Between vision and reality

“Between the vision of urban planning and the distortions of reality” - a conversation on art and city planning at Signal Center för Samtidskonst, Malmö, 28 Nov 2022.

The year is 2022. The gaming giant Massive has purchased an entire block and moved into Möllevången. The former textile factory has become “Trikåfabriken”, with new tenants and a new direction. The rehearsal spaces at Sorgenfri have been replaced by the newly built residential building “Iggy.” It's no surprise that a city grows and changes. But what happens when everything becomes homogenized? How can we ensure that public art spaces and creative production sites are not pushed out by office complexes?

Malmö's art scene is thriving, yet several studio associations, exhibition spaces, and collective workshops are under immediate threat of losing their premises. Economics, profit maximization, and the vision of a dynamic mixed city are proving incompatible. We need to challenge entrenched structures and traditional displacement mechanisms. It's often said that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. So, how do we protect a mixed and sustainable city where everyone has a place, including the less financially powerful, such as artists and cultural actors?