Embrace! News
Culture Night at Emigrants House
Saturday 28 January 14.30–24.00
14.30-18.30 – Come celebrate Chinese New Year with Embrace! Year of the Dragon
14.30 – Embrace! finisage keynote speakers: Ulf Nilsson and Ying Gao present “Kina, genom ögonen på en svensk, och Sverige genom ögonen på en kinesisk student i Växjö”
15.00-18.00 - Workshops with Chinese students from Linnéuniversitetet. Starting with calligraphy, paper cutting, making Chinese lanterns, Peking Opera masks and China knot-tying
Macken: sewing workshop for children and adults, Agneta Persson-Hauser: artist and famous hat disgner comes from America to teach you how to make a hat, and the Embrace! group: embracelet - learn how to make your own embracelet from Americans who live in Sweden. Everyone is welcome!
15.00-15.35 - Mellow Jazz Band (ABF)
15.40-15.50 - Song och music (ABF)
16.00-16.30 - Spelmansgillet Värendsharpan (ABF)
16.35-16.45 - Magdans (Möjlighet att delta )(ABF)
17.00-17.15 - Line dance (ABF)
17.30-17.45 - Songs by Frida Borg (ABF)
18.00-18.30 - Tai Chi-performance and 3 Chinese folk dances
18.40-18.55 - Poetry and mouth harp (ABF)
19.00-19.15 - Småland for Chile – Chilean folk dance (ABF)
19.30-20.15 - X-Best
20.30-21.00 - Dance show with Folkdanslaget Värendsgillet
21.00-22.00 - FINALSAGE: Embrace! Fashion Show with Swedish-American designer followed by traditional folk customes from Nicaragua and Somalia
22.05-22.20 - Julia Sandberg - song with guitar (ABF)
22.25-22.45 - Somalian dance
23.00-23.45 - Isterbandet
Three documentaries
Three documentaries: 2012-01-15 - Smålands Museum 14.00
Smålands Museum will be showing three documentaries in relation to the project Embrace!
Silence
11 min
Sylvie spent, Orly Jadin, Sweden, UK,
… Tana Ross was born in 1940 in Berlin and sent to concentration camp at Theresienstadt. Her grandmother was also sent there. Her mother was sent to Auschwitz and gassed. When Tana was five years old she came to Sweden as a refugee and grew up in the south of Stockholm; there she was met by silence. ‘Never talk about that, we can not stand to hear it’, she was told. Even with her grandmother she could only keep silence.
It took fifty years before Tana Ross told her story.
High School of the American Dream
30 min
A documentary by Tana Ross about an international school in New York, where newly arrived immigrants from 43 countries are creating the most multicultural classroom imaginable.
Class Trip
18 min
by Sarah Gyllenstierna. A film about teenage love and class trips.
Sarah’s short film Class Trip had its world premiere at the International competition section of Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival in 2011 and sold to Canal Plus (France and Afrique). The project was based on a novel by author Victor Lavalle and was awarded scholarships from the New York State Council on the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the Puffin Foundation and was supported by Women Make Movies.
What is the responsibility of individuals and society in regards to the attacks in Oslo?
The exhibition Embrace! addresses these issues.
Interview with Erica Månsson
We are all shaken by the events in Norway and by the suffering of relatives and other victims. The question of responsibility comes to mind. It is an issue that faces us as individuals and as a cultural society.
Philosophy Professor Torbjorn Tännsjö wrote in Dagens Nyheter on Sunday (31 / 7) on the liability issue of the events in London:
“We can safely conclude that Breivik is fully responsible for their deeds however it still makes sense to ask how these ideas are being unknowingly harbored in the community. (…) Could it be something in the society, which paves the way for acts like these? “
Living in a new country - Meet Lixuan at Almedalen
Lixuan An knows much about living in a new country after having first moved from China to the United States and later to Sweden. As one of the curators for Embrace! she wants to create meetings between people from different backgrounds.
On Friday, July 8, you can attend Lixuan¨s speech at a breakfast meeting at Almedalen.
¨I have experience of societies that discriminate and accept. And I know that it works best if we look at our similarities.¨ she says.
Embrace! is our common dream of the future. It is a dream to live in harmony regardless of origin, religion, cultural background or political opinion. Embrace! will help create a new Småland with a greater proximity between people.
¨We invite all who stand for the values of humanism, empathy, tolerance, acceptance and love to participate in the Embrace!¨
Lixuan will also be speaking in the Green Room at Wisby Strand at 8:00 to 09:30 Friday, July 8th. Rahma Dirie and Evin Cevit will also be guest speakers at this event.
¨We need more tolerance¨
Abuhelal Ismail, imam of the Islamic Assembly of Växjö, is attending the inauguration of Embrace! side by side with Bishop Jan-Olof Johansson of the Swedish Church.
