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--></style><title>Fwd:Sweden's first LGBTQI+
monument</title></head><body>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>Conny Karlsson Lundgren:<i>
Gläntan</i></b></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Sweden's first LGBTQI+
monument</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>Esperantoplatsen</b><br>
Inom Vallgraven</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>SE- Gothenburg, Sweden<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><a
href=
"https://email.e-flux-systems.com/campaigns/hf153njgex4e8/track-url/rl482sqxhp5a5/e3765bf5f6b92e6271a1a7db3ca5486b00ebccc0"><span
></span>hbtqi.goteborgkonst.se</a></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite> <br>
At the end of 2023, Sweden's first LGBTQI+ monument<i>
Gläntan</i>, or "The Glade", was inaugurated. It is located on
Esperantoplatsen in central Gothenburg and was created by artist Conny
Karlsson Lundgren. It is meant to remind people of the struggle for
the rights of LGBTQI+ people: today, in the past and in the future.
The public artwork is meant to serve as a place to meet, remember,
mourn, dream and manifest.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>The monument is made up of several parts
that reflect different times and places. It is based on shared common
experiences from Gothenburg's LGBTQI+ history.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>"A polyphony of voices, lived
realities, experiences, needs and desires will share a space here. For
me, the artwork reflects the multitude of voices and the collective
processes that have led to this," says Conny Karlsson Lundgren.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>Multi-layered spaces</b><br>
In the middle are three pink layers in stone/concrete that can be used
as a meeting place and a stage. Each layer represents a space from
Gothenburg's LGBTQI+ history. None of the spaces remain today, but
they are all depicted according to their original 1:1 scale floor
plans.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>The dance floor</b><br>
The pink paving stones show the layout of the dance floor of the Touch
nightclub on Esperantoplatsen in the 80s and 90s. The nightclub,
situated in the same building as the non-profit Swedish Federation for
LGBTQI rights, was bustling with visitors, and many social meetings
and contacts were formed here over the years.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>The building also housed the
organization's café, bookstore and library, and was central to its
efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>The kitchen</b><br>
The middle layer shows the layout of the kitchen in the feminist
collective "Högst upp", or "At the top". The collective was
housed in an apartment in Gothenburg from the 1970s until 2017.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Known for its openness, the collective
had women, lesbians, queer feminists and trans people as residents and
visitors over the years. One of the bathrooms contained the
collective's notebooks, which became an open archive. The kitchen
was the hub where parties, political meetings and other gatherings
took place.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>The bedroom</b><br>
The top layer shows the bedroom of "Josefin", whose home was one
of several secret meeting places for gay men before homosexual acts
were decriminalized in Sweden in 1944. The community at "Josefin"
revolved around sharing experiences, desires, and stories, listening
to music and dancing together.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Several of those visiting "Josefin"
had fluid gender identities and referred to each other by female-coded
names.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>The pillows</b><br>
On top of the uppermost layer are three pillows made of pink marble.
The pillows are depictions of real pillows of contemporary LGBTQI+
people, a reminder of all the private lives and intimate desires that
have been exposed and turned into politics in the fight for equal
rights.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>"For many of us who are part of the
communities that make up the shimmering LGBTQI+ spectrum, this is the
lowest common denominator," says Conny Karlsson Lundgren.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><i><b>Gläntan</b></i><b>-The
Glade</b><br>
The entire location is framed by trees which, as they grow, will
enhance the intimacy of the glade. This mirrors the numerous parks and
areas within the city that has provided alternative spaces to express
desires.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>The movement</b><br>
Across the ground is a dotted brass line that symbolizes the route of
the march for equal rights during the 1981 Gothenburg Liberation
Weekend. The line ends where it begins.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>"The line signifies an understanding of
time as both labyrinthine and circular: that the struggle doesn't
end."<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><a
href=
"https://email.e-flux-systems.com/campaigns/hf153njgex4e8/track-url/rl482sqxhp5a5/4ea6971c8236bf1c329df0a7e8dce848fe18138f"><span
></span>Listen</a> to Conny Karlsson Lundgren talk about the artwork
(six minutes/english subtitles).</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Conny Karlsson Lundgren holds an MFA from
Valand Academy of Fine Arts. His art is created through
interdisciplinary methods and explores the boundaries between social,
political and private identity.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>The artwork was financed by the Charles
Felix Lindberg Donation Fund of the City of Gothenburg.</blockquote>
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