cemeteries – Marika Hedemyr [performance]
Led by Theia, an ancient planet that collided with Earth billions of years ago and shaped our moon, you walk through the cemetery with your mobile phone in your hand. Time is suspended and through digital layers you are taken through micro and macrocosm, in a story about our interconnectedness and what we leave behind. The work is performed live at Gamla kyrkogården 22-25 May, and presented in the exhibition at STPLN.
Sat 24 May
12:30 Siktdjup – Anna Arvidsdotter, Simon Rydén & Duncan Geere [performance]
Siktdjup is an audiovisual performance combining poetry, music, and live generative visuals, exploring the echoes of seaweed, spines, and silences.
No sign up needed, just drop in!
14:30 Fabulous Speculation – Anna Näsström [performance]
“Fabulous speculation” is a work-in-progress performance. Somewhere between the private and the performative, you are invited into a choreographic speculation and celebration, amongst glass bulbs, fantasies and fabulations. Fabulous speculation explores Alchemy, which has echoed in time meeting new interest in our current. Whether it is the pursuit of new knowledge, gold or transformation - this particular performance-recipe entails dark, fun, fitful and repetitive ingredients.
No sign up needed, just drop in!
15:30 The View from the Fault Line (excerpt) – Susan Putnins [performance & workshop]
Susan will perform an excerpt from The View from the Fault Line, a full-length hybrid concert and workshop about the echoes from the past that ripple and shake the present ground, and how we might be able to reach our loved ones standing on the other side of political divides. Especially for SSDD, this version will include a blackout poetry activity using texts that have or could be divisive. The process is intended to be a way to simultaneously explore others' perspectives while still standing up for what we believe in, as well as to build a more sustainable future on the echoes of the past.
No sign up needed, just drop in!
14:00 & 16:00 Av jord är du kommen - A mixed reality walk for cemeteries – Marika Hedemyr [performance]
Led by Theia, an ancient planet that collided with Earth billions of years ago and shaped our moon, you walk through the cemetery with your mobile phone in your hand. Time is suspended and through digital layers you are taken through micro and macrocosm, in a story about our interconnectedness and what we leave behind. The work is performed live at Gamla kyrkogården 22-25 May, and presented in the exhibition at STPLN.
Sun 25 May
12:00 Zine Time – WeCurate [workshop]
Visual journaling, zine-making and little booklets. In this workshop we will make a book of images-it can be photos of your everyday life or your artistic practice.
We will show you some different options for making zines and you can choose what works best for you. Please bring a laptop to make a document with your chosen images so we can print them.
No sign up needed, just drop in!
14:00 Co-create Malmö: Co-designing platforms for participation – Annita Douka [workshop]
This project will showcase the participatory design process of a network of spaces and the design of a digital platform that support participation in Malmö, starting now and looking into the future.
Workshop: Roleplay the Future of Co-creation
Join a participatory workshop in the frame of Southern Sweden Design Days and Present Tense @ STPLN to explore Malmö's future through roleplaying and democratic deliberation. Step into 2040 and engage in a scenario where Malmö has established a network of spaces and a digital platform for participation. No prior experience needed. Bring your perspective and creativity to co-design Malmö's future!
14:00 A Stitch in Time – We Curate [workshop]
Eva Söderholm, art therapist, presents a simple embroidery workshop - no previous experience needed. Jennifer McCormack reads her work and shares a poetry frame with anyone who would like to try writing their own poem.
No sign up needed, just drop in!
14:00 & 16:00 Av jord är du kommen - A mixed reality walk for cemeteries – Marika Hedemyr [performance]
Led by Theia, an ancient planet that collided with Earth billions of years ago and shaped our moon, you walk through the cemetery with your mobile phone in your hand. Time is suspended and through digital layers you are taken through micro and macrocosm, in a story about our interconnectedness and what we leave behind. The work is performed live at Gamla kyrkogården 22-25 May, and presented in the exhibition at STPLN.