Hej. We’re Värmeverket. A non-profit creative hub for cultural pioneers who believe in the power of creativity to drive local prosperity.
As we enter into our second year in existence, we are excited to announce our first season – which for its maiden voyage is centred around the theme Unmute 🌌
When we took over the abandoned heating plant we now call home, it became our mission to increase representation of marginalised voices in the arts and cultural sector in Stockholm, and to create a more equitable and diverse creative community in our local area, 127 Skärholmen.
Now, a few years later, we are ready to provide a platform for these voices to be heard, so that we can increase understanding and appreciation for the different perspectives and experiences that our creative community represents.
<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-down_gray.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-down_gray.svg" width="40px" /> image from the audio/video installation “Videoland” that took place in our signature event space Panncentralen
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Sound is a universal language. It speaks to us all, and it has the power to move, inspire, and heal. At the same time we are surrounded by distractions and noise, and it's easy to feel disconnected from the world and ourselves.
As our space develops and our community gets bigger, a particular question kept appearing; how can we give space and time for the voices that are usually unheard and marginalised. And how can we use this space to bring people together and dissolve differences? This feels instantly exciting to us - a tangible output that our community can rally behind to create something together, find deeper connections, and bring our unique building to life.
So in this our first season we want to challenge you to listen more deeply — to be present in the moment. We want to ask questions on how we protect and preserve our natural environments and their soundscapes, so that future generations can experience the beauty of our shared spaced — and we want to create opportunities where sound can be shared and explored by all.
Throughout 2023 we will be exploring the many ways that sound can be used in creative work and beyond. We will host workshops, talks, and live experiences within sound design, music production, audio engineering, soundsystem culture, healing through dance, diversity in the music industry — as well as have guest speakers from other industries share their experiences on how they use sound in their work, and much much more.
In addition to events, we will offer residencies to ten artists wanting to explore how they work with sound. These residencies are for underrepresented* artists that want to collaborate and experiment with sound in our newly finished, state-of-the-art sound studios, fully equipped with the latest editing and production software, supported by our partners Ableton Live, Dot Audio & Zound Industries.
We recognise that a full structural overhaul is necessary to transform the arts and culture industry permanently, but we hope these residencies will enable artists to continue their creative practice when the odds are so stacked against them.