In the south of the city, a few minute walk apart, are not one, but two anarchist-driven centers.
Cyklopen (“The Cyklops”) defines itself as an “anarchist cultural house”.x It was originally situated in an old wooden house in the woods near the Högdalen subway station. But one night, it was burned down by members of a neo-nazi group. The organizers of Cyclopen were able to collaborate with architect Victor Marx to build a new house, which was built entirely by volunteers in a series of (many) building workshops.x
The new building is unburnable. It is built entirely of metal scaffolding and non-flammable industrial plastic, which lights like a pastel lantern in the woods at night. The house hosts a 24 hour internet radio broadcast every 1st of May, punk shows, workshops and seminars about a variety of subjects related to anarchist causes from local, national and international activists, childrens’ activities, a library, an open studio, a bar, and weekly food sharing.
Many of the organizers hail from the area’s academic and cultural institutions; this may be one of the reasons the organization was able to get funding and support from the city and from a well established architects’ office. Like me, as a PhD researcher inside an institution making work around projects and struggles I have participated in that existed firmly outside of and sometimes even in opposition to institutions as a whole, I have found their organization interesting over the course of this project, in addition to performing and participating in things there. For this reason, a small work, Ghost Installation: Cyklopen, is included in this project. I will write further about Cyklopen in the Methods chapter when I discuss that small work.
Nattsvart verkstad (“Night-Black Workshop”) is a grittier, more radical organization, firmly separate from the institutions some of Cyklopen’s movers and shakers are connected to. Run by activists who are not affiliated with Stockholm’s more celebrated – or higher status – cultural institutions, and who define themselves as “revolutionary”. Where Cyklopen could be described on some level as being a curated space, albeit by people with creative, open and politically radical visions, Nattsvart is a more grassroots place:
“We want to be an open, free and safe space where it’s easy to get engaged and where we together can do the things we want and need. A place where we empower each other and our communities to stand stronger amidst an increasingly hostile city and world. Our foundation lies in ideas of autonomy and mutual aid. We want a world where you are free and your possibilities are not defined by the size of your wallet, the color of your skin, the language you speak, your gender, mental or physical abilities, or your sexuality. By organizing together at Nattsvart we try to become a small but growing piece of that world.” x
This pair of spaces illustrates a dichotomy in Stockholm between those who are in the cultural world, and those who are not. The life of the city for those who are “cultural workers” is cordoned off, in some ways, from the rest. My own project is a third way, contemplating both of these approaches – direct action and artistic activism – trying to synthesize the subtle, the gentle and the complex that dwell in each.
This is a short clip of Ghost Installation: Cyklopen, which I made for the library of the space. To listen and read more, you may go here.
