Blog
Back to Ängsbacka
I leave the path once more to backtrack to another festival; Ängsbacka in
Värmland.
Värmland.
A first visit for me at a festival that holds an unchallenged place as the number
one alternative festival on the market in Sweden. A mixed assortment in the
colours of the rainbow; from tarot to tantra, from maya to mantra.
colours of the rainbow; from tarot to tantra, from maya to mantra.
It is open, it is curious and let me say it from the start: I like it.
You buy in to it even if there’s sometimes techniqal problems, the schedule is
constantly stretched and the organisation is showing all the problems a flat
organisational structure with lots of cooks can display. But you buy in to it
because of the athmosphere where all the senses are made wide open for all possibilities,
creating exciting meetings and miraculous magic.
constantly stretched and the organisation is showing all the problems a flat
organisational structure with lots of cooks can display. But you buy in to it
because of the athmosphere where all the senses are made wide open for all possibilities,
creating exciting meetings and miraculous magic.
It is a sheer pleasure to work in such an environment and most of the artists
appear for free. You can go safe to your workshop knowing that once it starts
you can hand over to the sovereign direction of the now. In this spirit of
participation and creativity all pieces of the puzzle fall in place without
preparation. New nuances and refined forms take shape in this celebration of
life in all its manyfacetted manifestations.
appear for free. You can go safe to your workshop knowing that once it starts
you can hand over to the sovereign direction of the now. In this spirit of
participation and creativity all pieces of the puzzle fall in place without
preparation. New nuances and refined forms take shape in this celebration of
life in all its manyfacetted manifestations.
And as a ”customer” – as a consumer of conserts and workshop-shopper you have plenty of opportunities for growth
and widened views. But of course there are pearls in the presentation that
glitters more than others when you summarize your impressions. I meet Irene
from Italy, living in India who dances and sings her way through the global
festival-calender. A bit tired from a week of input from this diversified and
somtimes glossy carnival she says that at last she has heard something that
made her heart wide open. She picks out two artists that stand out and I cannot
agree more. And it comes with a bit of pride as they both stand close to me and
are gracing the program of ”The Path” summer long.
and widened views. But of course there are pearls in the presentation that
glitters more than others when you summarize your impressions. I meet Irene
from Italy, living in India who dances and sings her way through the global
festival-calender. A bit tired from a week of input from this diversified and
somtimes glossy carnival she says that at last she has heard something that
made her heart wide open. She picks out two artists that stand out and I cannot
agree more. And it comes with a bit of pride as they both stand close to me and
are gracing the program of ”The Path” summer long.
Zifa and Jennifer Ferguson.
Both have found their artistic selves in the meeting between Africa and Sweden. Zifa
has moved from Sweden to Africa and totally convincingly landed the best
afro-fusion band in the country in a hot mix allowing him to be both Zifa from
his childhood village Semendoa in Congo and Mikael Eriksson from the Stockholm
suburb. He is whole and totally convincing in both roles. At the same time. New
music is being born out of this. A hot and lovely catharsis. We dance along and
feel understood and understanding at the same time.
has moved from Sweden to Africa and totally convincingly landed the best
afro-fusion band in the country in a hot mix allowing him to be both Zifa from
his childhood village Semendoa in Congo and Mikael Eriksson from the Stockholm
suburb. He is whole and totally convincing in both roles. At the same time. New
music is being born out of this. A hot and lovely catharsis. We dance along and
feel understood and understanding at the same time.
And then Jennifer who has moved from Africa to Sweden and found the acoustic room
her big voice deserves. An acoustic that reverberates from echoes of Swedish
pastoral calling and Hildegard von Bingen. Mix that with some South-african
township and agitprop and you have also something totally new and healing.
her big voice deserves. An acoustic that reverberates from echoes of Swedish
pastoral calling and Hildegard von Bingen. Mix that with some South-african
township and agitprop and you have also something totally new and healing.
And both of them have that which great artists own: a letting go to the now that
takes care of the timing. A presence – a gift – allowing all of us for a moment
to be present on stage where it is happening. The sharing of the secret of the
graal – the mystery of the holy communion; the gestation of the unity of all.
takes care of the timing. A presence – a gift – allowing all of us for a moment
to be present on stage where it is happening. The sharing of the secret of the
graal – the mystery of the holy communion; the gestation of the unity of all.
The purpose of the stage is really but one: to have something to step down from. To
remove all illusions of hierarchies and distances. That is what good artists
are good at. Unconver reality as it is. That we all are one.
remove all illusions of hierarchies and distances. That is what good artists
are good at. Unconver reality as it is. That we all are one.
The audience and not leasts the media will do anything to make artists forget their
role and the only role of the stage by lifting them up and then dragging them
down.
role and the only role of the stage by lifting them up and then dragging them
down.
May these two continue to grow in their understanding of their task. As priest and
priestess of the liturgy of the now and the here.
priestess of the liturgy of the now and the here.
A house built on sand
I could not have gotten a better illustration. Not that I wanted it, but we have called it forth…
About a month ago I walked together with Per Skoog, a recently pensioned forester, through his own private forest-property close to his home in Nyhammar, Sweden.
It was a beautiful day for a walk, with a pristine nature and a knowledgeable guide taking me through lands he knew as his own pocket and loved as his own home.
We walked through Malingarna, a gorgeous ridge meandering through a lake and carried on along its outlet, the Norrbo-stream. We passed Mångdala, an old wooden house now used by the scouts, beautifully built and set next to the stream.
But through our talks there was a sense of urgency; a feeling that time is short for our attempts to protect the vulnerable nature and the culture it supports. It is in a delicate balance.
We need to act – but what should we do? What do we need to do first in order to secure what we still have?
Today this image appears in the media. Mångdala scout-house on its way down the Norrbostream after an exceptional torrential downpour. And the path we walked on is no longer there.
It feels almost over-stated. Thanks a lot. We get it.
Or do we???
It is time to realize that the house we have built – our whole culture – is built on loose sand!
It is built on premises that aren’t sustainable: it is built on the thought that we are above nature and can exploit it for our own gain. It is built on the premise that if we only dump our inconveniences far away enough we are not being disturbed by it. It is built on the premise that we can live well on the capital of our children and let them pay the bill in the end. It is built on an economy that lost its contact with reality a long time ago.
We need pictures like this to wake us up.
The situation is precarious. It is up to you or me what way it will go. It depends on what side of the house we are in. Are we on the side that tilts it towards the abyss or are we on the side that makes it more stable?
My walk has opened my eyes for my own responsibility in this. It does matter what I do and where I am. Maybe it is precisely I and where I place myself that makes the difference if the house will tip over or not!
We walk the Path, through the torrential downpours, with an even greater dedication.
On what side are you? Join us now!
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