We have been working together in different constellations since we went
to The Academy of Fine Arts at Umeå University in the north of Sweden. We
graduated 1996 and 1997. We are Anna Kindgren and Carina Gunnars. Directly
after the academy we started working at and with and alternative art space,
Ynglingagatan 1, gallery. We were 21 persons running the space and 12 were
artists. We exhibited our own work as well as invited other artists for one
night (Wednesday Happenings) or for longer exhibitions. All 21 persons shared
the rent of the space and the 12 artists, Swede, paid a little less than the
others who either had “real jobs” or were students. At this time the 2 of us
had bread jobs on the side. Carina worked at a museum as guard/care-taker, and
for 3 years at Gallery Index in Stockholm as a ”house artist” making
video-lounges with a program and as a ”host” in the weekends and also with
teaching at art-schools/academies, giving lectures and doing workshops. Anna worked at another museum as a host/guide, with teaching jobs, workshops, lectures, jury work at different art
academies and preparatory art schools. She has kept up the museum job part
time. It has developed into other tasks and served as an economic supplement.
We have never been part of the commercial art market.
Collaboration has always been important to us. We
worked together with 2 other artists (Ingrid Eriksson and Karin Johnson, also
graduating artists from Umeå Academy of Fine Arts and members of Swede at
Ynglingagatan 1), between 2000 – 2006. This project, called love and devotion, managed to work without
having our own space. We always worked parasitic on the place we were invited
to. This meant we did not have to pay for a studio. Other costs, as also all
the incomes we made as a group, we always divided by four. This kept our
expenses quite low and so partly prevented us from having to take full time
jobs outside of the art context. We were also lucky to get individual
scholarships from the Swedish state.
After love and devotion ended in 2006, we, akcg (anna
kindgren and carina gunnars), continued to work together as artists. Since 3
years we have a studio of our own, for the first time since we graduated. It is
an affordable space in a southern suburb of Stockholm. Partly we get a subsidy
from the city of Stockholm that covers some of the rent. Stockholm City is
becoming more and more gentrified with high rents so finding a space in the
suburb is a lot better for us. Teaching and lecturing has been directly
connected to our art practice. The museum job is giving another perspective on
the art field. The conditions for everyone in Sweden are changing dramatically
due to the neo-liberal hegemony that kicked in after the last elections in
2006. It has been going on for a long time but it is now ”implemented”, to use
a word from the management culture. This is having effects on the art context
and the art education, and will change the landscape radically. Art that
doesn’t feed itself on the market will most probably have less support from the
neo-liberal state. This also changes how much art it is possible to bring into
different work situations from teaching to museum jobs. In Sweden it is still
possible to earn money from official art commissions and it is also still
possible to apply for grants. But of course this is not something that is
guaranteed but something that has been very important for artists since after
1945 and it is great when it happens. We got a 2-year working stipend a few
months ago and that will keep us alive for another period of time and it will
also give us possibility to concentrate 100% on our art. So we’ll see what
happens next…
25.01.2012
