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More Creative Events A More Creative Region
More Creative More Creative is an ambitious, strategic initiative dedicated to creating business growth and jobs by developing the creative industries. The initiative is lead by Central Denmark region in partnership with Aarhus 2017 to make Denmark a global player in the creative economy.
Rebecca Matthews CEO, European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017
Bent Hansen Chair of the Regional Council, Central Denmark Region
Aarhus 2017 has joined with More Creative to showcase the amazing ingenuity and potential that exists in our creative industries in Denmark and the Central Denmark Region. There is a thriving community of invention and expertise in our midst. In our year as European Capital of Culture, we are using this opportunity as a catalytic moment to bring these exciting enterprises to the attention of local, national and international audiences.
In the Central Denmark Region we firmly believe that creativity will become increasingly important – for businesses as well as for society as a whole. The challenges we all face call for creative solutions. That is why we launched the More Creative initiative supporting creative stakeholders to develop their businesses and strengthen the creative environments across the region.
Denmark leads the way in re-thinking the concepts of modernism in architecture, design, film, food, fashion and digital communications. Through clever research thinking and by studying the human dimension, Denmark continuously breaks new ground by proposing fresh solutions to old problems. In this book we speak with some of the people behind these movements towards a human-centric approach, and we profile just some of the ground-breaking projects that provide inspiration, from both the grasshoppers and the giants of our brilliant creative region.
Our close partnership with European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017 means that we have a unique opportunity to showcase the talents of this region to both a national and an international audience. And we have good reason to be proud. In this book you will meet some of the talented creative people and businesses in our region, and throughout the year you will be able to experience the unfolding of this talent in a number of spectacular events. Enjoy!
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Introduction — Juliana Engberg
Interviews Architecture — Kristian Skovbakke Villadsen Animation — Morten Thorning Design — Marie Kristine Schmidt Fashion — Christian Stadil Film/TV — Nadia Kløvedal Reich Gastronomy — Jakob Vinkler Grassroots — Adrian Matthew Fey Playgrounds — Lise Specht Petersen and Stephan Gustin
More Creative Events
Aarhus Walks On Water ANYbody Bring Home the Oystersa Creative Tastebuds Creativity World Forum Fish-á-deli Circus Future Living How can we feed the World? New Danish Modern New Nordic Noir RISING Architecture Week Super8000 The Catastrophic Meal Viborg Animation Festival
Business by Design The Architecture Project Headstart Fashion Interactive Denmark Food Organization of Denmark
Juliana Engberg Programme Director European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017
Sociable, Sustainable, Fair and Fashionable The creative industries in the Central Denmark Region exemplify the cultural and creative cross pollination of research, design thinking and fabrication that make Denmark such a compelling business and social study. Danes just do it differently! The approach might be broadly described as sociable. Certainly it seems clear if you examine many of the recent outputs in Danish Architecture, Urban Planning, Food and Gastronomy, Applied Design, Fashion, Filmmaking and even Animation and Gaming, that there is, at the heart of things, a kind of human-centric approach that significantly contradicts the machine-led culture of earlier modernity. The New Danish Modernism is an organic, responsive and future thinking attitude that seeks to reinvent the ideas of how we live, work and play in places geared to community and shared ideals. Design and creative industry in contemporary Denmark has become ultra-sensitive and attentive to the social and enterprise environments that have become de-sensitized by things that cause fracturing of community and isolationism. They aim to make things sociable again. This pursuit of sociability is historically embedded in the Danish psyche of course, from Viking times to the alternative communal lifestyles that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. But the extent to which it is actively enlisted in contemporary design and business approaches suggests an awareness of recent cognitive studies that have sounded alarms about the current era in which screen culture and cocooning can be seen to cause a deficit of empathy, lack of awareness of consequence and loss of larger narratives. Neuroscientists have, for over a decade now, been watching the patterns of brain behavior as the screen generation has matured. Many academics of repute,
such as eminent researcher Susan Greenfield, suggest there might be links to attention deficit disorder and a number of negative social consequences that come from immersion in the screen enabled narcissistic tendencies of the 'me' and 'selfie' generation. Happily she and other researchers have also verified that the brain is 'plastic' and adaptable. Being of a positive and practical disposition, Danes have swiftly moved to shape environments and create opportunities that train and retrain the brain to welcome and thrive in situations of social stimulation from face to face and group dynamic encounters. The impetus to create the opportunity for play, interaction, team challenges and group relaxation are now all part of the design thinking that has evolved into some of the most exciting buildings for schools, hospitals, public services and businesses. Dokk1 in Aarhus, recently awarded best new library in the world, is a case in point. In the era of digital books and archiving, many cities would think twice about investing in a major building for reading, borrowing and researching. But Dokk1 has redefined what libraries can and should be. With an average of 4,000 visitors per day, Dokk1 proves that libraries are in fact not only about books. A well designed 'library' can be a magnet for communities and embrace the concepts of diversity and democracy in its approach to access, space, activity and even boisterousness – a concept anathema to the previous 'shhh' generations of hushed readers in silent book tombs. With its internal concrete zig-zagging ramp, which allows all bodies to access the main spaces of the building, the architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen, together with researchers, town planners and librarians have conceived of a building that is a flowing organism pulsing with life. Quiet zones, chat nests, chill spaces, activity rooms, citizens' advice and registration bureaus and a constantly evolving visual environment
make Dokk1 a place of interaction for the whole of the community and every generation. For recently arrived people into the city, Dokk1 becomes an instant location point and reinforces the sense of gathering. It allows the community to see itself - productive, cooperative and happy.
and opportunities provided by the sharing economies? Will villages have a role to play in a new decentralized approach as technology changes the necessity for the megalopolis? How do we work to avoid personal isolation as technology enables and encourages the micro work environment? We seek solutions for a sustainable future through the lens of predictive design.
This is just one example of many such contemporary spaces and demonstrates several other aspects of the Danish way of doing things - in particular the Mid-Jutland approach to health and well-being through architectural planning. The work spread across the Central Denmark Region by architectural firms such as Schmidt Hammer Lassen, Cobe, Årstiderne, Friis & Moltke, Arkitema Architects and C.F. Moller demonstrate a heightened awareness of the ways in which great buildings, amenities and environments can produce a mind-set for success and happiness. Or what has become lately described as 'livability'.
When we speak about sustainability we mean both for the environment and for society and we find that they are in a symbiotic relationship with each other. When we consider diversity we think about other cultures but also about those within our own society who need different opportunities to live alongside the mainstream, and we find that tolerance combined with innovative ideas about future living hold some of the answers. We look at innovations in health accommodation that provide protection and independence for unique users.
This attention to livability – places designed for, and to create active bodies and minds with a human focus and logic – is pre-emptive rather than reactive design. By inspiring people to use their bodies, allow free play, encourage collectivity, and connectivity, human-centric design thinking is creating the conditions of longevity and cognitive agility – human sustainability.
Democracy is the core principle that underpins all things Danish. Democracy in this context also marries to the very Danish attributes of collectivity, equality and cooperation. The collective effort - working together, deciding together, delivering together with a common approach to solving problems, socializing and planning futures - is the bedrock upon which our year is built. And we find that the creative industries intertwine.
As well as boosting health, these human based design solutions add beneficial aspects to the use of public space. Following the inspirational ideas of revolutionary Danish urbanist, Jan Gehl, and his quest to make cities for people, well thought through public space can provide security through open and porous corridors. Urban strategies — like resisting the urge to fortress and protect, rejecting the car-centric approach of the mid-last century in favor of pedestrianisation and low impact transport options such as bikes — keep the community mobile and connected. During our year as European Capital of Culture we intend to examine and showcase examples of the ways in which the creative industries are advancing our three core values: Sustainability, Diversity and Democracy through new thinking and approaches. In our programme we create a number of cross current flows to demonstrate and experiment with these values and to offer prototypes to activate them. We look at Cities, Society and Materials in our RISING Architecture Week event that sets challenges to seek future solutions for cities and towns as they reshape as a consequence of technological and anthropological evolutions. We ask, what might the driverless city look like, need and offer? What will be the design response
Many people around the world have been inspired by the new directions in Danish food – from foraging to line caught fishing. This approach to re-attaching to the land, to rethinking the locally sourced and sustainably grown is not just a fad, but part of a movement towards consumption consciousness. And it is not only found in the celebrated Michelin star restaurants. On beaches, in small start-ups, in moveable kitchens, food enterprise joins with social enterprise to create a food movement with a distinctive sociable atmosphere. Communal tables, participatory cooking, cooperative sourcing and research into future food ladders are all ways of thinking about food and about the community in which it is grown, cooked and consumed. It might just be that your isolated day in a tech-enabled cocoon finds relief in the communality that comes from preparing food and eating with others. Food and dining are social glue, and sitting around a table stimulates discussion and opens the consciousness to untested thoughts in a convivial and shared atmosphere. Danes make films differently. The approach is collective and team based. Here in the Central Denmark Region we are witnessing a new generation of filmmakers who have been trained not only to make work, but to build a philosophy of cooperation by living, studying and work-
ing together. The inspirational learning retreat that is the European Film College in Ebeltoft, as well as the Super8 group in Aarhus, the Film College at Filmby and a variety of small production teams all demonstrate this collective approach. For Aarhus 2017 we have supported a number of productions and experiments to stimulate this dynamic film environment. The talents of small nations need to be nurtured, and by creating writing workshops such as New Nordic Noir, led by the wonderful writer of the acclaimed television series, 'The Bridge', Nikolaj Scherfig, we hope to cultivate the next phase of Danish film and TV storytelling. Our talented animators, located in Viborg at the Animation Workshop and in Aarhus, have grasped the opportunities of new digital animation techniques while honing their skills in more traditional analogue approaches. Real modeling, 3d computer modeling, drawing, and film and photo based stop animation are just some of the tools utilized by teams of creative animators, not only for entertainment, but for training manuals, medical instructions and remote learning tools. The Viborg Animation AniDox Residency experiments show that animation can play a part in making hidden histories visible though imaginative recreations. Our fashion talents, like our architectural innovators, are looking at clothing as part of an eco-system, not just as high-end design. Many people think fashion is just frivolous, but it is a profound statement about our cultural condition, reflecting on our values and contemporary life. If we observe fashion carefully we can read all manner of trends – economic, ecological and psychological. The high street used to define 'trends' but more and more we see an eclecticism coming into play in fashion. This shift comes from the internet generation - wired up, self-promoting, self styling and sharing. As a result we are beginning to see the emergence of exchanging, up-cycling and re-purposing as part of the movement towards the shared economy. It will be a very nimble industry that can catch up and stay ahead of the game. So the game will need to be reinvented. The Danish fashion industry has a close relationship to the real - to fibres, to comfort and to the skin. While many others will take the high road to hyper pleats, Danish designers understand the beat of the street in an easy, unfussy way that has mass appeal. In part this relates to the close connection Danes have to issues like sustainability. If you want to save the world, get on a bike! If you ride then you need to have the attire that can manage that and still look cool and collected when you get to work or a party. Danes instinctually design with practicality in mind.
