Culture

Culture is alive and well and living in Sundsvall. Within the municipality there is an abundant assortment of cultural activities covering virtually every art form, in both the professional and the amateur domains. There is a multitude of activities for children and young people. We remain firmly committed providing for our youngsters despite the pressing constraints imposed by funding cuts in the municipal budget.

In Sundsvall we also have made a lasting commitment to support and develop professional cultural expression. Our own chamber orchestra, Nordic Chamber Orchestra Sundsvall and Teater Västernorrland, the county theatre company, are shining examples of this policy. We have also undertaken to provide first-class venues for cultural manifestations.

The Culture Warehouse, Kulturmagasinet
The extremely popular Kulturmagasinet, literally The Culture Warehouse, consists of four turn-of-the-century harbour stores linked by a glass roof and gables, has served as cultural meeting place since 1986. The design has attracted considerable attention and has won a number of awards including the Europa Nostra Prize, the Nobel Prize of architecture, so to speak. Kulturmagasinet houses the main branch of the municipal library, the Medelpad Archives and Sundsvall’s Museum which in 1989 received first prize as the European Museum of the Year.

Tonhallen, our well-equipped concert hall, serves a multitude of functions. With facilities for television production Tonhallen is the natural venue for guest performers and productions representing a wide range of genre. Nordic Chamber Orchestra Sundsvall rehearses and performs here and during the daytime the building is used for conferences and lectures under the auspices of Mid Sweden University.

In Sundsvall there are three theatres of which the century-old Sundsvalls Teater is the foremost venue. Konsertteatern is the permanent home of Teater Västernorrland and the dignified former cinema, Svea, is to be converted into a playhouse for productions by and for children and young people.

But what would cultural life be without dedicated enthusiasts, artists large and small, clubs, associations and societies, with scope and focus. We have it all in Sundsvall. Not only that, we have been blessed with devoted politicians endowed with foresight and a generous business community. Together they have ensured that there is funding and support and have demonstrated perseverance, never wavering in their conviction that culture in all its forms is vital for a diverse and flourishing society with prosperous citizens and successful companies.

Top

Young Sundsvall
Much of cultural life in Sundsvall focuses on children and young people. Film, music, theatres, libraries and museums represent items on the cultural menu which are available via the schools, day-care centres and during their spare time, as spectators and as well as active participants.
Over the past few years chamber orchestra musicians have worked together with children at day-cares and schools.

Discussions with preschool children on the subject of art is one aspect of the much appreciated activities at the Social Services’ Children’s Cultural Centre, Kryddan, which is also housed in Kulturmagasinet. This collaboration between the municipal child-care services and cultural institutions opens doors to wide variety of cultural activities. Kryddan offers the children hands-on activities and stimulates their own fantastic creativity. The Children’s Cultural Centre’s activities extend beyond working directly with the children themselves. Cultural activities are also supported and stimulated through projects, seminars and in-service training for child-care staff throughout the municipality.

Top

Libraries and Literature
The library service in Sundvall is extensive and has been a feature of life in Sundsvall for over a hundred years. The main library in Kulturmagasinet has spacious and attractive bookrooms and plenty of space for individual study. Exhibitions, lectures, visits by poets and authors as well as other events are recurring elements which complement traditional library services. During the winter months the main library is open seven days a week. It is a popular and pleasant meeting place for students, those wishing to peruse the national and international press, bookworms, inquisitive consumers, curious internet surfers, CD-ROM borrowers and others who simply drop in during a stroll through town.

The Child and Youth Department offers youngsters guidance and advice to help them discover the fantastic world of literature. On Saturdays and Sundays they can hear stories told and participate in live musical games.

The main library also manages out-reach activities which involve workplace libraries, service to a variety of social institutions, "The Book’s Coming" which is a home delivery service, a cassette book department, and the Book Bus. The main library also houses the offices of Consumer Sundsvall which provides consumer information and financial counselling.

The areas outside the centre of town are served by eleven district branches of which seven are combined public and school libraries. The district branches also arrange exhibitions and visits by authors, regularly offer activities for children and are involved in a variety of projects within their role as "Local Cultural Centres".

In 1991 the municipality instituted a literary award, presented every other year, in honour of Sundsvall native Lars Ahlin, an established author in Sweden.

Top

Archives
Kulturmagasinet is also home to the Medelpad Archives which is the successful result of efforts to assemble a number of smaller, local archives under a single roof and to provide service to both amateur and professional researchers.

By gathering together the municipal archives, the Medelpad popular movements’ archive, a number of corporate archives, old photos from the museum’s collection, a collection of printed material and an extensive amount of material on microfilm it has been possible to create a comprehensive archive, with generous opening hours, where everyone who is interested in history can receive assistance and conduct their research in peaceful and functional surroundings. Directly adjacent to the Medelpad Archives the Midälva Genealogical Society houses its own extensive collection of material for genealogical and local historical research.

Top

Museums
While Sundsvall’s Museum, which boasts the county’s most important art collection, is located in Kulturmagasinet and while it is operated by the municipality it also has the county-wide responsibility for art and industrial history. The permanent exhibits include the history of Sundsvall, the sawmill era, the natural history of Medelpad and the finds from a local chieftain’s burial mound dating back to about 500 AD.

The shifting special exhibitions of contemporary art and local history as well as exhibits to stimulate debate on contemporary social issues means that the museum is in a state of constant transformation, a state which is complemented by an extensive programme of, for example, lectures and tours.

Two specially-educated museologists conduct activities and give lectures for school classes.

