A Growing Arts and Cultural Scene in Flemingsberg
As Flemingsberg transforms into a city, a vibrant and dynamic arts and cultural scene is essential. Last spring, for the first time, over thirty individuals active in the cultural sector with ties to Flemingsberg gathered. This marked the starting point for a growing cultural cluster within one of Sweden’s largest urban development projects.
A Place Where Culture Has Always Existed
In Flemingsberg, the rich cultural life may not be immediately visible at first glance, but it is there — pulsating beneath the surface. Art and culture are not just the finishing touches when building a city; they are its soul and heart, something that must be integrated from the very beginning.
Maria Fransson, cultural strategist at the Department of Culture and Leisure in Huddinge Municipality, already knew this when she took a chance and invited around forty art and culture practitioners to an initial, open-ended meeting in March last year.
– For the first time, all cultural actors in Flemingsberg came together. From universities with cultural profiles on campus, freelancers living in the area, and municipal cultural institutions to external cultural actors interested in Flemingsberg and being part of its future. About 30 people attended, and the energy in the room was palpable! — Maria Fransson, Cultural Strategist at Huddinge Municipality.
Creating More and Better Culture — Together
According to Maria Fransson, the goal of the cultural council is to foster local collaborations and relationships within the cultural sphere, as well as to establish a local context for cultural issues in Flemingsberg. The background to these meetings, known as the Cultural Council, lies in the fact that there are already many cultural practitioners in Flemingsberg — but they rarely know about each other.
– There is a lot of culture here, but few people talk to each other. We need to change that so that we can collectively support cultural issues. Through these meetings, we can create more and better culture!
These meetings also serve as a welcoming bridge into Flemingsberg’s cultural life, especially for cultural actors who are not yet established in the area but wish to be in the future.
– These meetings act as a great gateway into the cultural scene in Flemingsberg. ‘Welcome, here is a cultural context where you can participate, observe, and experiment, but also get to know the place and other cultural actors.’
The Next Step for the Cultural Council
The first meeting in March last year was a success. In September 2024, another successful meeting was held with over 30 participants. The next meeting will take place on March 17, 2025, when the Royal Opera and the Royal Dramatic Theatre have invited participants to their set design workshops in Flemingsberg.
– What unites everyone is that they work with art and culture and want to have a local presence. Even the large institutions want to be visible players in Flemingsberg, and we are discussing how this can happen and what we can do together. In the beginning, the meetings were mostly about spreading awareness of the cultural actors already present in the area.
A Vision for a Vibrant Cultural Future
Huddinge Municipality has a development plan where art and culture are a given.
– We have a politically approved development program for Flemingsberg, where the vision places great emphasis on art, culture, and creativity. What is new for Huddinge Municipality with the development of Flemingsberg is that we are building a city — and that requires an urban cultural offering. If we are to achieve this vision, we need to start working on it now.
And the future looks bright. With a growing arts and cultural scene at the heart of an urban development project, close to a multi-university campus, bridges are being built between what will be 50,000 residents, 50,000 workers, and 50,000 visitors.