Behind the scenes Danish researchers are inventing special fabrics and body extensions that will lead the world in the near future as fashion grapples with environmental challenges, scarcity of natural products and the emerging bionic era. The future looks interesting and fashion will be an essential part of it. When Aarhus Walks on Water in 2017, body extensions, prosthetics and interactive fibres will be part of the show. Aarhus 2017 looks to Sustainability, Diversity and Democracy and fashion is about all of these core values. If you dress right you can save energy, decrease the carbon footprint, and be creative by up-cycling, recycling and accessorizing. Fashion in our year sets an agenda for diversity by proposing an ANYbody to embrace difference. During the ANYbody event astonishing new shapes will be encountered in the city and region to challenge our idea of what makes the perfect fashion statement. The idea of 'design' is synonymous with Denmark. And in 2017 we celebrate both the historical icons and the recently iconic as we shine a light on New Danish Moderns to investigate the ideas and principles that make Danish furniture, fittings and objects so desirable to the contemporary mind set. Quality, research into usability, adaptability to small spaces and a sense of sociability define a consciousness in design approach that makes sense in the new environments being created for the urban dweller and worker. Aarhus 2017 has interacted with a multitude of creative talents drawn from the Central Denmark Region. In this book we speak with some of the key people behind these exciting enterprises, and we profile many of the brilliant projects that will be showcased in our year as European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017, a year in which we put the region on the global map and show our wares to the world.
Kristian Skovbakke Villadsen Architect MAA, Partner and Director Gehl
" Having a public realm that we share despite our differences is essential for creating a sense of society. Simply seeing each other in the same space is key to giving the perspective and empathy needed to understand that we all belong to the same society, even though we live different lives."
Gehl, founded in 2000 by Helle Søholt and Jan Gehl, has led the way in building cities for people by the process of human-centric observational research. Metropolises such as New York, Melbourne and Copenhagen have looked to your practice for inspiration to create livable cities. Can you expand a little on your history and approach?
What do humans need in cities? And what is the biggest threat to them obtaining what they need?
For the last 16 years, Gehl has worked in over 250 cities in more than 50 different countries and everywhere we go we take the time to sit down and look at how the physical form of the city influences the life of people. We know for sure that every time the shape of a city changes, it influences the way we live our life for better or worse.
The biggest threat is that, even though (almost) every city in the world now makes livability part of their vision, this often remains as words and good intentions, simply because cities rarely have the data about how people live to include in the equation. So when new cities are being built, or old ones are being redeveloped, they aim to be livable, but design decisions tend to be based on the standard available metrics - economy, traffic models, construction efficiency - but not measurements on quality of life. Making this data available for decision makers is key to prioritizing and understanding what livability means in city planning.
As a practice, we have moved from pure observational research, to utilising data for recommendations, implementation and evaluation – essentially creating a new process for planning and designing cities for people. In this process improvements are based on people's actual use of the city. Today we work in a variety of ways, from policies and strategies for cities such as New York and Shanghai to actual plans and design as in the case of Bassin 7 on Aarhus Ø. We also continue to develop our observational research - in Aarhus and several other Nordic cities, we have recently been mapping the value of social networks for their cultural life.
People need people, they need spaces that invite them to share a variety of experiences, and they need spaces that contribute to a high quality of life every single day.
There appears to be an ongoing exodus from small villages to major cities. Does your practice have any thoughts on how to make the village a more inviting place to stay, live and work in? We know that urbanization is an ongoing global phenomenon. Whatever the scale – village, town or city
ARCHITECTURE INTERVIEW 12 — 13
- our starting point remains the same, it always starts with people. It is as relevant to observe how people interact with their environment in the village as it is in the large city. And it is just as important to provide high quality spaces, meeting points, diversity and opportunities for using green mobility in small towns as it is in metropolises. The biggest difference is perhaps that in the villages, we often see limited resources and lack off critical mass. This means engagement and ownership become an even more important element in the planning process to empower local initiatives and co-creation.
Cities must have diversity, flexibility and equal accessibility for everyone. If you want to create a city, it should be 'all inclusive'.
You have inspired cities to embrace pedestrian areas and bicycle tracks. As H. G. Wells said 'cycle tracks will abound in utopia'. Can we still believe that cities can be utopias? And what might we need to do to work toward this ambition?
'Materials' should of course be sustainable and recycled/recyclable, and they should be used in relation to scale, diversity, quality and tactility in a given context, to provide the biggest positive impact for people, with the resources available.
Utopia is in a way an unreachable ideal, but creating cities for people shouldn't be. Infrastructure for pedestrians and bicycles is an important factor in creating a sustainable future, but it is also a simple tool for making cities accessible and safe for all ages and all income groups - for locals and tourists alike. One could say that providing good conditions for pedestrians and bicycles is the most efficient way to secure a friendly, human 'interface' for your city. It is really about creating attractiveness and equity in the city and that shouldn't be a utopian ideal.
In the Aarhus 2017 programme we have a number of future gazing projects. What is your hope and vision for the future and what might Denmark look like in the year 2097?
In 2017 the architecture conference RISING Architecture Week will look at the City, Society and Materials. If we were to create a new city from scratch, considering these 3 topics, how would we design it? 'Cities' are independent entities that should offer all the necessary amenities: education, libraries, recreation, homes, jobs, shops etc. and they should have a physical framework with a spatial hierarchy of streets, squares and parks - equally accessible for everyone.
'Society' is about being part of something bigger than yourself. Currently segregation is one of the biggest challenges in cities. Therefore having a public realm that we share despite our differences is essential for creating a sense of society. Simply seeing each other in the same space is key to giving the perspective and empathy needed to understand that we all belong to the same society, even though we live different lives.
We need cities where it is easy to do good. Most people choose their lifestyle, based on what is most convenient, easy and accessible in their everyday. So, we have to create cities where the most convenient, easy and accessible lifestyle is also the most sustainable and livable – it is as simple as that.
14 — 15 ANIMATION INTERVIEW
Morten Thorning General Director The Animation Workshop, VIA University College
"Everything can be told, pictured or explained with animation - whether it is an epic universal fable involving armies of battleships crossing galaxies and fighting swarms of pink space unicorns, or a manual on how to assemble your new bookshelf."
Tell us about The Animation Workshop (TAW) in Viborg as a unique model? Do Danes do it differently? We have not seen a model of institution like Viborg's TAW anywhere else in the world. So in this case, yes, Danes DO do it differently! But The Animation Workshop is actually an international place possessed by a very international spirit. The uniqueness of Viborg happens because a number of different activities and organizations are placed under the same common leadership, enabling them to focus precisely on the needs for equipment and software, the shape and size of indoor and outdoor space, the knowledge base and the international networks. This creates the right mood for attracting a specific target group of international students and artists. Everything that people do at The Animation Workshop relates to a few basic artistic core crafts: storytelling, drawing and animation. These crafts all require that the practitioners constantly challenge and develop the mental skills of their imagination and creativity in the different processes. This means that nearly everyone in the community has the same challenges BUT they work in an art form and in a medium that requires a high level
of co-conscious thinking. TAW functions just the same as if you put 600 musicians into a giant summer camp: everybody wants to play with each other, everybody is striving for perfection of their artistic craft to be good playmates for the others - the only difference is that they are making animation and storytelling rather than music. Why do you think animation has gained a whole new audience lately? Everything can be told, pictured or explained with animation - whether it is an epic universal fable involving armies of battleships crossing galaxies and fighting swarms of pink space unicorns, or a manual on how to assemble your new bookshelf. There is no limit except the imagination of the people producing the animation. Animation is always standing on the edge of what we, the human race, have not yet imagined. Animation is one of the tools we use to expand our imaginative universe. The generations of children growing up during and after the 80s were spoon-fed with animation on TV. It changed their imaginations. This has resulted in a whole new strain of humans that have come to accept and love animation as a legitimate storytelling tool.
16 — 17 ANIMATION INTERVIEW MORTEN THORNING THE ANIMATION WORKSHOP VIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Technological development paired with economic growth has resulted in an immense number of different entertainment platforms and screen-based media constantly trying to capture our attention. A sign of success when a country, a tribe or a society moves up from poverty to establishing a middle-class, is the arrival of individual screens. These screens need content. 'Content is King' but animation is the 'King of Content'. All the hardware is brought to us by investment strategies far beyond our power, comprehension and reach. But the content, the use of animated narratives, is what we can create, influence and produce, hoping to bring our world and society closer together as a whole, unifying us as one people on planet earth. How does the Animation Workshop play into this growing trend towards animation and visual communication? By observing and trying to place ourselves inside this trend. By asking ourselves the important questions: How can we contribute? How can we make artists meet across borders and nationalities? How can we facilitate innovation, development and the creation of new animated or graphic narrative? How can we make technology accessible for new talent? How can we influence the creation of meaningful content in a business-based world?
From 2017, The Animation Workshop has been designated a National Centre for Animation, Visualization and Graphic Storytelling by the Ministry of Culture. This means the centre has to develop animation related culture, education, research, teaching and innovation within Denmark. What better year to start such a wonderful project? We will do our best to make it happen. What innovations have you launched in Viborg? Our achievements include boosting the use of animation in communication, healthcare, learning and teaching, and creating the first Animation Strategy for a municipality. There is an ongoing process of artistic innovation taking place, creating new high quality art, animated scenography for theatre, animated documentaries, a constant output of artistic animated shorts and commercially viable products including animated universes, games and virtual reality. How do you think that animation can contribute to meeting the challenges of society? Animation can contribute by constantly trying to make communication simpler, stronger and better, by creating positive narratives, and by building tolerance, curiosity and democracy. The best way of solving the challenges of society is by making clear and truthful communication and dialogue. Animation is great for empathic and clear mass communication.
What are the future opportunities for Viborg and The Animation Workshop?
What are you most excited about when you see the work emerging from your students and business base?
IP development, world building and the creation of universes and graphic storytelling will be the biggest initiatives for TAW in the coming years. Denmark, in spite of our own perception of ourselves as a creative country, has not really produced any important and globally visible international IPs. We are about to change that with a number of initiatives.
I am excited by the fact that we are changing Denmark by bringing future skills, media skills, narrative skills and technological skills to this part of the country. By doing that, we are making Denmark bigger and stronger. The country is too small to concentrate all its cultural development in a small corner of one eastern island.
Another opportunity is to pick up the challenge of visual effects (VFX). By doing that we will be pushing Danish film from social realism toward more epic storytelling. We expect in the coming years to move heavily into VFX, both on the production side of our artist residency and in our education courses.
It is nice to be able to see the results of such a long-term project as TAW has been. I have been here for 28 years. In the beginning I was involved in everything, but today I see new projects that I haven't even heard about. The place has an incredible creative strength thanks to all the imaginative minds collected here.
From 2018, based on the experiences from the last couple of years, we will establish a pan-European project bringing animation into the art-spaces of cities across the continent. Viborg aims to be an epicenter for European animation. That will happen when we realize these goals and start to attract global companies or service work from big key players like Amazon, Disney or Nickelodeon.
The biggest excitement is when I realize that we have succeeded in providing talented young practitioners and ambitious artists with such a strong framework to support their development. That is a great feeling!
Marie Kristine Schmidt Vice President, Brand, Design & Marketing Bang & Olufsen
" All our products serve a very specific purpose and we pursue this purpose relentlessly in the design process. We focus on innovation rather than novelty. We put people before technology and our products are never gimmicky."
Bang & Olufsen is an iconic flagship company with massive global reach and a reputation for acoustic delivery at the high end. With such historical depth in the company, how do you keep the icon relevant for the contemporary market? Bang & Olufsen is founded on some core qualities: design, acoustics, delightful interfaces and high quality products. These qualities are shared with our customers, and remain relevant over time. All our products serve a very specific purpose and we pursue this purpose relentlessly in the design process. We focus on innovation rather than novelty. We put people before technology and our products are never gimmicky. Our products are designed to last, and they communicate their purpose through a very clean and luxuriously simple language. How does research into the user experience enhance your capacity to build upon your market and enlarge it? Bang & Olufsen is a design driven company, so we always put the customers at the center of our innovation. This implies carrying out deep research, spending time with customers and consumers to identify pain points, patterns and insights that fuel the concept and design process.
