Artists in residence are found at all art museums today, aren’t they? Certainly! But Skövde takes the concept to a new level. With open arms and curiosity about the surrounding world, artists from around the world enrich the art scene in Skövde.

Skövde is an edgy player when it comes to art. When the team at the Art Museum in Skövde initiated their artist-in-residence programme in 2014, they took an innovative approach that was, and still is, unique to Skövde. They upended the playing field and let the brief of being norm-critical govern the choice of artists. Their attention was drawn to St Petersburg, where there was tension linked to increased propaganda against homosexuality, and artist Anastasia Vepreva was the first to be invited to Skövde as artist-in-residence. Skövde has subsequently broadened its global contact network, inviting artists from Havana, Cape Town, Yangon, Lisbon, and Homer and Anchorage in Alaska.

Let's connect!

This has resulted in new perspectives, interaction with the local population and valuable contacts.

“The unique thing about Skövde is that we create social contacts for the artists who come here. It’s a social art residency rather than an introspective period as it often is in other places. They get to encounter multi-faceted Skövde and present their work to a local audience,” says Skövde’s museum director Thomas Oldrell.

Do you think of art as something that embellishes and is beautiful to look at? Challenge yourself and rethink!

- Art is a friction where pieces don't fit together, the artist should come up with other ways of looking at what is the present," says Mette Muhli, curator at Skövde Art Museum.

In Skövde we welcome the new and unfamiliar. We are open-minded here and we know from experience that differing perspectives are enriching. Game on. Game on.