Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski at the ABBA Museum

Celebrating Swedish icons in music & design

On May 10, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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How many of us have not danced around our living room while vacuuming or sung loudly in our car to the addictive tune of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”? I know I have. The song and the iconic band have connected generations around their addictive melodies and emotive lyrics. I remember clearly as a young girl in the 1990s watching hours of ABBA music videos—entranced by the two beautiful women, talented male singers and their fantastic costumes— alongside my father, one of the world’s biggest ABBA fans!

A few days ago, my childhood wonderment came to life at the grand opening of the ABBA Museum in Stockholm. Hundreds of people gathered in the outdoor courtyard of the museum which will also serve as a luxury hotel and a space to highlight rising young Swedish musicians. In this way, the concept of the museum acts as a conduit between the old and new— a way to learn and celebrate the past, while promoting a bright future.

The dynamic museum display located on the ground floor follows this theme. In one area we see the original sound-board used for the earliest ABBA songs, the original glittering gold costumes worn by the group in the 1970s as well as the newest technology showcasing holographic, life-size representations of each of the members that dance and sing, or computers that one can use to “mix” your own ABBA song with the tap of your finger.

The fantastic evening concluded with a surprise performance. As hundreds of guests gathered in the elegant, cobbled courtyard the rooms facing us began to light up and some of Swedish best young singers, rappers and dancers appeared in the large window balconies dancing hip-hop and singing songs ranging from traditional ABBA tunes to Swedish House Mafia. Every guest was swaying and bobbing their heads in amazement at that point, and the fireworks bursting at the end signaled a finale to an evening that Mark and I will always remember.

Later that week, I gravitated from Swedish icons in music to design. Svenkst Tenn is one of Sweden’s most famous design stores started in 1924 by Estrid Ericson and located prominently on one of Stockholm’s most beautiful and central streets facing the Baltic Sea—Strandvagen.

It’s rare to find a home in Stockholm without some element of Svenskt Tenn adorning it. Whether it’s an elegant, clean-lined plush couch or a traditional chair conceptualized by Joseph Frank— the famed long-time designer— in 1940s that’s manufactured in Sweden by a family that has passed on craftsmanship from generation to generation or paper napkins with the bright, often nature-inspired signature patterns. The dynamic spectrum of items in a wide price-range was formulated in the vision of Ms. Ericson who wanted every Swede to be able to afford something lovely and high-quality, according to CEO Maria Veerasamy.

I met Ms.Veerasamy for lunch in the tea room of the store (another part of Estrid Ericson’s vision) and we sat next to a glass-enclosed space which was the original office of the founder whose goal was to create a brand that would last for hundreds of years. In fact, each decision that is made focuses on the question: will this help us last 300 more years? Veerasamy explains the values of the company to me as long-term, extremely protective of the original clean design and tradition, and quality, quality, quality. The goal is for each piece to be made entirely in Sweden and of the highest quality in every point of the production chain.

Although the brand is typically very Swedish, there has also been a strong thread of multiculturalism interwoven into the design and corporate culture. Joseph Frank, the famed designer and creative partner of Estrid Ericson, was of Jewish descent and escaped to the United States when WWII broke out. He came back to Sweden afterwards and brought a little bit of America with him, creating “Jackson Pollock”-inspired patterns and one even called “Manhattan.”

Veerasamy herself comes from an immigrant background with an Indian father. She grew up in a smaller town and has no formal education, she often says. But she has a vision and a determination to protect the original inspiration behind Svenskt Tenn and make it timeless. In my opinion, she is an amazing face for this brand and it was a deep pleasure to spend the afternoon with her and learn more about Svenkst Tenn!

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artipelag2

Art meets the Sea at Artipelag

On April 30, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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A respect for the land and a genuine sense of harmony between man and nature are two elements I’ve noticed to be strongly present in Sweden. A sense of balance and connectivity with the earth can be seen in architecture, art, education, family life and urban planning.

Artipelag— a one-year-old art gallery located just outside of Stockholm— is a living example of these values. The sweeping structure can barely be spotted from the seafront. This was done by design so as not to disturb the seamless coastline, according to owner and one of Sweden’s most successful entrepreneurs, Baby Björn founder Björn Jakobson.