Building and growing our market very much comes back to understanding how technology fits into our customers' lives now - and in the future. Bang & Olufsen has been the 'go-to-product ' for people who want quality sound. Of late you have made a move into the broader domestic market with cool new iconic objects. Is this the trend for the future of the company? Technology enables many new 'use-cases' for how people live, and consume music and content. Delivering high-quality sound experiences is at our core, but how we design the experience depends on the purpose of the use-case. Are you looking for an amazing headphone, a portable speaker that is small enough to take anywhere? Or are you seeking the best speakers for immersive listening in your home? User need dictates how we apply our values but one thing is certain - you will get a very high quality experience in any given circumstance. How does Bang & Olufsen keep ahead of trend as the technological environment is changing rapidly? In short, we stay ahead by firstly zooming in on what we are good at and doubling down on that. And secondly, we partner up with other strong companies so we can
leverage their strengths and platforms. Our strategy is to build on open platforms and add that extra cool experience on top - and that is how we stay relevant.
There is no doubt that working with artists challenges us and it brings in new angles and perspectives. So this is definitely not the last time we will do it. We always need to challenge ourselves to stay ahead of the game.
You have recently worked with glass artists in Milan – do you have plans to collaborate with other artists and artisans in the future and how does this enhance your brand?
What are the forward trends for sound technology and users?
Yes indeed. And we have worked with other artists before, like Miya Ando who is a really interesting practitioner working with aluminum - a key material for us looking back over many decades.
Sound is becoming more and more important in our lives. After a 'recession' in the quality of sound due to changing music file formats etc., the market is now seeking better sound quality once again. We see growth rates on vinyl.
We see more and more people really caring about the acoustic environment of private and public spaces. And we see an increase in the general interest in sound. Another trend is that we expect more flexibility from our homes. The home has to cater for many different things, and serve several purposes. We are already focused on designing for this increased need for flexibility and this is an area where you can expect to see more interesting offerings from Bang & Olufsen in the future. One example is the concept of sound zones that we are deeply involved in.
In the Aarhus 2017 programme we have a theatrical presentation by leading British company Blast Theory called '2097: We Made Ourselves Over' a technology led sci-fi experience. Where will Bang & Olufsen be in 2097? Ha - good question! It is easy to fall into a very philosophical mode here. But let me give it a go. Looking roughly 80 years ahead it is an absolute given that technology will change radically from where we are today. That being said - there are some everlasting truths for us as humans. We are emotional. We hear. We feel. We see. And I believe it is safe to say that both design and music are here to stay. So what does that mean for Bang & Olufsen? In 2097, our Why? will probably not have changed as much as our What? and How? in the process of staying relevant to our customers.
FASHION INTERVIEW 22 — 23
Christian Stadil Entrepreneur, owner and CEO THORNICO Group
" We gather all our best ideas from the subconscious; the conscious level has a very narrow broadband so management by fear quite simply closes off the water faucet of creativity."
Your company includes numerous brands – can you tell us about your business strategy and your marketing push to gain global attention for you brands? We are a conglomerate, with over 120 operational companies and a lot of brands, sections, industries and so on, so the way we work differs for each company. Many of our companies are market leaders globally in their sector, for example we lead in shipping and food related technology, and our recyclable packaging company is the world's biggest. But a company like our sportswear brand, Hummel, is very small in the marketplace compared to mega brands like Adidas or Nike. In terms of brand positioning, we look at the market and we always try to do something a little bit different, something new. We look for the unique opportunity. With Hummel, there are so many things we can't do that the big companies can afford to do, like sponsor the Barcelona Olympics. Hummel sponsored the Danish team and that was very successful, but it's tough being up against these guys. Big sports and fashion brands can access funding that we can't. They have stockholders from all over the world. Who owns Adidas or Nike? Nobody knows. Their stockholders are from the UK, Russia, China, the US,
France, Germany… and we have just one stockholder – me – sitting in Denmark! So our closed door becomes our open door. We can do things they simply cannot do. Nike and Adidas don't dare to do projects in Afghanistan for example, but we've just sponsored the Afghanistan national football league. We made the jersey for the women's national team. That story, about girls playing soccer in a stadium that was used previously to execute people, was seen, heard or read by 500 million people throughout the world through associated press, CNN, Huffington Post, CCTV in China and so on. We also sponsored the Danish team of Christiania, the biggest 'hippie' community in the world. When Snoop Dog came to Denmark to play he wore the Christiana jersey; when Bono came to a party here with celebrities like Helena Christiansen etc. they were all wearing these t-shirts. The slogan on it says 'you never smoke alone' – its a play on the Liverpool football team motto 'you never walk alone'. To make a t-shirt for a hippie town is something Nike would never dare to do. They're not allowed to do it because of their stockholders. So our big opportunity in terms of brand positioning and growth is to go where the big guys dare not go.
How do you create a team culture that can achieve that? Across all my companies, regardless of size, we strive to be unique in the market while all the time staying hungry and keeping the creativity and innovation flame burning. How do we do that? Firstly, when it comes to idea creation, quantity equals quality. You create a culture that generates lots of ideas - so you have enough on the table for one of them to be potentially really good. We work with risk willingness, we have to take chances, we have to try. And we strive to work with creating meaning – that is a big part of our company philosophy. We also try to create companies where playfulness and humour is part of our language and of how we work, think and act with each other. I don't believe in management by fear. Its been neuro-biologically proven that this causes employees and colleagues to have a 'fight or flight' response. Scientifically, this causes a barrier to the sub-conscious level of the mind. We gather all our best ideas from the subconscious; the conscious level has a very narrow broadband so management by fear quite simply closes off the water faucet of creativity. What's exciting you at the moment in terms of product development? We are currently talking about a new project we will do with one of the biggest insight companies in Europe, and one of the biggest energy companies in Holland where we will turn algae into a source of protein. Essentially we extract protein from algae and in so doing we provide a new renewable energy source. We are also working on a project where we will be the first company in the world to make healthy snacks based on egg white protein. It's been a great success. And we're looking at how we can use artificial intelligence in our machines by applying robotics in food production. Tomorrow I gather all my CEOs in Odense for our annual meeting where we talk about our thoughts for next year,
and as always I will place disruption on the agenda! We will look at new possibilities for each company – for example Hummel now has a strategic partnership with Macy's, New York, so if you're sitting in a rural part of China you can now go shopping, how can we use that? So we always strive to be curious and ambitious. You are known for lifting new and young brands and talents into prominence – is this important to your business approach? Is mentorship important to you? It's very important. I'm in the Danish version of 'Dragon's Den' where I get to meet young entrepreneurs. Why do I stand on stage with the Prime Minister talking about invention? It's because it's important for the future. The population of Europe is decreasing, but growing hugely in other parts of the world, so it's very important to build for the future. It's important to support Danish talent and Danish products. And this is working - the Danish market for fashion is growing and now has a yield of around DKK 1.5 billion. In business we need to stay sharp, and the way to do that is through working with the young at heart. Not just young people, but people who think creatively. We can learn a lot from them. At the same time I like to create opportunity for our young employees. It is a privilege that the top content guy in the country can join a meeting and explain something to all our young staff which will build their knowledge and entrepreneurial strengths. Can you expand upon your idea of Good Karma? I have been interested in Buddhism for 30 years. Karma is a concept that is influenced by Hindu and Buddhist teaching, but it's not about religion. It fits well with our philosophy and we use it in all of our thinking - our Company Karma does projects throughout the world. It is about strength through interdependence and connectivity. Basically it is the belief that we can't be a silo, we have to acknowledge place and connectivity, and the consequences of our actions.
We believe we can combine business with doing good. And we work with karma throughout our 3 main management pillars. Karma drives our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) where we have measures like: 'reduce the number of work incidents', 'reduce energy consumption', 'reduce chemicals in clothing production'. Our Second Pillar is about combining doing well with doing good. And our Third Pillar is about creating meaning internally. Companies that work with meaning also make more money – it's so important to create feeling. I have the world's only CKO! (Chief Karma Officer) Aarhus 2017's key values are based around Sustainability, Diversity and Democracy. Is social enterprise a part of your bigger picture? Sustainability is the cornerstone of our nation's DNA, its part of what we are. We were the third country to give women the vote, we established Christiana in 1972, our freedom movement, our history of volunteering… all of these things come out of the Danish notion of free thinking, which correlates to sustainability - the idea that we are part of a bigger community. It goes right back to the Vikings – people think they were just about plunder but that's not the case. They worked things out, like how to survive together and how to keep food fresh – that takes innovation. We have to be more innovative in the north than in the south where things come more easily. That's just the bitter truth! What are you most excited about when you see the work of emerging fashion designers and product makers? Sustainable design is very interesting. Young designers are looking at how to reduce our footprint and technology is one of the most important new realms. For example we are working on how to measure things through the air, like your blood pressure, or your swimming distance. Good fashion never goes out of style. It always looks fresh. Personally I like to mix things up for contrast –
and I don't always wear my own brands. Yesterday I was wearing a Norse suit with Hummel trainers for example. I love that retro design is still cool. I love Japanese brands. But I am also very excited that we have just purchased the biggest girl brand in the country, Stine Goya, which is the clearest generic signature brand in Denmark. How can culture and business work together to maximise opportunities? I get so much inspiration from culture. I was called 'Hollywood insider' at school because I knew everything about films and I still read 2 books a week, and love collecting art. It's all about how we work with storytelling – artists always tell stories. We get lots of inspiration from artists, and we often collaborate with them, for example in Hummel artist's editions and other projects. I am so inspired by this subject that I wrote a book with Aarhus based professor Lene Tanggaard about the Danish method of creativity called 'In the shower with Picasso' that has been translated into many other languages. It looks at why we proportionally have so many successful creative industries people in Denmark. Looking to the future, what do you predict to be the trends for fashion coming out of Denmark? Denmark is now the country with the biggest industry for sustainable fashion in the world. Some of the main players in eco-production are Danish, and they are working on all sorts of advancements like reducing water consumption, strengthening the value chain and eliminating child labour in fashion production. I am excited about strong Danish brands like Hummel and Stine Goya. We are developing an inside out approach through our international online retail and collaborations with some of the best global fashion stores.
Nadia Kløvedal Reich Principal European Film College
" One of the inspiring things about working with the students here is their untamed creativity. You can tell that they are very engaged in filmmaking and extremely eager to learn."
As the principal of European Film College, can you tell us something about the school's model and its unique contribution to developing film and TV talents in Denmark? The European Film College is built upon an idea of combining elements from the Danish folk high school and an international film school for students from all over the world - I think that is quite a unique combination. The most important attributes of the Danish folk high school are the opportunities to exchange different views about culture and identity, and to share and debate the values behind them. These elements help guide the way we work at the European Film College – especially the way that we make films. The students learn a language for collaboration in which they can share different views about how to develop stories. It's quite a unique way to learn about filmmaking. At the same time, the European Film College is very practical. The students create approximately 170 films during their course of 8.5 months, so they are constantly working on film projects. They are in the preproduction, production and post-production of many different projects at the same time. And that also gives them a unique practical knowledge. A wealth of practical experience is central to the school's philosophy, but the international environment is also very important. This creates a unique foundation for the students. Renowned international film schools, like the Danish Film School in Copenhagen or the Met Film School in London, find that our students gain a special experience and approach. And it is clear that our guest teacher practitioners from around the world are impressed with the level of the students' work as well. Even though it's a foundation course in filmmaking, the students advance significantly during their time at the school.
