While planning for my short-term artist residency at Aarhus Billedkunstcenter in August 2019, I came across several online articles outlining plans for re-development of an Aarhus neighborhood called Gelleruparken. The 1960s apartment buildings proposed to be demolished were of the Le Corbusier variety, thus what (now idolised) urbanists
Jane Jacobs or
Gordon Cullen would argue harm the future of city life. I wondered, could re-development and gentrification of this struggling neighbourhood create a better functioning and therefor happier community? What art could be made to reflect my position studying this place and its reality, today?
Reading the work of Cullen, Jacobs and Jan Gehl while in Aarhus, I studied public life, architecture and the impact of urban development on the common citizen - specifically, in the blocks that make up Gellerup. I also became interested in the godly perspective of the “master builder" and used the format of architectural models to create assemblage sculptures, made from materials which I found scattered around the construction sites of Gellerup.
As anyone would soon learn, Gellerup is a tight-knit yet overlooked Aarhus neighbourhood and community, primarily belonging to ethnic minority groups. However, due to a
legislative package passed by parliament in 2017 (which is poorly, yet officially named “Ghetto Plan”), Aarhus municipality's masterplan for redeveloping the area of Gellerup and will displace over 600 families. This is just 1 of the 25 targeted disenfranchised neighbourhoods of Denmark that is under threat. My miniature sculptures and wall installation here were exhibited at TækkerAIR in Aarhus, concluding my month of the artist residency. The works of
Great Big Plans stood as a visitor’s impression of the continuously changing city-scape and a comment on the absurdity and failure of the "masterplan."
(Installation images of
Great Big Plans , at TaekkerAIR gallery studio, Aarhus, Denmark, August 2019.)
Installation images of
Newly planted Aarhus tree replica(s), approx 4" x 2" x 2" each, made of dried local weeds, wood, acrylic, plastic, dried tea leaves, moss, hairspray, 2019.
Through meeting with grassroots organisations fighting gentrification there, and spending significant time in the public spaces of Gellerup, I exposed myself to difficult conversations, different cultures and a neighbourhood undergoing extreme re-development (arguably, brought on without the consent of its residents). Before and after my residency period in Aarhus, I also made time to visit similar neighbourhoods and public spaces in areas of London, Copenhagen and Gothenburg, Sweden. I visited museums, artist studios and networked with other visiting artists in Aarhus - all vital interactions that continue to inspire my practice while back in Vancouver.
At the end of my residency, I invited the community into my studio for an open discussion and an opportunity for the public to view some of my material explorations. The attendees consisted of a mix of artists, architecture students and neighbours with an interest in Gellerup and public spaces.
In the short amount of time granted to me in Aarhus, it was very difficult to follow all sides of Gellerup’s ever-evolving story. While conducting research, I was confronted with public accounts of the Danish government’s continual betrayal of its minority population --- systemic racism was not a term I initially associated with Danish policy-making. The complexity of the (very political) situation in Gellerup and my inability, as a foreigner and visitor, to understand Danish resulted in a wall installation at my pop-up event, which consisted of pages I had printed of an afternoon Google Translate-ing a 40 page document made by the Danish government outlining the details of their “ghetto plan.” The vocabulary chosen, after translation, was problematic to say the least.
Here is the proposed Ghetto Plan found on the Danish Government's
website.
I was hoping to come away from this residency, reassured that my self-directed studies on public space and history of architectural solutions in urban neighbourhoods could be transferable to any city in the world. But I left Aarhus with more questions than answers, and a greater desire to further understand civic identity, public and private life, and who we allow to determine value of urban space.
My residency at Aarhus Billedkunstcenter was generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Tækker Fonden.
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in the arts. The Council champions and invests in artistic excellence through a broad range of grants, services, prizes and payments to professional Canadian artists and arts organisations. Its work ensures that excellent, vibrant and diverse art and literature engages Canadians, enriches their communities and reaches markets around the world. The Council also raises public awareness and appreciation of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities. It is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which promotes the values and programs of UNESCO in Canada to contribute to a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. The Canada Council Art Bank operates art rental programs and helps further public engagement with contemporary arts.
@CanadaCouncil #BringingTheArtsToLife.