In essence, the clean lines of the building both  accommodate and celebrate the rocky archipelago, dense pine forests and slinky birch trees encasing the eclectic exhibits of both contemporary and traditional international art. Even the capricious Baltic Sea, which last year nearly froze over parts of the dock where boats can come right up to the gallery’s waterfront, plays a role as a permanent exhibit overseeing what goes on inside through the scores of towering, floor-to-ceiling windows facing the water.

The name of the gallery, “Artipelag”, is a play on Sweden’s famed rocky archipelago, one of the largest in the world. This rocky topography is interwoven literally into the gallery. A huge rock sits square in the center of the café with lean, porcelain candles buttressing the back so little climbing children don’t fall off! The owners were so attached to this massive stone that they essentially built part of the gallery around the ancient rock.

Attention to detail and raw enthusiasm for the art that lives in nature as well as in man is personified by the owner of the gallery, Björn Jakobson and his wife Lillemor. We were met by the couple, and later their daughter Josefin, who passionately described the inspiration for the gallery as a place for children and parents to come together to appreciate a diverse array of art, go for a walk along the boardwalk which is wheel-chair accessible, attend a concert in the massive auditorium or eat in the restaurant which boasts fresh local fare and a chef who won an award on the culinary team for the Olympics.

The gallery is designed to pique all the senses. In additions to the eyes, the acoustics have been adjusted to near-perfection to the point that an 800-person dinner was convened there recently and no one had to shout over the din at their respective tables, Mr. Jakobson informed us. Even the nose is scintillated by the combination of tar—in homage to the way sailors and boat-makers would protect their boats by painting them with tar— to the cinnamon floating from the café where warm kanelbulle and fresh confections are made on-site.

Almost every aspect of the art process has been attended to and can be accommodated on the grounds, including acclimatized storage and a facility that can support the weight of a huge truck hauling in sculptures or rock. A graceful flow and movement is incorporated into the exhibition rooms that currently showcase artists Paul Gernes and Cosima von Bonin. The vision of the gallery is to have a flexible model that displays a variety of genres and styles of art and appeals to families, the 55-plus age group and those who may or may not be art connoisseurs. In May, Artipelag will feature American photographer William Wegman and his collection “Hello Nature”. Mark and I are especially excited about that since Mr. Wegman’s work is largely inspired by the Maine woods. My husband has been spending summers in the northernmost part of Maine for nearly 40 years, sailing, hiking, fishing and reveling in nature. Some of our fondest family memories are hiking through Acadia National Park with our newborn daughter strapped to Mark’s chest in a Baby Björn!

In this way, our worlds of family life, art and nature collide in Artipelag and we cannot wait to explore further exhibitions and bring our family there again!

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Kul Nordic Cool! US Embassy Stockholm Honors The Kennedy Center’s Celebration of Nordic Culture

On February 19, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Ambassador Brzezinski, Swedish Minister of Culture Adelsohn and Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski

As someone who grew in the Washington DC area, I know how special it is when the Kennedy Center devotes its nine venues for more than a month to celebrate a particular culture and art. The architectural monument sits on the Potomac River and lights up like the Aurora Borealis whenever a special cultural gala evening occurs.

This was the image I remember when the cultures and art of France and Germany were celebrated. The only cultural event I was honored to attend there was the opening night of the Kennedy Center’s celebration of Japan several years ago. Two years ago, when India was celebrated by the Kennedy Center, almost 400,000 people attended the performances and several million more were able to see it through social media. So it is awesome to be here in Sweden at a time when our Kennedy Center for Performing Arts is celebrating the art and culture of the five Nordic countries – Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

To give participating Swedish artists and musicians a high energy send off to Washington, Natalia and I held a reception to salute them and all the Nordic performers and to enjoy music and cuisine from this part of the world that we have come to know and love – these are societies that celebrate nature, innovation, sustainability, and it is evident in their culture as well.

Among the more than 200 eclectic guests we welcomed into the US Ambassadorial residence were Sweden’s Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, colleagues from the Nordic Embassies here in Stockholm, businesspeople, journalists, local musicians and museum curators as well as representatives from the Swedish Embassy in Washington.