What are you most excited about when you see the work emerging from your students? One of the inspiring things about working with the students here is their untamed creativity. You can tell that they are very engaged in filmmaking and extremely eager to learn. At the same time, they have not been trained to understand the different genres, structures, target groups and so on. They're not used to viewing their own work from the outside. We really encourage them to find and work through their inner voice, and at times that enables the creation of quite unique little films. They follow their own natural creativity instead of working theoretically. I love that when I work with students. It's always a challenge for small nations to develop their talents and have them positioned in the industry. What has happened in the film and TV industry in Denmark to boost the development of young talents? Of course it depends on which part of the talent development chain you're looking at. I think we achieve a good balance of valuing filmmaking as an art form and at the same time being aware of the audience. We have a flair for talent development in Denmark and at the teaching level we achieve a rare balance between rigorous intervention and freedom. The structure in which the talent development takes place is important. One of the reasons why film and TV talent development is successful in Denmark is that the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, at a very early stage, established a collaboration with the Danish Film School. When I was head of fiction we had a semester with the students at the end of their time at the school. We asked them to work with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation to develop a short TV series format. And from that collaboration we could figure out who had the most talent. We would then take them in to work as trainees under the wings of very skilled writers and producers. This created a kind of talent development system that has turned out to be quite effective.
You commissioned the hugely successful and internationally celebrated TV-series 'Borgen' and 'The Legacy' which together with 'The Bridge', 'The Killing' and the home grown 'Dicte' have brought a special focus upon what is now called 'Scandinavian Noir'. Can you reflect upon the reasons why these programmes have captivated the international audience? This is a big question that can be answered from different perspectives, but I think it has something to do with the Scandinavian welfare model which created the conditions for these stories. More specifically, they arise from the interaction between the individual and society: kindergarten, free abortion, the education system, women in the labour market - these advancements created the basis for many of the stories. Historically the Scandinavians were slightly ahead in these societal movements. So when we are making a TV show with a strong female protagonist becoming a prime minister (Borgen), or a female policeman that struggles to connect with other people (The Killing), or that looks back at the movement of '68 and how it impacted the family as an institution (The Legacy), we are able to tell stories that feel progressive and innovative in other countries, because they explore pressures on the family structure. They look at how these shifts in the institution of the family are actually impacting gender relations, for example. I think the Scandinavians broke new ground with stories about society and family and the interaction between these two. Another factor is the ability of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation to actually create stories, not from a commercial perspective with private money, but as a public service. The independence enjoyed by the creative teams producing the TV shows at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation is actually quite unique. So the public service is one of the main reasons why the Danes have been able to develop stories without interference from private funders. This gives the Danish Broadcasting
Corporation the capacity to create TV shows that mirror the Danes, letting them look at themselves without agendas. As a commissioner of film and TV products you must have developed a keen instinct for what sells. What is the next new thing that will come from Denmark, and how do we develop it? When I was at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation we always asked ourselves; what is the next big theme that the Danes need to discuss with themselves? It's a balance. You need to have a certain distance from the topics you discuss, but at the same time the issues need to feel current so that people can identify with them. One TV show that I commissioned before I left the Danish Broadcasting Corporation was about faith and religion. I think there's an ideological debate going on right now in Denmark between people who believe in something and people who don't – a discussion that is also impacted by the influence of immigrants. It's important not just to focus on problems created by immigration, but also to dare to examine the values behind what we believe in. We might not be very religious in Danish society, but that doesn't mean that we don't have faith in things. These days we're heavily debating the relationship between fact and reality. Do people actually believe in things through facts? Or do they believe because it creates another important dimension in life? This contrast creates a tension. Can we merge these different views of how we want our society to be?
New technology provides new platforms – how do you develop talents to grasp the opportunities emerging from this? It's a difficult question to ask an old lady like me! Of course I know the importance of working with different platforms, but ultimately an important and relevant story is the backbone of everything. We need to have talented people who know how to create stories for the web and social media – the smartphone is becoming more and more central as a way of watching films and TV. But at the end of the day, in a foundation course like ours, it's more important to teach the students how to tell vivid, interesting and credible stories about human beings. That is what it's all about. New technologies create new means of distribution, and of course the students need to have the skills to tell stories throughout the different platforms of now and the future. We use podcasts and social media as integrated parts of the way that we are working with our students. But students are actually much better at grasping what's going on out there, so maybe I'm the one who's learning in these matters.
And what about history - do the old analogue techniques have a future at all? And are we keeping the skills in case they do? Is this perhaps where visual art and filmmaking intersect? New technologies don't necessarily make the old ones irrelevant. When we invented the airplane, we didn't stop bicycling all of a sudden, and it's basically the same with filmmaking. I know that a lot of great filmmakers in Hollywood right now prefer to shoot their films in 35 mm. I think it's a trend like listening to old vinyl LPs, because that's where it all began. I wouldn't call it sentimental, but it's a way of creating a relationship to the past that brings something to the creative process. For some people that is very important and I think that's great. And it can exist along with all the new technologies that will lead us in many other exciting directions. They go hand in hand I think. If the old technologies are demanded, we will always create the skills to use them.
FOOD INTERVIEW 30 — 31
Jakob Vinkler Food entrepreneur and chef Smag
NOMA in Copenhagen shone a light on foraging and clever food preparation which has sparked a global interest in Scandinavian food. What is unique to the larder of Central Region Denmark and how do we get that message out? We have a larder that ranges widely from the moist clay soil in the East to the sandy soil of West Jutland. We have an environment in which more and more dining places dare to challenge and raise the bar for what a good meal is and can be. This creates demands for the food producers and new micro businesses occur as a result. The thing that appears most significant in relation to the uniqueness of The Central Denmark Region is the huge number of food originals that, with courage and passion, explore the possibilities of growth regardless of whether the foundation is sand or clay. It is the small new businesses that often have the strongest stories and the untamable entrepreneurs that burn the brightest. But it is often a challenge to think about a shared marketing strategy for a bigger area, when you are a small business constantly fighting for your daily livelihood. That's why it is important that food networks, such as Vestjyllands Spisekammer and Molbordet in Djursland, are strengthened so they can help develop the food identity and network of the area. In Aarhus 2017 our values of Sustainability, Diversity and Democracy are exemplified in your project The Boundless Kitchen. What do you hope will be the result of working with recently arrived people and training them into the food industry? To achieve diversity it is necessary to be open – and to dare to walk new paths. The majority of the people that come to our country are naturally entrepreneurial and carry a deep wish to contribute with their passion and qualities. The Boundless Kitchen aims to be a platform where, through the global language of the daily meal, we can create actual meetings between people – meetings between neighbors, meetings between the local population and tourists and also meetings between newly arrived people and residents that have lived here a bit longer.
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I see the kitchen as a fantastic platform, where one can share experiences, talk together, listen, understand and inspire. It's a proactive way to learn a language and a culture from the inside. This in combination with gaining subject specific knowledge relevant for the labor market, will create a strong foundation for integration and development of individuals and of our society in general.
With a prediction of 40 billion people living on the planet by the year 2050, how do you think we will continue to feed the world? I really don't know! We have some great challenges ahead! One of the projects I work on in relation to Aarhus 2017 is called The Catastrophic Meal. It deals exactly with this theme. Researchers from different areas including science will share their impression about what the future might look like. Chefs from different parts of the world will give a creative proposition about some of the big challenges we are facing. The aim of the projects that I am involved in is to ask qualified questions as well as to seek answers and creative solutions to the problems our society is facing now and in the future. This is also true of Fish-a-deli Circus, where we are investigating the local produce and a possible development of the future of fishing industries, and The Boundless Kitchen where we focus on the unity around the meal and look at the challenges that exist in relation to integration. One thing is certain – there are no black or white solutions – I believe it is the love of food in combination with responsibility and creativity that will lead us to solutions that are truly sustainable. We are celebrating Central Denmark Region as the European Region of Gastronomy in 2017. What do you hope will be the result of people engaging with us at the high end gourmet level and what relevance does this have to everyday food consumption? Primarily I consider 'the high-end gourmet level' as kitchens that devotedly work to give the customer a memorable experience, no matter if it is extraordinary fine dining or a street food joint. This approach often means refining and developing one's craft as well as increasing focus on the quality of the produce that is used. To me there is no doubt about the fact that the increased focus on gastronomy and quality in relation to the European Region of Gastronomy 2017 will raise the level of consciousness about the quality and importance of the meal – also on an everyday level. To gain awareness and raise quality is a slow process, but there is no doubt that the title of European Region of Gastronomy is a catalyst that can accelerate the
process. One can already see before we have even reached 2017, that there is a growing focus on Aarhus and the region in general as a beacon of gastronomy. You have overseen and invented a large number of food experiments like pop up food environments, restaurants and movable feasts. It seems that you bring social enterprise together with produce enterprise. Can you tell us something about your pet products? It is important that the food and its history are connected, and that there is a relationship to the material the food is served on. Typically we use biodegradable natural materials in connection with pop-up events. In The Boundless Kitchen we have asked local residents to donate their excess cups, glasses, cutlery and dishes, so everything is served with a sustainable and biodegradable awareness and responsibility. For The Catastrophic Meal we are collaborating with Gentænk Sommerhuset (Rethink the Summerhouse) and World Perfect to create a proposal for handling food in a sustainable way in the future. Why is it important that people re-engage with local produce and what can we do to help them get involved at the local level? I think it is obvious, with the knowledge we have about the resources needed to move food produce around the world, that we should try to limit this. Furthermore in the highly globalized world we now experience, I see a need for people to build a connection to and coherence with the area they live in. I believe that local products as well as collective gathering around the meal can strengthen the attachment to where you live – just as a local soccer team can gather a regional community. My experience tells me that creating a robust identity for an area, built upon local visionary food producers, can have an impact that reaches much further than the local food industry. And how will this happen? Should we focus on the traditional cooperative spirit ('andelsbevægelsen') to create a stronger connection between buyers and producers? Should we rethink collaborations between other businesses and food producers? One thing is certain: we will have to explore new paths to re-find a way to shorten the distance 'fra jord til bord' - an old Danish saying that refers to the food's journey from the earth in which you grow your crops to the table where you enjoy the harvest.
" In the highly globalized world we now experience, I see a need for people to build a connection to and coherence with the area they live in."
GRASSROOTS INTERVIEW 34 — 35
Adrian Matthew Fey Co-founder Culture Works
In our year as European Capital of Culture we of course celebrate those creative giants who have produced some of our most iconic objects and artworks. But we also want to ensure that the grasshoppers get a go. You have been part of our programme Off Track, which stimulates the activities of young cultural operators. Can you tell us something about the programme? Off Track provides the unique opportunity to create bridges between the established and the upcoming. Before 2017 we had a city where 8 large cultural institutions worked in silos, detached from the upcoming scene of 800 entrepreneurs. The ambition is to facilitate a platform and movement where the 'Big 8' work with this new potential in the city and regions by collaborating with the talent of the future. Off Track's programme will highlight numerous projects showcasing how the creatives of tomorrow are working to connect the gap between the established institutions and the broad public. You are working with 'House of Holborn' and Martin Thim to create the Aarhus variation of the 'Creativity World Forum'. How is the Aarhus model for this conference going to differ from every other conference focused on creativity? From the very beginning we were talking about creating a 'non-ference' and actually taking this seriously. We are on track to deliver a new conference format where our main venue is Aarhus as a city and as an example of creative potential and challenges. When creativity is the pivotal focus, it is extremely important that our regional and international guests genuinely experience our conference theme through a variety of inputs and settings, not just by listening to major keynote speakers in a confined congress center. We want participants to get inspired by great talks in atmospheric surroundings and by going out into the city to numerous different venues getting pro-active with break-out sessions. We believe that we can provide a truly creative experience sparking engagement and active participation. You have been active in Aarhus as a cultural entrepreneur for a number of years now. How would you describe the DNA of Aarhus and Central Denmark Region? I like to think about it as an analogy in which Aarhus and the region is a teenager. Aarhus is one of the youngest and brightest places in Denmark, it has a youthful state of mind and being. As a city, we have loads of will, energy and drive but sometimes succumb to either an inferiority complex or megalomania by benchmarking ourselves against Copenhagen or other big
"I like to think about it as an analogy in which Aarhus and the region is a teenager. Aarhus is one of the youngest and brightest places in Denmark, it has a youthful state of mind and being."
international cities. Projects like Aarhus 2017 will surely propel our own self-awareness and get rid of counterproductive low self-esteem so that we can blossom into young adulthood with full belief in our own competencies and uniqueness.
