WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA OF THE PROJECT AND WHO IS THE TARGET GROUP?

What is the impact on a town when old housing blocks are demolished and replaced by modern housing estates? What happens when big companies close and reopen in other locations? Who decides the direction and priorities of where we are heading as a country, a society and a community? These are among the questions to be posed by the public art festival Tumult when 21 art projects are shown in public spaces in the so-called periphery of Denmark.

In a dynamic dialogue between places, audiences and contexts, Tumult creates inspiring personal experiences and social development. As free and creative expressions addressing everyone, art in public space can reach people across the population and open up new possibilities.

Tumult is organised by the municipalities of Vordingborg, Guldborgsund and Lolland in cooperation with the Museum Lolland-Falster and Museerne Vordingborg. The festival is curated by Christian Skovbjerg Jensen.

WHAT DOES THE PROJECT INCLUDE?

Tumult is a contemporary art project taking place on Lolland, Falster, Møn and in Vordingborg in southern Denmark. Artists and art collectives present new projects, produced specifically for the area, which engage with the area's history, culture and population. Interventions, films, sound sculptures, city walks, happenings and much more take over towns and landscapes, cause changes and create new experiences and possibilities.

Twenty-one unique new surprising and challenging art works appear in public spaces and engage with issues and people locally, nationally and internationally. The art relates to the area, giving people the opportunity to engage with current issues in new ways and contributing to pushing culture in new, vital directions.

Tumult takes place from 22 August to 24 October 2010.

Twenty-one artists and artist groups are presenting new projects created for the festival and the area. The participating artists include international names such as Mark Dion, Aleksandra Mir and Nina Fischer and Maroan el Sani.

In Superflex’s contribution to Tumult, Hotline to the Periphery, a psychotherapist guides audiences through internal conceptions of the centre versus the outlying areas. Call +45 5473 2676 or +45 5467 7007 to listen to the hotline.

American artists have copied objects and artefacts from local history archives on Lolland, Falster and Møn and in Vordingborg as part of Mark Dion’s contribution to the festival, A Baker’s Dozen to the Goose Tower. Mark Dion’s project questions whether the museum’s presentation of historical objects and its way of arranging the world is factual or fictional.

Aleksandra Mir’s anthropological interview project, Visionaries of Lolland, examines common issues of life and portrays the contrasts and similarities between different cultures. Experiences are gathered and shared anonymously in order to make public our failures and honest opinions. The statements will also be incorporated into a global project and book series bearing the title How Not To, which covers such subjects as How Not To Cook, Romance, Parent, Travel, Work, Sport, Art, Nature, Pet and Live & Die.

Thomas Kilpper in his project Anemonevej Surprises has chosen to work with four buildings that are due to be demolished. Kilpper moves into the empty apartments where he lives and carries out a series of installations and decorations. Like an archaeologist of the modern world, Kilpper observes the buildings and reflects on how they will be emptied and abandoned, as well as on the nature of buildings with no future.

In the video The Line, Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani focus on the loss of identity that arises when a community loses its principal workplace and a traditional craft.

The art projects focus on everything from the relationship of a sugar factory to the surrounding town and community to how an outdoor fitness park can be created in cooperation with local citizens. Other projects deal with the local sculptural heritage, a former bridge, buildings due to be demolished, advice on life in general, how the transformation from old to new industries affects people, our fascination with objects, and much more.

Common to all of the artists and contributions is that they work physically and socially with the region – with its history, customs, qualities, problems, reputation, self-image and future.

The region of Lolland-Falster, Møn and Vordingborg is being challenged by changes in the political landscape. Globalisation, the financial crisis and the recent public sector reforms and restructuring have had dramatic social and economic consequences for many peripheral areas in Denmark. What remains are towns, municipalities and regions that have suddenly been told that they have become unattractive peripheries.

Tumult invites everyone to experience the 21 art projects, and to gain new perspectives on the current debate on the periphery.

Guidebooks and maps can be downloaded from the following links:

• a map with addresses and opening hours
• a guide with an introduction by curator Christian Skovbjerg Jensen to Tumult, places and art projects.