Throughout the municipality there are a host of local heritage museums. The most popular is the self-sufficient homestead at Gudmundstjärn, deep in the forest, which is visited by over 50,000 people each summer. The heritage museum on Norraberget, in Sundsvall proper, is dominated by exhibits depicting the history of the district’s urban trades and rural culture. It is also the home of a mythical creature, known as the Skvadern, a cross between a hare and a great wood grouse.

There are several old harbour stores in the immediate vicinity of Kulturmagasinet and the municipality is investigating the feasibility of establishing a Swedish photographic museum in collaboration with other interested parties. The aim is to combine a museum of photographic technique and photography with a facility housing both modern imaging technology and describing its development. The plans under consideration also include an image bank for the restoration, preservation and storage of old photos.

Top

Theatre
Sundsvall is the home of Teater Västernorrland, the county’s professional touring theatre company. It has its own workshop and rehearsal facilities here and the company’s productions in Sundsvall are supplemented by performances by the National Theatre and other ensembles. Performances are arranged by a local association, Sundsvalls Teaterförening.

There are also several independent theatre troupes such as Cirkus Elvira, Studentteatern and Teater Äsch. Amateur theatre groups are found throughout the municipality and they stage, for example, contemporary musicals, experimental theatre, operettas and shows based on local history. Kvartersteatern is the largest of the amateur groups and in addition to a number of smaller productions each year they have, during the summer, staged exciting outdoor productions of Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers, both of which involved large amateur casts.

Theatre for children is performed at public venues as well as at the day-cares and schools and each year more than 17,000 children and adults attend children’s theatre performances.

Top

Music
Sundsvall is renowned in Sweden as the "City of Choirs" and certainly there are good grounds for the epithet. There are a multitude of choirs, both secular and within the various religious congregations. There are also groups playing all manner of music. Our flagship is, of course, the professional Nordic Chamber Orchestra Sundsvall which has developed quickly since its establishment in 1990 and is now an accomplished orchestra. Under the direction of Niklas Willén the repertoire is rich in contrasts; classical Viennese, twentieth century and many commissions. Recently reinforced by a string quartet the chamber orchestra enjoys widespread popularity and has recorded a number of CDs.

In Sundsvall there is also a symphony orchestra, big bands, tradjazz bands, pop and rock bands, dance bands, country and western bands as well as folk music groups. A number of associations arrange musical events and the most active, Konsertförening, Jazzklubben and Pipeline ensure that the range of choice is both rich and extremely varied.

The municipality of Sundsvall, together with Konsertföreningen and Västernorrland’s county council has established an award in honour of Swedish court singer Hjördis Schymberg who was originally from the municipality. It is awarded every second year to young musicians with ties to Västernorrland or the north of Sweden.

The Municipal Music School in Sundsvall is one of the few in Sweden that does not charge any fees. Any student from grade four onwards who wants to learn to play a musical instrument is given the opportunity and each week 10,000 students between the ages of six and eighteen attend music classes. The Music School also offers instruction in dance and theatre as well as the opportunity to play in class ensembles.

Top

Art
A large number of artists live and work in Sundsvall but the one with the greatest international reputation is unquestionably Bengt Lindström who spends part of the year in France and part of the year at Essvik in Sundsvall.

A major art fair is held annually as is Art Day which is an event held in a central park and affords local artists the opportunity to display their work as well as paint or sculpt before the eyes of Sundsvall’s residents.

And young talent is well provided for. There is, in addition to the aesthetic programme offered at the upper secondary school level, a post-secondary institution, Sundsvalls konstskola, which offers courses in a wide range of artistic activities in its newly refurbished premises. On the same block there is a collective workshop, Kollektivverkstan, which has studio space available to both amateurs and professional artists.

Throughout the municipality there are galleries and other outlets for the sale of art and handicrafts.

Top

Local Revues
Local revues in Sundsvall are a long-standing tradition and they attract large audiences. The oldest, Sundsvallsrevyn, has received numerous awards through the years, including the revue equivalent of an Oscar, for the best Swedish revue number on not less than four occasions. In 1995 they also received a special award for the best script of the year.

Two other centres in the municipality, Njurunda and Matfors, also stage local reviews.

Top

Film
In downtown Sundsvall there are two cineplexes with a total of twelve screens. These commercial enterprises are supplemented by a number of very active associations dedicated to the art of film. The largest association in Sundsvall, in fact one of the largest in Sweden, Sundsvalls filmstudio, presents a programme for adults as well as two others, one for children and one for young people. The association’s goal is to show the best films possible, old and new, from as many countries as possible.

Bio Kontrast and Folkets Bio are two other associations which are dedicated to providing Sundsvall’s cineastes with the opportunity to view quality film.

In other parts of the municipality films are regularly screened at youth centres and there are local associations in rural areas which show films specifically for children.

Plans are in the works to establish a resource centre to support and develop the video art project for young people that has been running for the past few years.

Sundsvall has also run a school film programme since 1989 and each year in the range of forty screenings of quality films are held for about 5,000 children and students from day-care to upper secondary school.

Top

Clubs and Associations
Clubs and associations form the framework for cultural life in Sundsvall. The largest, Konsertföreningen, Teaterföreningen and Pipeline, form the foundation and their endeavours are supplemented by a host of others. If you are interested in music, song, theatre, dance, literature, art, film, history or just about any other form of cultural expression Sundsvall has something to suit your tastes.

Top

For more information please contact:

Christina Lindqvist
City of Sundsvall
SE-851 85 Sundsvall, Sweden.

Tel: +46 (0)60 19 12 14
Fax: +46 (0)60 17 42 44
e-mail: christina.lindqvist@sundsvall.se

Top