What are your aspirations after Aarhus 2017? My biggest nightmare is that we will be left solely with a cultural hangover and nothing other than glimpsed memories of past fireworks. I want us to create and experience real legacy through partnerships and new collaborations throughout the region. My aspiration is to kick-start a new decade with even more drive and motivation to work seriously with culture and the creative sector. How do we keep up the momentum? And how do we stay big? New democratic city-changing initiatives are on the rise with fearless dreamers, developers and creators blatantly altering reality by cutting the discussions short and generating real projects and change. Instead of waiting for others to do it, a few people gather the mood of many and transform the city we live in. The municipality and business sectors need to acknowledge this change and improve the way they work with forces such as DIY organisations, startups and NGOs. Change happens by doing instead of talking! What do you hope will be the legacy of Aarhus 2017? I hope that Aarhus and the region will find renewed strength and belief in its own abilities. What are some of the challenges that the Central Region Denmark faces if it is to succeed as a global player in the creative industries market place? How will new communications feed into this?
Powerful people in the business and legislative sectors are now seeing the importance of the creative industries but are not yet investing enough time, money or passion into unleashing their true potential. We all agree that creative industries are the future for the growing number of freelancers in our society but investment and development are still at a bare minimum. The first challenge is to wake up and acknowledge that those jobs that can be automated will be, in the very near future, and that society and the workplace are facing great challenges which we have to confront and invest in now, not tomorrow. With 4.000 new people coming to live in Aarhus every year, or planning to do so - how do we harness this new energy to ensure that we promote Sustainability, Diversity and Democracy? Creativity and culture is serious business. It is one of the main drivers for a city's capacity to attract or repel new citizens, yet creative urban areas in Aarhus are still under attack from concrete bulldozers making space for corporate buildings rather than creativity hubs. Acclaimed creative areas such as Godsbanen and Sydhavnen are much loved by everybody but when the creative buzz about cultural value has settled the building entrepreneurs and city planning departments still lack serious inclusion when making new buildings. Even with Aarhus being the European Capital of Culture we still see more demolition than birth of creative hubs. This clearly gives us all something to strive for. People want to live and experience their city as vibrant: they don't just want to be housed in concrete jungles with scheduled bus connections. It is about time that we took the creative and cultural possibilities just as seriously as practical city planning and Aarhus 2017 as a project and movement might just be the entity that can propel us to this new creative paradigm!
Stephan Gustin Architect Gustin Landscape Lise Specht Petersen Centre for Sport, Health and Civil Society, Institute for Sport and Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark (SDU)
The portable and temporary environment My Playground has been created to explore new concepts in child play and structure. Can you tell us about the research process that fed into your design concept? SG: We have, over the last 10 years, been working with the playful landscape and have held more then 50 workshops and a number of lectures across Scandinavia. From this experience we have gathered a lot of good research about the things that kick-start your inner child, make you more social, make you more creative and make you feel good. We have added this research to the historic notion of kids as a unified group, happy to run up and down different 'agility-machines' in a place where the landscape is for interaction, for exploring new boundaries, for making friends and for developing the creative mind. Now we want to push it a little further, and add a new layer to the playground. LSP: Gustin Architects are rethinking the (traditional) playground to inspire children, as well as adolescents and adults, to play in unexpected places in the region's cities. This will be achieved by developing a mobile, flexible playground set up temporarily in four different spaces or squares for a period of 2 months in each city. The local urban context of each location will have varying geographic, demographic and architectural characteristics.
The purpose of University of Southern Denmark's (SDU's) research project is to generate new knowledge about the temporary playground's potential - by observing playing interaction in different urban contexts. In other words My Playground makes it possible to study the encounter between the same playground and four different urban contexts and a variety of users - which is knowledge that we haven't had before. Previously the use and importance of temporary places for recreation in the city has only been studied to a very limited extent and predominantly through evaluations carried out shortly after these places were established. However, there seems to be a growing interest in knowing how new kinds of (temporary) places in urban spaces are being used, by whom and for which kinds of playing interaction. The way Danes play is currently gaining tremendous attention around the world. Why do you think that people are so interested in how Danish society organizes opportunities for play? SG: There are a number of reasons why the way Danes play is gaining attention around the world. One explanation is that we try to build the playgrounds to fit different kinds of children – some are shy, some are social, some like the wild-play and some just like to chill and get a break… kids are like ground ups – we are all different, and since the 'classic' playground is only made with
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" What we can provide is a playscape filled with creativity, poetry, social interaction and evolving play for all ages … and yes, this is definitely something the world needs!"
physical play in mind, it isn't good enough anymore. Danish kids have been climbing trees and playing in the urban 'wilderness' for many years. It's simply a part of growing up, to learn your own boundaries – to fall down a tree, to try to get lost and to use your imagination to make up your own games. LSP: There has been a long tradition of developing good quality playgrounds and urban design in Denmark, although the definition of 'good quality' has changed over the years. Denmark is known for inventing the adventure playground – the first one was built in Copenhagen in 1943. Based on an ideology about children being able to play freely and creatively without control from adults, public adventure playgrounds accelerated rapidly through the 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s the equipment playground design dominated, and still does. During the 1990s the idea of the nature playground developed out of recognition of the importance of nature and natural materials for children's imagination. From the beginning of the 2000s until today, we have seen both the interactive computer playground and a trend of so-called 'narrative playground design'. And during these years we have also seen an increasing and very intensive focus on playground design intending to increase the physical activity of children and young people. So the idea of what constitutes a good play environment depends on who you ask. My research has revealed four different theoretical positions that affect thinking in this area: the natural position, the health and movement position, the learning position, and the architecturalaesthetic position. The design of My Playground is grounded in the architectural-aesthetic position and can be characterized as sculptural architecture. Temporary architecture delivers its own set of logistical challenges. Can you tell us how you have met these challenges and how you have problem solved through design processes?
SG: The challenge of a movable playground has actually opened up a lot of possibilities. We created a set of 'building blocks' that can be configured in several ways to fit different places. And since it also had to blend in with different types of architecture, we created these white cubes with refined ornament that have the feeling of a 'non-specific' landscape … so you can create your own story, your own drama and your own fantasy. The cubes will then transform and blend into different environments. This could not happen if it looked like a giant ladybug - or classic swings and slides. But our playground has a lot of round spots like the ladybug and you can climb, glide and swing, just in a different way than usual. Denmark is historically known for it's adventurous play environments and in the past these have been designed in a more rustic DYI aesthetic. My Playground is delivered as a more architectonic set of objects. How have you kept the adventure alive? SG: In our playground the kids have to find their own limits - like back in the old days when you were climbing a tree. Now you can climb the white cubes… but you can climb high and there are handles and railings. You have to think and evaluate: "is it clever to jump now?" and "do I dare to slide down here?". Another theme from history is the idea of building stuff together - not just running and pushing your pulse to the limit, but actually working together to build whatever is in your mind. So we have created a set of mathematical building blocks, that can be turned into a dog, a house, a sculpture, a bridge and so on. The blocks are intended to create a workshop environment located around a big table. And like the rest of the playground, this is also for the adults. Whatever you build, you build it for everyone… so it becomes like a sculpture waiting to inspire the next kids to come and play. LSP: Whether the adventure has been 'kept alive' in the architectural design is a good question, that only the users can tell us once My Playground is established.
The children and adults who are going to move and play in different ways at the four different sites will show us what they perceive and experience. How will you monitor the success of the project and will it feed into more design development for play environments? SG: We always spend a great deal of time in our realized projects, and we always learn a lot. Since we are only human, we try to see – really see – how the playgrounds are being used and what kind of play comes out of them. And we always bring that knowledge with us to our next projects. I think that is the main reason why we have had a lot of success. We won the competition for the Future Playground in Denmark last year, and have just now developed a whole landscape for kids in the south of Denmark. These playgrounds are all completely different from each other – but there is definitely a traceable experience and development. LSP: From the research perspective we will be looking at results under the categories of if, how and whom. That is: If there are important differences in how My Playground is used and by whom. Is the perception of this new temporary playground fundamentally different in the four different cities or, in the end, more or less the same?
My Playground, a major commission for Aarhus 2017, offers yet another Aarhus model - a kind of prototype. Can you see this model being taken up and sent out into the world? LSP: The context is always of great importance and should be taken into account when you establish a new playground or urban space. But this is not the same as saying that the elements of the playground cannot be used somewhere else. Of course they can. If the elements inspire children and adults in Aarhus, Hadsted, Holstebro and Randers, then they can also be enjoyed by people around the world. SG: Danish architecture is, among other things, famous for the way it connects to the specific context or site and not just placed randomly around the planet. With that said, we can certainly offer a new set of playable landscapes to many other countries. What we can provide is a playscape filled with creativity, poetry, social interaction and evolving play for all ages… and yes, this is definitely something the world needs!
My Playground is supported by
More Creative Events
Aarhus Walks on Water
E-textiles and wearable tech is an upcoming field for creative innovation. New user segments will have to be engaged to enhance this market and design and fashion can play a crucial role in this development.
Vogue it up and get ready for a spectacular performance where fashion and new technologies combine. The Aarhus Canal, Dokk1, and the Aarhus Harbour set the scene for Aarhus Walks on Water (AWoW) with digital facade projections, interactive e-textiles and sonic spaces.
Aarhus Walks on Water has invited young upcoming design talents from all over Europe to take part in the AWoW fashion competition. The winners will be announced at the Award Winning Ceremony during the Spot Festival in April 2017.
AWoW will transform the new urban space where the canal meets the open water with visuals, film, light and sound created through interdisciplinary collaboration between young designers, students and the creative industries of the region.
Regional fashion companies are encouraged to become part of this unique project by hosting one of the award winning designers to create clothes integrating wearable techs. Their designs will be presented to the public on the floating runway at the spectacular fashion show on 16 September 2017.
Digital scenography will shape the space for Europe's most talented young fashion designers and developers whose collections in tech-enhanced clothes and wearables will be shown on a floating runway made for mermaids and mermen. The Business Perspective Aarhus Walks on Water reaches out internationally to European design schools and global fashion companies to introduce emerging wearable technologies to the general public.
