There's no place like art

I haven't written that much about my internship at Bonniers Konsthall itself, and I hope that doesn't give anyone the idea that it's boring. I just seem to have the tendency to only write about things after they have passed and I have had some reflection time. Furthermore, most things I do at Bonniers Konsthall are a bit confidential so writing about them would result in rather vague posts.

But here is something I can tell you: I love it here. I love the work I do. Even the so called boring jobs, like administration, are quite interesting and enjoyable because they often offer insights in the institution specifically or the Swedish cultural field in general. And when handling incoming mail mostly means opening packages with publications from museums all over Europe, it feels more like a daily birthday party than work, even if I am not allowed to keep the books.


Talking about books, Bonniers Konsthall owns a very interesting collection of reference material. Every exhibition is preceded by a period of extensive research. You don't always get a chance to see this, but at Bonniers Konsthall visitors can actually rummage through the research collection and get a little peek behind the scenes or take a look inside the brain of the institution.

The wonderful thing about the selection on the shelves here is that it brings so many different kinds of books together - books you would never see standing next to each other in regular libraries or bookshops. Information and inspiration come from everywhere: fiction, non-fiction and science fiction; classic literature, poetry, fairy tales, and philosophy; yes, even science, math and history. Browsing through the reading material will 100 percent certainly result in new ideas and insights - consider yourself warned. I worked a lot with the reference material and I constantly had to fight the urge to sit down and read every single book in the room.

      

The books are awesome (and I haven't even mentioned the great view over Stockholm from the room they're stored), but the best part about Bonniers Konsthall are the people. Every single person here is intelligent, passionate and a teeny tiny bit bonkers - like all the best people are. It's great to listen to all their stories. Everyone is helpful and they happily make time to answer any question I have, and also to listen to my stories.

I am not a morning person but I happily roll out of bed every weekday knowing what's ahead of me. There's no place like Bonniers Konsthall and I feel privileged and grateful to be part of it, even if it's just for a short while.

        

Vi ses




Cathy