PALS performance art links
http://palsfestival.se/about-pals
PALS is a performance art platform based at Fylkingen in Stockholm.
Fylkingen is a venue and artists' society. Since its establishment in the 1930s, Fylkingen has been committed to experimental work in the contemporary performing arts. The organisation is made up of over 250 member artists from many disciplines who use the venue to develop and present new work.
The idea of linking is central to our work and therefore forms the festival title itself – PALS: Performance Art Links. The festival project is realized based on partnerships between artists, organizations, institutions and projects. PALS, acting as a platform for performance art, has realized two big festivalsand a number of different projects in other formats.
PALS commenced its activities in May 2011 with a performance event at Fylkingen in collaboration with Live Action Gothenburg. We showed three artists from China, Germany and the US.
In April 2012 we realized the first edition of PALS festival. The festival showed 23 artists from 13 different countries and the same number of art students from the scandinavian countries and Poland along with Fylkingen members. Durnig the intense progrtam a wide spectrum of performance art works were shown both in public space, at Sergels Torg, as well as in Fylkingen, the main venue of the festival. A three day performance art workshop preceeded the public program and showed to be one of the festivals great successes by uniting an educational element with creative exchange of theoretical and practical expertise in and around performance art. The festival as a whole recieved a a very positive response from the audience as well as from artists, students and partners.
During 2013 PALS did a thematic project in cooperation with New Art Contact in Helsinki: the exchange project: “Fake Finns and Wannabe Swedes”. The project took place in five different places: Tegen2 gallery, Fylkingen and Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm, Galleriy Augusta in Helsinki and at Sverigefinska Folkhögskolan in Haparanda/Tornio during the period of february-june 2013.
Fake Finns and Wannabe Swedes! presented 22 performance artists from Sweden and Finland with origins outside of these two countries. The fact that the project touched a nerve in contemporary dicourse around immigration and identity manifested itself by a large audience attending the events and by the heat and intensity of discussions held on and off stage.
In April 2014 we realized the second edition of PALS festival.
32 artists from all over the world participated in a three day event that take place in and around Fylkingen and the public place Slussen. A workshop with Swedish and international students preceeded the festival. The students participated at equal terms in the festival program along with the other artists.
Which had a number of positive effects on the festival climate.