THE CULTURAL SUMMIT AT MORS

The Cultural SUMMIT at Mors (Kulturmødet) is inspired by the annually recurring political festival Folkemødet at Bornholm and has the aim of discussing the significance of culture and art in today’s society. The Cultural Summit has been described as ‘the necessary discussion’ for Danish art and cultural life, but the festival also offers concerts, poetry, stage performances and other art experiences.

Boris Brorman Jensen is the architect of the Cultural Summit. He has been present since the Cultural Summit 2014, and it soon became clear that Boris wanted more than simply curating an exhibition about contemporary architecture. He has therefore been put in charge of architecture and design for the Cultural Summit – an important event for the host town of Nykøbing Mors – in coordination with the underlying ideas and programme of the programme, which is being developed from year to year. We have asked Boris to explain some of his visions and ideas.

What is the overall vision for design and architecture at the Cultural Summit?

The structure of the two festival areas is controlled by a very tight budget and is therefore pragmatically organized. However, we are seeking to develop some architectural principles that can make it attractive for participating institutions, art groups and individuals to part take in the Cultural Summit. The town of Nykøbing Mors cannot compete with the Opera in Copenhagen or the Box in Herning, but we can offer the participating artists and institutions some untraditional settings and, hopefully, a new and challenging context. Last year, KUNSTEN, Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, displayed a series of modern art classics in a private home on Gasværksvej. It was a very rewarding experience that was out of the ordinary. We would like to continue down this experimental track by actively moving and expanding the framework for artistic expressions, experiences and presentation. We have become used to the idea that art and culture is something we ‘visit’, something that happens outside everyday life. The overall vision for the Cultural Summit, in a sense, is that culture should ‘haunt’ and ‘find’ us where we live. Therefore, we do not work with fancy and expensive designs but employ an architecture that is more of a mental construction.

See the video of the landscape installation ‘The Magic Forest’ at the Cultural Summit 2015 here