On the issue
The Beauty-Box is a digital booklet showcasing photographs of reflection cards created by participants of All My Relations 2 during the workshop. These cards, filled with words and drawings, capture the participants' appreciation of beauty—a mindful practice that contrasts with a common tendency to focus on flaws. Initially gathered in a box on-site, these reflections have now been photographed and collected into this booklet.
All my Relations 2: Ecological co-learning, Existential Sustainability, and Transformative Performance Practices was a workshop event organised jointly by the Malmö Theatre Academy and Lund University’s Agenda 2030 cross disciplinary Graduate School on 1st–3rd September 2023. The event addressed researchers, artists and artist-researchers interested in how humans can change their mindset and behaviour to a more sustainable lifestyle through art and performance.
The event took place at Gylleboverket, a transdisciplinary centre for contemporary art, culture, and permaculture, located in Eastern Scania (Skåne). It was planned and facilitated by PhD candidate Seinunn Knúts Önnudóttir, who is a member of the Agenda 2030 graduate School, associate professor Sofie Lebech from Malmö Theatre Academy, as well as Etta Säfve and Jona Elfdahl, the artistic leaders at Gylleboverket, and Aune Kallinen from Uniarts Finland
The event gathered 25 international participants with various professional and cultural backgrounds, based in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark. Their areas of expertise varied widely and comprised e.g., contemporary performance, dance and music, artistic research, art education, interdisciplinary research, costume design, community work, gardening, and ecological activism. At Gylleboverket the participants accommodated themselves in tents or various indoor venues provided by the farm. The cross disciplinary performance group Hello!Earth! was invited as guest artists.
The event started with Hello!Earth! creating a collective performance work for all participants suggesting the sensing body as activist material. Hereafter the participants gathered into three working groups, facilitated by either Etta and Jona, Sofie or Aune that would work together for 48 hours dealing with questions on ecological co-learning, existential sustainability, and transformative performance practices. Steinunn created a collective ritual in the forest and created a durational space for silence, sensing, and forest bathing, from where the Beauty-Box emerged.
/ Sofie Lebech
Click on the image or this link to view the book
Editorial Notes
Editors:
Steinunn Knúts Önnudóttir, Sofie Lebech & Jörgen Dalquist.
How to quote:
Knúts Önnudóttir, S., Lebech, S., & Dahlqvist J. (ed) (2024). ‘The Beauty Box’, Issue #2, Matter Journal, Malmö
Photos:
Steinunn Knúts Önnudóttir (cover of the book)
Graphic Design and programming:
Jörgen Dahlqvist