- Embrace is an important initiative. We need more tolerance in the world and we must fight together against prejudice and ignorance, says Ismail Abuhelal.
Växjö Islamic preschool was completely destroyed by a recent arson, proof that there is still much to do to achieve a Småland characterized by humanism, compassion and tolerance.
- We like to think that Sweden is a developed country where everyone is tolerant and has no prejudices. Not so. Just as in the rest of the world still holds an unjustified fear of the unknown so does Sweden. It is important that we talk to each other so that people from different groups can get to know each other, says Ismail Abuhelal.
¨Dialogs can reduce the fear of the unknown¨
Jan-Olof Johansson, bishop of Växjö diocese,
has for most of his life committed to peace and believes groups of people should live together in harmony in the Middle East as well as in southern Sweden.
- It is one of the really big questions of humanity, he says.
Jan-Olof Johansson is joining in the launching of Embrace! in September, along with Imam Ismail Abuhelal in Växjö Islamic congregation.
- Embrace! is a good initiative necessary for people to come closer together and reduce the fear of what is different, he says.
40 years ago, as a young man Jan-Olof Johansson traveled to Jerusalem. There he came into contact with a former adviser to Golda Meir, who was then Prime Minister of Israel. The advisor was creating a peace movement.
Lars Sjulin, world citizen and local patriot:
Why Swedbank supports Embrace!
Lars Sjulin is a global citizen and a local patriot, both at work in private.
For Swedbank it is natural to support a project that promotes increased contact between different groups of people. “Embrace! is needed” he says.
Lars Sjulin, Head of Private Banking at Swedbank in Växjö, supports the Embrace! project of a number of reasons. ”We know that those who are new to Sweden often come to one of Swedbank’s offices. We have a clear policy that says we do not differentiate between customers based on gender, origin, religion or cultural background. We do this because we believe in these principles, but it is also business wise.”
After many years at the bank Lars understands recent immigrants first step in Sweden is to get a bank account. Then many often come to take out loans for a car and then to finance housing.
“People coming from other countries are the same in that they first look for jobs and dream of being able to buy their own housing. We want them to be our clients in all stages of life” says Lars Sjulin.
Over 30 artists ready for Embrace!
Photo: Mats Petersson/RIFIFI
Swedish-American artists, designers, photographers and musicians are now ready for Embrace! exhibition displayed on the House of Emigrants in Växjö in the autumn. The talent includes worldwide renowned artists.
The exhibition has two themes: The American Dream and the Swedish identity. Embrace! is our shared dream for the future. It is our dream to live in harmony regardless of origin, religion, cultural background or political beliefs.
Alvesta exhibition hall is part of Embrace!
Alvesta is taking part of the Embrace! project. This coming fall the exhibition hall at the Alvesta trail station will showcase Embrace! artist works.
“Here there are people coming and going to and from home. This train station is a meeting place, both expected and unexpected meetings. You never know quite what’s happening” says Anders Olsson of Exhibitions in Alvesta.
This major hub is a natural connection between countries and cultures. It is a meeting between Sweden and the United States and many more.
When business started 15 years ago, Anders had lived in Japan for a year and the first exhibition he ran consisted of objects he had brought home.
Since then, the exhibition hall has become both a public face for Alvesta as well as a meeting place for travelers who can take a break between trains and enjoy an experience. The wide world has been ever present.
Already the first year, the exhibition ”The World in Alvesta”, showed 30 nationalities countries and cultures.
Embrace! received a royal visit
Little Mary of Somalia sent a bouquet of flowers to the princess as a symbolic introduction on the royal visit. It does not matter if we are from Somalia, China or Ockelbo. After her presentation story Lixuan gave a real bear hug to both Princess Viktoria and Prince Daniel.
“See you again”, said Lixuan.
Photo: Mats Petersson/RIFIFI
American artist with Swedish roots
The same day of the exhibition Embrace! inauguration in the House of Emigrants in Växjö, artist Siri Berg will turn 90 years of age.
“Art is a timeless project”, she says.
Siri Berg has her own story which in many ways personifies Embrace! She was born in Stockholm to a German father and a Polish mother. While growing up she lived among other places, in Djursholm, Brussels and Prague.
EMBRACE is a great idea to promote DIVERSITY around the world.
I am proud that Stefan Umaerus, my husband is part of this wonderful project.
We live in New York City, the melting pot of the world.
We ride the subway with 17 million people from different countries every day.
I am very happy to go to Sweden to support the project and share our experience.
It will be nice to compose a song like “We are the World/ we are the people”
to remember this unique moment created from Sweden to the world, at the
time of war and climatic suffering.
I salute you.
New York city artist in Residence at Arna, Harløsa, Sweden
Irene Christensen
I salute you
Charles Meyers
Artist in residence at Arna, Harløsa, Sweden