Färgfabriken has, since its founding in 1995, served as a platform for contemporary cultural expressions, with an emphasis on art, architecture and urban planning. In many of our projects and exhibitions, both in Sweden and abroad, we have developed methods with the purpose of exploring and trying to understand the complexities of our constantly changing world. Färgfabriken is driven by a desire to reflect upon the heterogeneous and multicultural world we live in. We want to test the limits of what an art space is, and could become.

It is important to create conditions for free and creative thinking. In this context, art is central. It acts as a catalyst for innovation in the meeting with the rest of society, as well as with individuals. Färgfabriken’s projects and exhibitions have a wide audience, including active decision makers, creators, artists and scientists – those who can make a difference today. Everyone is welcome to Färgfabriken.

Our approach creates space for exhibitions and projects that might not find its natural place elsewhere. Färgfabriken wants to make the invisible visible.

The globally increasing migration to cities is creating new forms of urbanity and cultural patterns. Therefore Färgfabriken is interested in working with the city as a phenomenon. Satellite and collaborative projects with institutions and activists around the world gives us inspiration and experience. It is essential to carry out comprehensive and relevant exhibitions in Stockholm. We want to bring the world to Stockholm, and Färgfabriken to the world.

Expanded Societies, a Färgfabriken project

Culture and Technology

We live in the time of the great digital transformation. How does this affect our societies and us as humans? What questions, research and discussions do we need to address in order to understand the challenges and possibilities ahead? Have the process of digitalization already taken a course of its own – or are there still ways to intervene and change it? The Expanded Societies Project was initiated to find new ways of developing the dialogue of our future.

There are of course no clear answers as to how our societies or way of life will be in 30 years from now. Instead, there is a constant flow of new questions emerging as technology moves forward. Artificial intelligence, increasingly polarized super powers, elitist intellectualism and an absence of political and social ideologies are just some examples of contemporary phenomena that are deeply interwoven with the digital dynamic.

Expanded Societies aims to challenge and create new exchanges of ideas through round table discussions, debates, exhibitions and other activities that reflect the fast changing nature of the digital future. The project is developed in cooperation with organizations from different disciplines in order to identify they key issues and disseminate knowledge across traditional borders.

The preliminary research have identified five main questions and themes:

Towards a Digital Civilisation?

How does the interplay between the world of today with the imagined and real world of tomorrow function? Will there be entirely new cities and civilisations in new places – and what is a healthy compromise between the old and the new? Who is in charge of what is happening – and why? How do we navigate between social sustainability, elitism, egalitarianism, gender issues, labour policies and production chains? Can we include emotional intelligence in the “smart” cities of tomorrow?

What can new technology teach us about what life quality is – and can be?

We live longer lives than ever before and are soon to be faced with a global demographic change. Combined with the ability to control our health with technology such as mobile apps, advanced prostheses, Cyborg experiments and much else – what will the role of medicine be compared to that of a computer based health care? What will remain important?

Media and Entertainment – the Role of Culture

The relationships between artificial intelligence, androids and human creativity are changing radically. Will this lead to a globalized consensus culture or a dramatic increase of individualization? How can cultural strategies affect this developments? Will the cultural mediums such as books and story telling be abandoned and what narratives will then shape our world view?

The role of psychology and philosophy

The human race holds a dominant and exploiting position of our planet. In the past, we planted oak trees in order to build strong ships five hundred years later. Have we lost touch with this long term perspective? We need to reflect our role to the consequences that our way of life will have in the future, but there are also limits to how fast we are prepared to change. Can psychology and philosophy give us better tools to handle our fellow responsibility and relationship to future generations?

The turbulence of post-democracy

A radically changed media landscape has already had a profound impact on democracy. The constant tsunami of information has created a tendency where the loudest, simplest and most controversial message the only one that is heard – and then goes viral. Where can new political ideas and visions grow in this? Can digitalization be used to enhance freedom of speech and democratic growth or will it just facilitate totalitarian regimes? Perhaps democracy will soon be reduced to being theatricality? Already now, there is a widespread feeling of being paralyzed in front of the chauvinistic populism that is damaging our vulnerable democratic systems. We need new methods to update the definition and function of democracy as a way to organize our societies.

https://fargfabriken.se/en/projects/expanded-societies