Guests sampled traditional Swedish dishes such as Vasterbotten pie, Karl-Johan ragout and moose meatballs while assembling in the main room for a special treat!

To give our guests a taste of the type of performances “Nordic Cool” will present at the Kennedy Center in Washington, renowned Swedish musician Lina Nyberg performed for all of us, accompanied on piano by Ludvig Berghe. Lina is one of the many Swedish artists who will be in the United States to participate in Nordic Cool, and at our reception we were thrilled that she and Ludvig put a Swedish spin on a beloved American art form: Jazz!

The Kennedy Center plays a special role in the United States — it is a place to showcase American culture and to highlight the cultural ties between the United States and countries around the world. Music and art, after all, are universal languages.

The Kennedy Center was built to be our nation’s national cultural center, and was the brainchild of Eleanor Roosevelt. It was renamed the Kennedy Center following the assassination of President Kennedy and was officially inaugurated in1971.

There’s a small connection between the Kennedy Center and US Embassy Stockholm, in that the architect of the Kennedy Center, Edward Urell Stone, was a contemporary of the architect of the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Ralph Rapson.

We wish all the Nordic performers traveling to Washington a most wonderful experience at Nordic Cool. We sincerely hope that their expression conveys the beauty of life and the people of this region in which Natalia and I and our three year old daughter (who now speaks Swedish and perhaps relished the music and food last night best of all!) are so profoundly happy to live.

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Celebrating Diversity through Chicago Art

On May 29, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Ambassador and Mrs. Brzezinski with Swedish Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth and Ulf Adelsohn

On Friday, we hosted a lively art opening focusing on the theme of multiculturalism viewed through the lens of Chicago art. The exhibit was sponsored by the State Department’s “Arts in Embassies” program which enables each Ambassadorial couple to adorn their home with American art in order to share our culture with others. See photos from the party here.

The sun was shining and a tantalizing breeze flowed through our residence promising the imminent arrival of summer as we opened our home to a dynamic array of guests— from art connoisseurs to young activists running programs supporting tolerance within Sweden to radio hosts and the Minister of Culture— and brought the house down singing and swaying to the amazing Stockholm Gospel choir who sang traditional, Chicago-inspired gospel songs.

The story of Chicago for me personifies the American dream. Like many Chicagoans, I’m the daughter of immigrants who came here to give their kids a better life and better opportunities to grow, get an education, achieve their goals, no matter how far-fetched they seemed.

I grew up on the Southwest Side of Chicago, in an idyllic neighborhood of different cultures, faces and names, all living shoulder-to-shoulder in modest, square houses. My neighbors on one side were Mexican-Americans, on the other side African-Americans, and across the street they hailed from Lithuania, Poland and India. We didn’t see our differences in culture or religion. Instead we focused on our similarities like a mutual love for kick-ball, Michael Jordan or Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

This feeling that “we are all in this life together” is what I have striven to bring to Sweden through our Arts in Embassies Program. I am not an art connoisseur but I took this task very seriously by spending weeks in Chicago, scouting out art and artists with a story of multiculturalism and a message of tolerance. I wanted to highlight not only the art, but the story and identity of the artist as a commentary on their work. I also could not have implemented this vision without the hard work, faith and professionalism of the State Department’s Arts in Embassies directors, in particular Robert Soppelsa, the curator who I worked with closely. I learned so much from Bob and his talented team, thank you!

The nine artists I was fortunate to include are all amazing artists but more importantly amazing, socially responsible people. They range in age from their 20s to 80s, and hail from Puerto Rico to Poland. Each uses their work to enact positive change in their communities and mentor the young generation focusing on a message of hope and tolerance.

Having a greater purpose beyond one self and a strong engagement in the outside world is something I have found to be integral to the Swedish culture as well. And I’m very proud to have the opportunity to bring Chicago art here to Sweden, to celebrate all we have in common as Chicagoans, Americans, Swedes and citizens of this world.

Please view this link to see the artists and their great work on the State Department’s web site.

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Bringing people together around Swedish Art

On March 5, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Dimitri Keiski, Natalia and Ambassador Brzezinski

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Friday, we opened up our residence to showcase art from some of the most exciting, rising young artists in Stockholm’s vibrant cultural scene. Our goal was to create an all-encompassing experience that appealed to all the senses from the moment a guest stepped through the door.

