Camilla Carlsson and Thérèse Kristiansson - on playwork and designing with nature
18 February
13.00-15.00
Two open lectures at Färgfabriken
Language: English
Free admission
Please pre-register with karin@fargfabriken.se
Playwork, processes, workshops
Camilla Carlsson will talk about her long experience in co-designing with children and experimenting with different materials such as wood, sand, clay and water. By the example of Vivalla school’s playground in Örebro, she will talk about artistic, collaborative methods to work with children to explore how water play can be designed with children’s perspectives and viewpoints to enhance the play value of a school playground.
Children, plants and play values grow over time: in each workshop, the artist has added loose materials such as spades, stainless steel bowls, measuring cups, buckets, brushes, sticks, yarn, fabric, paper, pieces of wood, etc., important for promoting play all year round, even when the water is turned off during the winter season. The sand is just as important as the water – rainwater is collected in large tyres, but you always need something to scoop it with!
Form follows trolls
Thérèse Kristiansson will talk about their work The Secret Garden, a living sculpture, located at Utsikten, the outdoor educational exhibition space at ArkDes. By utilizing traditional craft techniques, repurposed and natural materials, MYCKET created an enchanted garden throughout 2024-2025. This garden evolved and transformed through play and creativity together with ArkDes’ younger visitors.
The design of the Secret Garden drew inspiration from a story about a pack of wolf-like trolls living in the ancient rock directly beneath the garden (discovered on the topographical map). This is manifested by a wolf’s ear that peeks up from the ground. Besides human children, insects and birds have also been invited to the space, which has additionally hosted an extensive cultivation of bottle gourds. These gourds are being used by MYCKET in their research project on circular design.
The lectures are part of the course Environmental Learning and Spatial Practice with Young People, taught at KTH.
About the speakers
Camilla Carlsson is an artist working with participatory and creative processes with children inspired by adventure playgrounds and parklek. Her practice includes public art commissions, exhibitions and educational assignments. Camilla holds a Master of Fine Arts from Malmö Art Academy, and educations in Public Art, Architecture, and Art education from Konstfack, the Royal Institute of Art, and Reggio Emilia institutet.
Thérèse Kristiansson is an artist and architect and part of the MYCKET collaboration. The artist and architect group MYCKET work with artistic research, design, architecture, urban planning, teaching, and activism in close interaction with institutions, municipalities, local communities, and the more-than-human. Through storytelling, material exploration, and participatory pedagogy, MYCKET has developed methods where queer and feminist perspectives meet ecological care and spatial justice.