Welcome to this dialogue format, developed and hosted by Social Form at LOKALE, presenting the work of artist Samara Sallam and director of Tensta Konsthall Cecilia Widenheim, on artistic practice, social engagement, impact and representation.
How can we share practice in the socially engaged art field, what are the premises of socially engaged artistic work and what kind of relation can we develop between artists and the institutional framework in the attempt to matter, reach new publics and impact current political agendas?
This afternoon's programme will begin with a presentation by Palestinian artist Samara Sallam, born in Damascus in 1991 and trained as a visual artist, journalist and hypnotherapist.
Through multi-layered narratives, Sallam explores the social, cultural, and political intersections of language, body, and psyche with various modes and depths of engagement that play out or challenge the structural forces around her and us. Sallam holds an MFA from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and a BA from the Funen Art Academy. Sallam also studied fine arts at L'école Supérieure des Beaux-arts in Algeria and journalism at Damascus University in Syria.
Cecilia Widenheim, former curator at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and director at Malmö Art Museum, will join us to share her views on institutional practice as care and socio-political engagement. Today she runs Tensta Konsthall - a socially engaged and internationally profiled art centre in the middle of a social housing area in the suburbs of Stockholm. During her time in Malmö and now in Tensta, she has collected and exhibited a wide range of socially engaged artists and projects, challenging the art world's presumption that social engagement is superficial, temporary and politically dysfunctional, while most Danish art institutions have shown little or no substantial interest in such work.
The two 30-minute presentations will be followed by a collective discussion moderated by Matthias Borello (founder and editor of Social Form).
After the conversation we'll share a vegan meal.
___FURTHER_INFO___
The event is a part of Art Matter Festival 2025
https://artmatter.dk/en/artguide/calendar/isnt-that-social-work
Social Form is a project, platform and publication on socially engaged art practices in Denmark launching the website during summer and fall 2025. The dialogue format Isn’t that social work will be an ongoing series of conversations on social practices, experiences and possible models within the Danish art scene – and beyond.
Social Form is supported by
Danish Arts Foundation, Augustinus Fonden, Ny Carlsbergfondet and BKF
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