 

In addition to exhibiting art of all mediums—digital, visual, performing arts and arts created through year-long experiments and life experience— we also had two musical performances that beautifully contrasted off of each other. One was Dimitri Kieski, the 2011 True Talent winner and a product of modern society’s reality television obsession, and the second was Ad Hoc, an all-male A cappella group who dressed in 16th-century traditional Swedish garb and sang Latin hymnals as well as “Barber Shop” ditties.  The result was a dynamic evening that brought people from all ages and professions, both Swedes and Americans, together around art.

 
Well before we even set foot on a plane to fly to Stockholm, my husband and I were exploring ways to relate with Swedes in a genuine way—a way that transcended both generational and cultural bounds. One obvious answer was art. Although we are not trained art connoisseurs or collectors, Mark and I have a strong personal connection to the values most tied to art: creativity and free expression.

 
As a young boy, my husband discovered a deep-seated love for nature and the environment because of art. His mother, Emelie Benes Brzezinski, is a sculptor who works with wood and whose work has a strong ecological connection. Mark spent many afternoons as a boy watching her carve into the splintered wood with her chainsaw and listening to stories of what the wood was saying to her as an artist. Each of Emelie’s pieces has its own distinct personality based on the rough nature of the bark or the smooth curves and lines of the tree.

 
For me, the opportunity to express myself as a competitive ice skater, to lose myself in the music and movement, gave me a sense of identity and confidence as a young girl. I can still remember the liberating rush I felt throwing myself into the air for a double axel and the loss of inhibition and insecurities that came with every spiral and glide. Ice skating very much formed who I am today. For both of us, art and expression is a theme running through our respective coming-of-age narratives.

 
In this exhibit, we focused on the role of the artist and whether this often enigmatic identity evolves over time or remains universal. By examining one of the most influential and catalytic inventions of the modern century—television — one conclusion for me was that the portrayal of the artist through the lens of mass media has many constants.

 
The need for human expression is timeless. This is a universal value shared by America and Sweden. Today all over the world, young people are increasingly mobilizing around this value. For these reasons, we are exceedingly proud to display the work of some of Stockholm’s brightest young contemporary artists, and most importantly to understand their identities and what colors their view of society through their work.

 
More photos of the event are on the U.S. Embassy Flickr photostream

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Motherhood through an artist’s lens

On January 18, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Mrs. Brzezinski with daughter

A woman holding her naked daughter possessively to her breast—physically shielding her from an unseen ghost, yet with a look of forlorn detachment on her face; the same woman, looking like she is barely transcending her own girlhood, sitting on an operating table, holding her burgeoning belly, and preparing for the unknown.
These are just two descriptions of the evocative photographs being presented by American-Israeli artist Elinor Carucci at the Fotografins Hus this week here in Stockholm, in an exhibition entitled “Kin and Self”. The exhibition centers on her family, placing a substantive focus on the all-encompassing role of motherhood, and the raw, messy and utterly awe-inspiring journey of having a child.

I saw some of Ms. Carucci’s photographs several weeks ago and was plunged into a reflective process on my own identity as a mother.

Having my daughter two years ago was the most transformative and emotionally complicated experience of my life. I felt blissful and transfixed by this wondrous being, yet at times viscerally confused. One expects motherhood to be organic, yet no one talks about the guilt-ridden nights you will lay awake wondering if you’re a bad mother.

I realized that with the birth of a child, a new self is also born. I’m still redefining who I am as a woman, but it’s an empowering journey of self-awareness and part of who I am will forever belong entirely to my daughter.

Seeing Ms. Carucci’s photographs at the Fotografins Hus this week in Stockholm made me feel part of something bigger. Her raw honesty captures so finely and precisely many of the emotions mothers feel, but never reveal.

This desire to dissect the role of the artist within their cultural norms is a recurring theme I’ve observed while combing through museums across town. Artists such as Cecilia Edefalk, who currently has a striking exhibit entitled “Moment” at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, are turning the lens onto themselves in order to make provocative statements on social responsibility, countering conventional gender roles and female empowerment. There is nothing more inspiring than strong females finally rising in the art world and displaying their stories of growth and introspection as women in modern society.

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