Leading up to the fashion show Aarhus Walks on Water will host citizen involvement activities, summer schools, maker fairs and workshops as well as conferences for the industry. A focus on mental and physical wellbeing will unleash a new perception of the 'superhuman' through artistic wearables for the disabled to the enabled. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK
ANYbody PRESENTED BY DANISH FASHION INSTITUTE, FEMMES RÉGIONALES, ANE LYNGE-JORLÉN, HEADSTART FASHION, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
ANYbody is an experience that questions the way we look at our body. Some of the finest talents in Danish fashion and art will create new form experiments that transcend the boundaries of how we perceive our own body. The objective is to challenge the current body shape and aesthetics. The works explore the body and challenge our assumptions about how we dress and how that reflects ourselves. The project sets out to explore the possibility of twisting our common understanding of the human silhouette by creating extraordinary body works. ANYbody connects emerging talent with local partners to create exciting new costume designs. Mannequins wearing the costumes will meet their audience in an exhibition in and around the heart of Aarhus city from 31st March to 5th May 2017. The Business Perspective In times of massive disruption and innovation, new ideas, new shapes and new processes are welcome distractions from business as we know it. This project focuses on the next generation of talented creative minds. ANYbody bridges the fields of fashion, art, architecture and textile design and challenges Danish talents to work their magic in the most extreme versions of fashion. The quest for each designer is to produce a costume that will challenge the boundaries of the human silhouette, to push our view of the world far beyond industry norms and business as usual. By introducing undiscovered and upcoming talent, ANYbody aims to give Aarhus and the region an unforgettable experience, as well as providing a showcase for an extreme representation of creativity that will inspire and enrich the creative industries. By showcasing the finest creative minds, this project intends to inspire business employers to create jobs for talented young people and to realize they help reform and develop organizations by bringing new life and innovation. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK
Bring Home the Oysters PRESENTED BY LIMFJORDEN, GEOPARK WEST JUTLAND, THE WADDEN SEA, SAVOUR SOUTH WEST DENMARK, FOOD, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
Those crazy oyster lovers! Julius Caesar is rumored to have invaded Britain in search of its oysters. In 1587 in Denmark, where possibly the best oysters in the world live, King Frederik II decreed capital punishment for oyster thieves, keeping the delicacy for his own tables. The Limfjord, in the Central Denmark Region, is home to the largest remaining wild beds of the original and delicate European oyster. Theirs is a precarious existence: successive cold winters will kill large parts of the population, yet the cool climate and special conditions enhance their gastronomic quality. Meanwhile, along the coasts of Europe, we see the spread of the introduced 'Pacific' oyster. In Denmark, it resides in the Wadden Sea and has journeyed to other waters including the Limfjord. This invasive species has no natural enemies other than frost - even the millions of migrating birds cannot penetrate their shells. We invite people to harvest different kinds of oysters and other edible plant and sea life from the fjord and sea and bring them to Aarhus for a gigantic Oyster Celebration with 1,000 people and chefs from cities in the Central Denmark Region and the Region of Southern Denmark.
While feasting on the best oysters in the world and other magnificent seafood from their natural surroundings, guests to this huge party can enjoy cool music and an exhibition of art from the Wadden Sea and Limfjorden. The Business Perspective The unique high quality oysters and other magnificent food from the two regions will be a catalyst for people from several locations and professions to work together. Restaurateurs, nature guides, tour operators, event managers, and food manufacturers will participate in workshops to find new inspiration and knowledge. Using oysters and seafood in business development has huge untapped potential. By sharing knowledge and finding a common 'best practice' across the regions, we hope that the proverbial pie grows, so that everyone gets a bigger piece. This project will give the operators new knowledge and provide additional dimensions to their products, supporting the creation of business networks and models that will endure after Aarhus 2017 ends.
Creative Tastebuds Exploring How Brain and Culture Collaborate On Taste PRESENTED BY TASTE FOR LIFE, AARHUS UNIVERSITY, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
By confronting natural and human sciences, this symposium raises new questions about taste. We invite the audience to wonder: what are the connections between culture and the brain when it comes to taste? Natural sciences and humanities tend to work in disparate spheres to understand how we come to like certain foods and dislike others. At Taste for Life we work in a more interdisciplinary way to develop new understandings about taste. The Creative Tastebuds symposium will present viewpoints from leading thinkers from the arts and sciences. Performers from the creative sector will explore and challenge these viewpoints by engaging in a dialogue with scholars as well as orchestrating experiments with the audience. The Business Perspective Gastronomy is currently generating growth in Aarhus and the Central Denmark Region. Innovative restaurants and chefs, new food markets and expanding research on
food and taste have contributed to the region becoming a central player in European gastronomy. This symposium is expected to inspire a broad audience: researchers, restaurateurs, architects, food producers, chefs, and food writers. A cross-disciplinary and creative approach invites new and innovative collaborations, making it possible to ask new questions about taste: How can we think about architecture and taste together? What is the relation between taste and nutrition? How do we share our experiences of taste? How can we talk about taste in a new language? By engaging with these themes, and many others, the symposium contributes to the ongoing work of developing gastronomy in the region. The symposium is a platform for rethinking: from restaurant concepts, research projects and ways of building kitchens to ideas for menus, food products and cookbooks. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK PART OF EUROPEAN REGION OF GASTRONOMY 2017 WWW.DANISHFOODREGION.EU
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Creativity World Forum Creative Resilience - How to use creativity to develop cities on the rise PRESENTED BY CULTURE WORKS, HOUSE OF HOLMBERG AND MARTIN THIM, DISTRICTS OF CREATIVITY, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
The annual Creativity World Forum (CWF) brings together clever minds, brilliant ideas and ingenious technologies to activate a better future. CWF is the summit gathering of the global network 'Districts of Creativity' and will take place in Denmark for the first time in 2017. The theme is 'Creative Resilience: How to Use Creativity to Develop Cities on the Rise'. We will take a full spectrum view of the city, its enterprises and people, focusing on how to integrate creative levers when developing spaces to live, work and play. CWF includes two days of high-level talks, masterclasses, co-creative activities and satellite events around the city. All contributors will answer one of three core challenges: How to cultivate and nurture your creative spirit? How to make room for skills and competencies? and How to transform city heritage into a city of opportunity? Delegates will hear perspectives from our speakers, experience live solutions and co-create responses with fellow delegates. Thus we will conclude the forum with multiple answers to each challenge to take home and use in our work and daily lives.
with creativity as praxis, as a business or as a research subject, and for those who want to be inspired and learn more about what creativity can offer. The Business Perspective Creativity World Forum 2017 is a unique opportunity for businesses in our region to collaborate, using creativity to develop cities. We want to highlight the potential of our creative industries to the world and learn from international knowledge and ideas. Creativity can be defined as applied imagination. It is an essential ingredient in the kind of innovation we need to embrace global challenges. Luckily creativity is a resource that cannot be used up – the more you use, the more you have! The theme 'Creative Resilience' focuses on creativity in the real world. By hosting Creativity World Forum 2017, Central Denmark Region wants to highlight the idea of a creative hub in our region – a nexus to continually develop strong creative skills. We want to establish a place with a strong international identity where creative companies can grow and contribute to our society.
CWF is for people who work - or want to work -
Fish-á-deli Circus PRESENTED BY SMAG, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! A food circus is coming to town! The meal at a set table has become a common gathering point in Denmark and across the world, but through this project we want to challenge the relationship between guests and chefs. Our inspirational performance will have no waiters or menu cards, and sustainably caught fish, cooked with other local foods from the region, will be the core of the performance. The scenography will be a touring circus – the kind you might have experienced in the early 1900s, with musicians, a circus director, horses, a strong man, a foreign stranger and equilibrists of all kinds! It's magic and fabulous food, all in one, when the circus comes to town. The Business Perspective Denmark's gastronomic culture of local food patriots, chefs and food lovers is rapidly developing. Fish-á-deli Circus focuses on developing a greater awareness of the fishing industry in Central Denmark Region, by focusing
on catch and issues such as invasive species. Part of the project is a collaboration with the tourist attraction Kattegatcenteret, that communicates knowledge and experiences to children. Through the public school services we work on creating greater awareness and understanding of the different species of edible fish. And through the food offered at Kattegatcenteret we are developing and rethinking the tourist menu and the meal experience. The Fish-á-deli Circus 10-course performance will push the boundaries for how food can be served. Every day thousands of chefs in Denmark work on optimizing their expertise, and this performance further explores the frameworks and psychology of the complete meal experience. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK PART OF EUROPEAN REGION OF GASTRONOMY 2017 WWW.DANISHFOODREGION.EU
Future Living PRESENTED BY THE ARCHITECTURE PROJECT, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
Future Living rethinks urban centres in close collaboration with municipalities, architects, the building industry and the people of the Central Denmark Region and abroad. Future Living creates business, experiments with cities and examines the urban spaces of the future. And we demonstrate how architecture addresses major societal challenges by bringing people together at conversation salons and experiments, prototypes and projects across the region. We will also present an international Future Living travelling exhibition in 2017 to showcase and discuss the results of our projects, as well as projects from abroad. The exhibition includes temporary installations, prototypes, movies, mobile skateboard ramps and more. In 2017, six more cities will host conversation salons. Expect to be surprised and moved by these three-hour professional lucky dips of discussions between enthusiasts, developers, researchers, architects and other professionals. The salons focus on local challenges with a global relevance, including the development potential
of the city and the surrounding area. It may be about ensuring the sustainable growth of the cities, the transformation of urban areas and buildings, or developing a focus on the circular economy, culture or welfare. The Business Perspective RISING Architecture Week and Future Living will contribute to rethinking our societies, cities and lives by using architecture to solve some of our biggest challenges. Our ambition is to develop new markets for creative businesses both local and global by strengthening professional matchmaking and internationalisation. These events will bring together relevant players to problem-solve what we need for the future. Creating new solutions will elevate talented people and generate new projects and jobs locally. A huge spin off is the opportunity to do business in the global market, which is facing the same challenges and looking for similar smart solutions. Our ambition is to grow Danish architecture and the building industry and to make Central Denmark Region an international, leading forum for creative business and architecture. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK
How can we feed the World? PRESENTED BY FOLKEUNIVERSITETET AARHUS, THE HEARTS & MINDS FESTIVAL, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
In the future, the food sources that we currently depend on for survival will not be sufficient to feed the world's population. The latest knowledge and research can help us face this challenge by rethinking the ways we produce and consume food. Folkeuniversitetet Aarhus and the Hearts & Minds Festival will focus on our future's most pressing questions: How do we utilize the earth's food resources in the best way? How can we translate words into actions that matter? Participants will learn more about the food of the future as they step into a shared laboratory of ideas where all senses are brought into play. At Clausholm Castle we will invite the public, politicians, chefs, cultural producers, businesses, restaurants, researchers etc. to come together on September 14 for informative presentations, inspirational discussions and interdisciplinary workshops fueled by input from leading creative minds. Featuring experienced kitchen professionals with knowledge boosted by the latest research, the event will help us rethink man's survival in a global world where food shortage is a real challenge. At Godsbanen Aarhus we will throw a huge food-party
on September 22 with theatre, music, debates and presentations. Included in the programme is the worldrenowned Irish anthropologist Richard Jenkins, who will enlighten us on how the Danish approach to traditions and food is seen from the outside. The Business Perspective This event will benefit participants from the food industry and other creative industries. The Central Denmark Region will be the forum for exchange of ideas and experience, enabling new partnerships and solutions to complex food challenges. Through cross-sectional teamwork everyone will be updated on the latest food trends, from insects to seaweed, and enlightened about political matters, such as environmental concerns and excess-food. They will emerge well prepared to address and reach the conscious consumer. Professionals and public will come together to share new inspiration and ideas for a better future. In particular they will try to answer the big question of tomorrow: How can we feed the world? CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK PART OF EUROPEAN REGION OF GASTRONOMY 2017 WWW.DANISHFOODREGION.EU
New Danish Modern PRESENTED BY BUSINESS BY DESIGN, DESIGN DENMARK, CENTRAL
The New Danish Modern event is a platform for the celebration of past, present and future Danish design. It will include an exhibition that showcases canonised design classics and contemporary design icons including Danish Design Award winners. An award based on citizen's nominations will pay tribute to the greatest designers of all time. The event will include talks, master-classes and a highend designers market for shoppers. Kids and families can participate in co-creating, shaping and imagining their design futures in hands-on workshops. Pop-up venues will create a changing environment throughout the week. The New Danish Modern event will be a celebration of great Danish design with inspiration for everyone. The Business Perspective Design is part of Denmark's DNA and our cultural heritage. Danish design is a brand well known across the globe. Museums like MoMA showcase furniture design created in Denmark and a growing middle class around the world demand good Danish design solutions and quality. Design is much more than chairs and lamps. It is also user interfaces, applications, processes and services.
