Aalborg 2024 Our Cities. Our Responsibility.

Aalborg Municipality is hosting the 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns. The purpose of the conference is to bring together local and regional decision makers from across Europe to engage in debate, exchange ideas and discuss how we might move Europe towards a sustainable future.

Photo: Diana Aud / Utzon Center

Give yourself time to sense, to reflect, and simply to be. Taking her point of departure in exchange as a practical and philosophical concept, Danish-Moroccan visual artist Maria Nørholm Ramouk (b. 1991) has created the work If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart. The work takes the form of a tent, hinting at nomadic aspects that resonates with Kunsthal Spritten’s temporary, ‘in-between’ circumstances in the time ahead.

The tent is made from reused materials from a damaged tent that perished in a storm in the autumn of 2023. In collaboration with Cirkus Paniks Teltmageri, Ramouk has worked with upcycled materials and artistic interventions that include plant dyeing, an extremely time-consuming process. For Ramouk, the issue of time as a resource is a major point in its own right and a recurring theme throughout her artistic practice. Reflecting this, the work invites visitors to allow themselves time. Time to sense, time to be, and time to reflect by physically settling in and spending time inside the tent.

The work can be visited from Tuesday 1 October up to and including Saturday 5 October in Kildeparken, Aalborg. During Aalborg 2024, the tent becomes a space for quiet moments, inviting guests to rest among soft textiles. At selected times, the tent will also host a programme of yoga and workshops for school pupils.

For Aalborg 2024, Kunsthal Spritten and Utzon Center join forces in a crossover venture that blends art, architecture and natural science. Together we present a workshop where schools can learn to make mycelium blocks, which will form the basis of a large collective work.

With thanks to Spar Nord Fonden, Knud Højgaards Fond, Aalborg Municipality, the Danish Arts Foundation, Gabriel, Elis, Fabrikken for Kunst og Design and Cirkus Paniks Teltmageri.