Kulturverket 

Kulturverket started in 2005 and is part of the municipal administration of the city of Umeå, Sweden. Kulturverket is commissioned to give all children in the municipality access to cultural experiences and to integrate aesthetic learning processes in the everyday work of the schools.

Most projects start in schools (K-12), but end up being presented in institutions like the opera or the Museum of Contemporary Art. All projects are carried out in collaboration with institutions, universities and colleges, museums, the opera, libraries, etc.  

”Kids tell pros what to do” 

Kulturverket respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life by initiating projects where art plays the central part and children “Tell pros what to do". Children's ideas, texts, music etc. is developed together with older children, university students, teachers and professionals such as composers, artists, musicians, writers and directors. They all cooperate in the final presentation of their work, which may be a concert, an exhibition, or some other type of performance.

Unexpected encounters and cultural “clashes” have lead to new artistic expressions such as a blog opera, a Hockey musical, Turbo dancing and Invisible Food.

Mission Possible 

Kulturverket initiate the projects and contact schools and partners. Institutions such as universities, academies of dance and music, operas, and museums are all eager to take part as they all have an interest in reaching new audiences and the young generation. These institutions contribute by putting their resources at the disposal of the projects- localities, technique, orchestras, and artists and of course, their professional knowhow.

Collaboration with schools, academies and artists in other countries add to the diversity of expressions. Kulturverket has collaborated with e.g. the Academy of dance in Rome, the opera in Hanoi and schools in Vancouver, Canada.

Cultumea

Cultumea is the website where you can read about and follow all the project. Skripter is a tool for collaborative creative activity, developed and designed to meet the need for collecting and creating in different forms. For example, the text- and sound material for the project Penalty Killers was collected in Skripter.  

The European Public Sector Award 

In 2007 Kulturverket received the European Public Sector Award (EPSA) — for innovative work with children and young people. The jury's motivation: 
  
“The project "Kids tell pros what to do" breaks new ground in Europe in showcasing the 
artistic ideas of young people through professional performances, including song concerts, 
dance performances, an opera, and a computer game, giving young people throughout the 
city the opportunity to see their ideas presented at the highest quality level." 
 

Contemporary Science Contemporary Art - Where’s the Art in research^? 

In collaboration with e.g. the School of Education at the University of Umeå, Kulturverket is currently developing a project where researchers and artists meet in the classroom and children help turn research into art. Kulturverket creates an arena where the cultural sector, non-profit associations, school and university are given the opportunity to meet and learn from each other. The project is sponsored by the National Inheritance Fund.

Download a folder

Here you can download a folder about Kulturverket: Folder.pdf