At a business conference designers will present ideas about how design can increase profit. And companies with designers among their employees will showcase how design can be part of product and business development. The conference will also present examples of how design can create solutions to the challenges cities around the world are facing in relation to sustainability, welfare, livability, health care and mobility design. New Danish Modern offers fast paced presentations and talks where up-and-coming designers pitch ideas to companies and investors. Regional and national designers will profit from constructive discussion, potential partners and possible funding. Awards, honoring the best of the design world, will be given in cultural and business categories. New Danish Modern will reinforce the Danish design brand. International press will cover the event, focusing on Denmark as a design nation and Aarhus and the region as an epicenter for design. Regional and national partners will work together, creating relationships across the country through networking, knowledge sharing and regional jobs. New Danish Modern is a tribute to Danish design, showcasing its value both as cultural heritage and business potential. Our ambition is that it will become an annual design event in the region. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK
New Nordic Noir PRESENTED BY FILMBY AARHUS, RINGKØBING-SKJERN KOMMUNE, FILMFÖRDERUNG HAMBURG SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
The Nordic Noir genre of crime and suspense has captivated the world. People everywhere have been gripped by unfolding narratives and compelling characters like Saga Norén, Sarah Lund and Dicte Svendsen. Written with deep back-stories and personal idiosyncrasies, these strong female leads are seen as a breakthrough in a male dominated genre. New Nordic Noir is an intensive writing workshop looking for the next noir talents and story lines. Lead by Nikolaj Scherfig, lead writer on 'The Bridge', this event will bring emerging writers from around the world to learn from professionals with first hand-experience in creating suspense and drama. A lab combining experts in Art, Research and Business will also take serial fiction in a new direction with a pilot-project based in the amazing and charismatic West Coast of Jutland. A great place for a murder! The Business Perspective It has been established in many studies that there is a clear connection between major media exposure of a region, branding and economic development. When a region stands out by becoming visible in TV-series and other cultural products, it has several positive effects. This phenomenon is at the core of New Nordic Noir.
The purpose of the project is to develop a coherent cultural experience focusing on the west coast of the Central Denmark Region, through a TV-series, a digital game and museum exhibitions. It is hoped that these will generate international and national interest, as well as regional commitment and pride. The project will stimulate tourism, and at the same time make a difference for people living in the region. Filmby Aarhus is implementing New Nordic Noir and develops the projects with a strong track record from two similar TV series projects: 'Dicte' that has sparked interest in Aarhus, and 'Norskov', that has been part of an effort to attract workforce and professionals to Frederikshavn, the private harbour of the city and other locations. In both cases, there is a return on investment of over 400% when a TV series is produced locally. With this project we are forging ties between regional, national and international companies in the digital visual industries. This internationalization of media in Jutland will certainly multiply into more co-productions and international collaborations in the future. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK
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RISING Architecture Week .Inspire .Create .Provoke PRESENTED BY THE ARCHITECTURE PROJECT, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
How can architecture contribute to solving some of the biggest challenges of our society, now and in the future - challenges that include urbanisation, digitalisation and mobility – just to name a few? And how can we most effectively combine the efforts of all the relevant players to work together and co-create those solutions? RISING Architecture Week is an interactive festival focusing on some of the main challenges and possibilities of modern society. Everyone with an interest in architecture and city development - architects, developers, politicians, academics, city planners and members of the public - are invited to actively contribute. RISING is a challenge-based event for participants across skills and nationalities who want to rethink the conventional, explore possibilities, create more business and expose Danish architecture. In 2017 we will focus on questions under three themes – the city, society and materials: How will developments like flexible work hours, driverless cars and physical and virtual personal presence affect the way we structure our cities? What are the main social, cultural, health and environmental issues ahead of us? What are the technological possibilities of the future and how will they influence the way we produce and build?
The Business Perspective We believe that architecture and the creative industries have a key role to play in the innovative drive to find the best solutions to societal challenges. But to be effective we must work strategically and ensure the right conditions and frameworks are in place. RISING Architecture Week will contribute to rethinking our societies, cities and lives by using architecture to solve some of the biggest challenges of our society. This event brings together relevant players to rethink what we need for the future. By creating new solutions, we develop talents and generate new projects and jobs locally with a huge spin off for business in the global market facing the same challenges and seeking similar smart solutions. Our ambition is to grow and elevate architecture and the building industry in Central Denmark and the rest of Denmark and to make Central Denmark Region an international, leading forum of creative business and architecture in the future. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK
Super8000 PRESENTED BY SUPER8, THE FILM SCHOOL OF WESTERN DENMARK, AARHUS FILM WORKSHOP, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
This event is two-fold. Applicants from all over Europe can apply, with an idea for rethinking an aspect of filmmaking, for a five-day Super8000 Workshop. The chosen participants will be required to deliver a finished film at the end of the week. This product, along with their experiences, will be shown at the three-day Super8000 Film Exhibition that also features keynote speakers and high-end talent films from Europe. Super8000 is about rethinking film. How can we think differently about genre, format and distribution - just to name a few? What can we learn from each other? Can we do some things better? Our keywords are inclusion, collaboration, creativity and innovation. The Business Perspective The film industry in Aarhus is defined by visionary drive, distinct openness and immense curiosity. Alternative genres, narratives, media and cross-media are
blooming and booming throughout the region, hand in hand with an increasing public interest for other kinds of stories. Super8000 creates hitherto unseen exposure of the great creative pool residing in West Denmark and their mindsets, projects and methods, while creating a platform for international sparring and collaboration. Super8000 also facilitates international collaborations through a trans-national platform matching projects with producers. The aspiration is that Super8000 will achieve its potential and become an annual event, where filmmakers and the film industry from home and abroad can come together, discuss the current situation and how we can address the challenges of the future, while showcasing and pushing creative and logistical limits. Challenging the status quo and affirming the agenda of thinking outside the box will affect the ambitions for fiction film in the region, and have an impact on all of the creative industries. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK
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The Catastrophic Meal Dystopia and Utopia on a Plate PRESENTED BY JUSTINE DE VALICOURT AND JAKOB VINKLER, FOOD, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
What will the menu of the future be? What kinds of foods might be available if the earth dries up, or the world is flooded? If we look after our world a little better we might have a bountiful harvest of new foods in a forthcoming utopian era, but right now we are in the 'anthropocene' age so we had better prepare ourselves for future food shock. The Catastrophic Meal thinks about these scenarios of eating and cooking and embarks upon a three-part gastronomic adventure. The first part puts scientists, biologists and zoologists together with Sci-Fi thinkers, scenario plotters and chefs to discuss the potential larder of times to come. Together they will build a menu and then cook a meal for invited guests. The second event is for the brave diner who dares to eat the future. Paying guests will sit down to a surprise supper prepared by the talented chefs and students of the Vestjyllands Højskole. Finally The Catastrophic Meal menu is brought to the open table at The People's Feast, as part of the Food Festival, where everyone can sample the impending carte du jour of a brave or grave new world.
The Business Perspective The Catastrophic Meal looks into the future through both a dystopian and utopian lens, and mixes researchers and scientists with the food industry and chefs from different continents. We ask questions and seek creative answers that are neither black nor white. The world is facing great challenges in relation to solving how to feed the world in the future and we have a responsibility to explore this issue academically culturally and regionally. This project is one of many focusing on the Central Denmark Region in its role as European Region of Gastronomy in 2017, which can draw awareness from outside the borders of Denmark. The project will unfold at an event at Vestjyllands Højskole, where international top chefs interpret the dystopian and utopian food situation of the future. Inspired by this theme, students from Vestjyllands Højskole, will further develop the concept at a Catastrophic Street Food event out and about in the region during 2017 and hopefully in years to come. CHECK AARHUS 2017 WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS: WWW.AARHUS2017.DK PART OF EUROPEAN REGION OF GASTRONOMY 2017 WWW.DANISHFOODREGION.EU
Viborg Animation Festival PRESENTED BY THE ANIMATION WORKSHOP/VIA UC, VIBORG MUNICIPALITY, CENTRAL DENMARK REGION AND AARHUS 2017.
Viborg Animation Festival (VAF) brings a world of imagination and storytelling alive through the genius of some of the world's most outstanding animators. VAF celebrates this unique and ever evolving medium with a week of films and events for the public and the practitioner. It features new works, long and short films and documentary formats as well as showcasing animation tools for business and social enterprise. Viborg is home to the award winning The Animation Workshop, renowned as an incubator for all things animation, including analogue and digital platforms. It is the headquarters for Arsenalet, a place for companies pushing the boundaries of animation in entertainment and industry. During the Festival, the city of Viborg will come alive with outdoor displays and events to keep everything animated! The Business Perspective The annual Viborg Animation Festival is the largest animation festival in Denmark and represents an exciting nexus between culture and commerce. Conferences, networking, and matchmaking events connect existing
business and industry to new possibilities through previously unconsidered cultural sectors. Our conference themes Animated Health, Games for Change, and Animated Learning will explore and contextualize issues as diverse as health and wellbeing, social change through gaming, and technological learning strategies. VAF 2017 will present three symposia, an Industry Forum, and a Game EXPO, all designed to foster knowledge sharing, inspiration and networking. Compelling keynote lectures on animation, films and visualization as a didactic tool will link to hands-on workshops. A focus will be the celebration of the 150 year anniversary of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Japan, including the industry forum Animation & 360 for major Danish and Japanese companies from the entertainment industry. The Viborg Animation Festival has played a major role in evolving the incubation and entrepreneurial atmosphere in Viborg and its growth and success will be a conduit for business development across the region in the future.
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Business by Design
Business by Design is an alliance for everyone who wants to contribute to promoting design in the Central Denmark Region, nationally and abroad. We work across the entire sector, including educational institutions, design companies, the business community and the public sector to promote growth and development through design. Business by Design hosts a series of trade activities such as conferences, business courses and matchmaking events which bring business and designers together. We work with design clusters and educational institutions throughout the country to promote design in business and we collaborate with the city of Aarhus to create design solutions for local challenges. For the Capital of Culture, we will host New Danish Modern, a major design event and exhibition, in cooperation with Aarhus 2017 and Design denmark. Business by Design is affiliated with Design denmark, the country's largest independent organization promoting design. Design denmark is an alliance that brings together the entire field of practitioners including design students, design educators, designers, design companies, industries, and the public sector. What are your hopes for 2017 as a partnership? European Capital of Culture 2017 is an historic event for Denmark. We look forward to a procession of great cultural experiences. The Year of Culture will also create networks, media attention and new constellations, regionally, nationally and internationally. It will provide a unique showcase for Business by Design to demonstrate how design is culture-creating and has business potential. Denmark is a design-nation. We must show the whole world! And maybe at the same time, we can remind the Danes how strongly a part of our DNA design really is. In Denmark the ability to create solutions that meet the user's needs is a common thread from the creation of furniture through to digital apps. This design thinking has enormous, untapped potential for cultural and business growth. For Business by Design, Aarhus 2017 is a unique opportunity to establish good relationships and strong networks. We expect to develop ideas, friendships and knowledge that we can take to our upcoming projects and translate into growth, development and jobs for the design industry and the creative economy.
