Congratulations, TCG Nordica!
TCG Nordica celebrated it’s 10th anniversary with a large party on April 3, 2010, at 20:00.
250 old an new friends were invited, and they enjoyed a rich program, with stage performances, speeches, an anniversary exhibition and lots of snacks and drinks to go with it.
The party was though only the start of a year of celebration, where many 10-years anniversary events are planned. To close the celebrations, there will be an extended memory exhibition in December, with posters and photos from all of the 10 years.
Congratulations, TCG Nordica!
April 3, Saturday. 250 friends gathered to celebrate TCG Nordica’s 10th anniversary with an unforgettable evening of speeches, stage performances and a special memory exhibition.
People started arrive at 19:30 and at 20:00 TCG Nordica was filled with the chatting of 250 close friends who anticipatively mingled around looking at the 10 years anniversary exhibition on the gallery walls: posters from all sorts of events during the years occupied one wall, and beside it art pieces donated for the evening. In the corner gallery, a photo collage exhibition, and TCG Nordica’s history written out in Chinese and English mainly on the wall beside the stage.
When TCG Nordica’s general manager Wu Yuerong , popularly called XR, and her co-founder and best friend Anna Mellergård entered the stage everyone listened up, and many came to sit on some of the numerous chairs earlier put out by TCG Nordica staff and the Scandinavian Culture Student group .
It was the beginning of an unforgettable evening walking down the memory lane. Since all of us 250 guests have different stories connected to TCG Nordica, one can imagine Anna and XR must have had a hard job choosing the five speakers finally presented on stage.
We got to share the story of artists Sun Guojuan , the first to go to Sweden through the TCG Nordica-Västra Götaland Region Artist in Residence Program, and Mao Xuhui , famous for his well-known scissors-paintings and neighbor to TCG Nordica since both moved into the LOFT area in 2002.
The principal of Yunnan Arts Institute (YAI) Wu Weimin talked about his and the school’s long lasting friendship to TCG Nordica; the first exchange project was arranged by Hyllie Park folkhögskola and YAI, year 2000. Jin Feibao , investor, told about how he found the deserted factory which now is TCG Nordica’s premises and rented it out of sheer inspiration all those years ago.
Final speaker, the internationally well-known poet Yu Jian , suggested that TCG Nordica is a ”democratic project” not only reaching out to established artists, and he appreciated that one of its purposes is to encourage and support young people. TCG Nordica is a unique project in all of China , Yu Jian continued and expressed how happy he is that the founders choose Kunming and not Beijing or Shanghai for this cultural meeting place. He closed with making us all laugh at his memories of going swimming in a Swedish lake during his visit to Småland for the 2003 Nässjö Poetry Festival.
Between the speakers, we enjoyed a variating program of music and dance, from some of the many talented young people connected to TCG Nordica. Most know to the ArtsNordica network might be Huang Shan who treated us some ”erhu” (Chinese two-stringed violin) music and Zhang Yu who played ”guzhen” (table harp) to Chen Jia ‘s dance, and the Hyllie Park Folkhögskola students Frida Adolfsson, Helena Larsson and John Fhager who sung and played.
At the very end of the evening, all Scandinavians in the room joined forces on stage, as Anders Gustafsson and Maria Mörnerud held a surprise speech with accompanying flowers to XR and the TCG Nordica staff on behalf of ArtsNordica (Hyllie Park Folkhögskola and Areopagos). The organizations will send a donation to the TCG Nordica 10 Years Anniversary Fund as well as to a fund for Yunnan draft victims as a birthday gift to their Chinese partner organization.
Though Swedes and Norwegians filled up the stage at this moment, it was obvious that the large part of all TCG Nordica’s Scandinavian friends naturally had not been able to come, and it was in a feeling of both joy and sadness we rounded up the celebration this Saturday April the 3rd, 2010.
Maria Mörnerud
writing for ArtsNordica
Kunming, 2010.04.03
Photo by Gao Yunfei, Luo Fei, Anders Gustafsson and Josef Mörnerud.
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