What is the future for Business by Design after 2017? In 2018 Business by Design will have existed for three years and we will be building on our already established strong standing in the design sector. Besides our contribution to developing and growing the private sector, we will be in close dialogue with the public market, especially the city of Aarhus, in fields like mobility design, healthcare design and service design. We will extend our work across the Jutland region borders, involving companies, design education institutions and design clusters in Central Denmark Region, Region of Southern Denmark and North Denmark Region in a joint effort to prioritize design as a growth driver. In addition, we will collaborate with European partners to disseminate design in a global market. We would like to develop New Danish Modern as an annual event in the region, working with the know-how and new business partners we have gained. We will invite everyone to celebrate the difference design can make.
The Architecture Project The Architecture Project is a partnership of architecture and urban development that aims to make cities better. Along the way it creates business, innovation and international exposure. The partnership is working to address major societal challenges through architecture. It creates value for everyone with an interest in the Danish architecture industry, and helps create cities and communities that are good to live in. The stakeholders of the partnership are working together across disciplines and sectors. We develop capacity to work innovatively and with new business models through frequent workshops, B2B events, networking events and development processes. This is especially effective when we travel around the region with the mobile development laboratory and, together with citizens and municipalities, find solutions to local urban challenges.
projects and jobs locally. A huge spin off is the opportunity to do business in the global market, which is facing the same challenges and looking for similar smart solutions. Our ambition is to grow Danish Architecture and the building industry and to make Central Denmark Region an international, leading forum of creative business and architecture.
At the same time The Architecture Project brings exposure to Danish architecture's ability to solve challenges in welfare, mobility and urbanization - both at home and abroad – through exhibitions, international press delegations and festival events.
What is the future for The Architecture Project after 2017? The Architecture Project is and will continue to be a Danish business cluster working with architecture and city development in co-operation with municipalities, companies, academies, schools of architecture and organisations, both national and international.
Partnership members include drawing offices, municipalities, research institutions and others with an interest in using architecture to address major societal challenges. The Architecture Project is rooted in the Central Denmark Region, but works both nationally and internationally. Current Partners are Shl, AART, CEBRA, scratchy, TRANSFORM, Arkitema, CF Moller, Sleth, Friis and Moltke, Kjær and Richter, the seasons, Collision, Aarhus Architects, Brabrand Housing Association, Schønherr, Moller and Grønborg, CUBO, Aarhus School of Architecture, University of Aarhus, Smart Aarhus and Business Aarhus. What are your hopes for 2017 as a partnership? By hosting RISING Architecture Week and Future Living The Architecture Project will contribute to Rethinking our societies, cities and lives by bringing in architecture to solve some of the biggest challenges – now and in the future. Our ambition is to be a relevant cluster and to develop new markets for creative businesses both local and global by strengthening professional matchmaking and internationalisation. The Architecture Project works strategically to combine the efforts of all the relevant players to co-operate and crowd-create what we need for the future. By creating new solutions we elevate talents and generate new
Our aim – now and in the future - is to elevate architecture and the building industry. Together we will set the agenda and business models for the future by: — R ethinking and finding new solutions to the societal challenges of tomorrow — Strengthening business, internationalisation and innovation across sectors, industries and skills — E xposing the industry, the cities and The Central Denmark Region — I nvolving citizens and users in a continuous dialogue around knowledge sharing and co-creation of future cities and communities.
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Headstart Fashion
Headstart Fashion aims to make Central Denmark Region a national growth centre for fashion. As a hub that creates new networks at a national and international level, its purpose is to contribute to growth, development and collaboration in the fashion industry, starting from the Central Denmark Region. The revenue of private companies in the region accounts for approximately 75% of the total fashion industry in Denmark. 350 companies working with fashion are based in Aarhus Municipality alone, 90% of which have fewer than ten employees. For large and medium-sized companies business is generally good, but smaller companies often struggle. In fact a high number of small fashion companies do not survive their first years. The lack of established systems for developing vocational competencies and seeking out potential networks and partnerships has contributed to this loss of potential. Headstart Fashion addresses this by hosting activities to develop business and networking skills all over the Central Denmark Region while pursuing an international agenda. Headstart Fashion plays an active role in the Danish fashion industry by collaborating closely with other industry players. We have already established a number of commercial partnerships to ensure that the organization remains financially sound. These include prominent fashion organizations like Dansk Fashion and Textile, LD Cluster and the Danish Fashion Institute, educational institutions such as VIA Design, and other small, medium and large fashion companies primarily based in the Central Denmark Region. What are your hopes for 2017 as a partnership? Headstart Fashion hopes that we can use Aarhus 2017 as a stepping-stone to make the fashion industry in Aarhus and Central Denmark Region stronger. In particular, we are looking forward to being part of the two Aarhus 2017 fashion projects Aarhus Walks on Water (AWoW) and ANYbody.
What is the future for Headstart Fashion after 2017? Headstart Fashion was established as a Foundation in April 2016. In August 2017 the Foundation will move into its own facilities in an old harbour building close to the center of Aarhus. After 2017 we will continue our value-added activities targeting the fashion industry. An important project will be developing the facilities of the new Headstart Fashion House.
Interactive Denmark Interactive Denmark (ID) is a national cluster organization that has been created to strengthen the Danish digital visual industry - films, games, animation and creative app development - through business development, capital raising and cluster development. Its overarching goal is to create growth and jobs throughout the country. Interactive Denmark intends to accomplish this goal by: — Challenging businesses to be more ambitious with new approaches — S upporting them with advice and connections to industry, journalists, politicians and partners — Creating new markets in both the public (e-health, digital learning etc) and private sectors. Interactive Denmark's activities and services include: — M arket development: enabling early access to cluster networks, improving domestic business incubation and encouraging faster growth. — C apital raising: improving access to financing, promoting the cluster as an area of investment and making more information available to prospective investors. — Cluster development: strengthening the cluster internally and raising the profile of its collective brand, both nationally and abroad to attract investment, knowledge, talent and networks. Interactive Denmark has 3 target groups: — B usinesses: From start-ups to large businesses with growth ambitions, they may be based on their own IPs or work for hire, and can be both B2C and B2B. — Stakeholders: Danish and international investors, business angels, investment funds, publishers and foundations seeking access into the industry, business developers and gatekeepers to the export markets. —C ustomers: Business partners from the private sector, politicians, government officials and other decision-makers from the public sector and journalists from relevant media outlets. What are your hopes for 2017 as a partnership? Aarhus 2017 is a unique opportunity for the Danish digital visual industry to attract more awareness and attention – both internationally and in Danish society. Aarhus 2017 brings a number of new challenges to the digital visual industry, and the many events associated with European Capital of Culture have given the industry a chance to enter into new and exciting partnerships and collaborations.
The willingness to experiment with high quality content, new technologies and platforms has accelerated and added new showcasing possibilities to the industry. I hope the legacy of Aarhus 2017 will be a strengthened political and regional focus on the value that creative industries add to society and a recognition of how the creative skill set enables innovation in the private and public sectors. What is the future for Interactive Denmark after 2017? After 2017, Interactive Denmark will continue to develop a bigger and stronger digital visual cluster, and make sure the industry meets society's needs by developing digital solutions to many world challenges.
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Food Organisation of Denmark
Food Organisation of Denmark (FOOD) was established to promote, as well as develop the gastronomy and food culture in Denmark and the Nordic region. FOOD serves as secretariat for the European Region of Gastronomy in 2017 in cooperation with the European Capital of Culture 2017, Central Denmark Region and The City of Aarhus. We believe that there is a food revolution going on in Denmark and the Nordic region, a revolution that merges the exploration of deliciousness with sustainability, an awareness of biodiversity and a cultural ambition of reshaping the way we eat. FOOD is a small not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering the experience of Nordic food and nature and is supported through a combination of public and private funds. Subsidising food developers, entrepreneurs, innovative farmers and chefs is not within our financial grasp, but we can help those who develop better, sustainable and creative foods get attention, find a larger audience and aid their attempts to get the recognition and business they deserve. One of the important things that FOOD does is to support international media interest by providing information for journalists, organising press trips and assisting chefs and food producers with their communications. More than anything FOOD organises major food events. The largest food festival in the Nordic Region – Food Festival in Aarhus - brings together 300 food entrepreneurs, farmers, craftsmen and chefs with 30,000 visitors every year. We also support a number of other events and many initiatives in the Danish world of food and gastronomy, including chef competitions and regional food related activities. After years of working with the best food minds in Denmark, FOOD is increasingly used as advisors and development partners for companies and different branches of the public sector. FOOD is heavily invested in running a major branding project, working with Danish food business executives who have set out to formulate what defines the Danish food sector now and in the future. FOOD has also been a part of a project investigating and developing dining and food experience for tourists in Denmark. What are your hopes for 2017 as a partnership? The City of Aarhus and Central Denmark Region have been awarded the title of European Region of Gastronomy in 2017 under the theme 'Rethinking Good Food'. The title recognizes the thriving food culture, flourishing gastronomy and exciting products that are being
developed across the region. The year of gastronomy will, through a full program of events and activities, function as a celebration of good food and all that comes with it. It will be a tribute to all the high-quality food producers, chefs and other entrepreneurs who have turned Aarhus from a blank spot on the foodies' map into a destination praised by reviewers from some of the biggest and most influential media in the world. What is the future for FOOD after 2017? The idea behind all the initiatives developed for Rethinking Good Food is to plant the seeds of further advancement, so the food industry will not only attain a world class level, but maintain that status. We hope and believe that 2017 will be the year where Aarhus will firmly establish itself as one of the top destinations for gastronomical experiences and progress - now and in the future. PELLE ØBY ANDERSEN, DIRECTOR FOOD ORGANISATION OF DENMARK WWW.THEFOODPROJECT.DK
Photo credits Page 4: Michael Grøn, Billedmageren and Niels Aage Skovbo Page 11: Stamers Kontor Page 12: DOT (Times Square - before/after) Page 15: The Animation Workshop, VIA University College Page 16-17: Emile Gignoux (from 'Dark Dark Woods') Page 19-21: Bang & Olufsen Page 22: Thornico Group Page 26: Gils Fotografi APS Page 29: Neffi Christensen Page 30-31: Lil Lacy Page 33: Kasper Fogh Page 34-35: Niko Grünfeld Page 34: Bureau Detours ('Prammen') Page 39: Gustin Landscape Page 41: Gustin Landscape Page 42-43: Dokk1 Page 44: Anders Trærup Page 45: Emilie Grubert Page 46: Kasper Fogh Page 47: Scott Wright of Limelight Studio - with thanks to Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai Page 48: Wouter van Vaerenbergh Page 49: Smag Page 50: The Architecture Project Page 51: Martin Dam Kristensen Page 52: Fritz Hansen Page 53: New Nordic Noir Page 54: The Architecture Project Page 55: Super8 Page 56: Smag Page 57: Sofie Kampmark (from 'Tsunami') Page 58-59: SmartDrones Aarhus - Dennis Borup Jakobsen Page 60: Business by Design Page 61: The Architecture Project Page 62: Mia Mortensen Page 63: Interactive Denmark Page 64: FOOD
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More Creative Events © Aarhus 2017 Foundation Published in Denmark, January 2017 ISBN: 978-87-999627-0-9 This publication is available in print and online. Publication coordination Mette Elmgaard, Aarhus 2017 Design and editing Hele Vejen Print We Produce More Creative is managed and operated by Seismonaut and Business Development Centre, Central Denmark (Væksthus Midtjylland). www.morecreative.dk For detailed information about all More Creative Events, including updates, news, ticketing and booking information, please visit the Aarhus 2017 website: www.Aarhus2017.dk Fonden Aarhus 2017 Hack Kampmannsgade 2, 2. 8000 Aarhus C email@example.com www.aarhus2017.dk
Published on Feb 16, 2017
Central Denmark Region and Aarhus 2017 launches its book More Creative Events, including interviews and articles on creative industries in t...