Shield Contemporary, who are among the nominees for BKF annual Artist-run Exhibition Venues of the Year 2021, has its home ground in Boldklubben Skjold's dressing room at Østerbro Stadium in Copenhagen.
From here, visual artist Frank Altschul Jensen, who is behind the exhibition site, sends his curated, artistic insights into the Copenhagen art scene, to the delight of both the club's players and guests.
"Before we opened the doors in January 2019, the thoughts of creating a different exhibition space had been rummaging around in my head for a long time," says he, who has worked with football culture as a theme in his own artistic practice for the past 20 years. At the same time, he has run the online gallery torpedo18.dk, which has given him a valuable network in the world of art.
"But when it comes to the establishment of Skjold Contemporary, it was actually BK Skjold's chairman, Jan Sørensen, who approached me to ask if I would like to organize art exhibitions at the football club," says Frank Altschul Jensen.
"Jan had probably imagined that the cafe would be the focal point for exhibitions and events, but when I first saw the changing rooms, I had no doubt where the art would come from. BK Skjold is the largest football club based on members, which is largely due to the fact that the club functions in many ways as a modern community center, where apart from football you can experience lots of other things in a community with others. By bringing the art into the changing rooms, the users of the club could get really close to the art. It was exactly what I wanted,” he says.
Here and at the top of the page: Mette Kit Jensen: Match start at 19.00. Performance in Skjold Contemporary 2019. Photo: Sara Buthmann.
Half of art
As thought, so done: Frank Altschul Jensen kicked off the game by inviting four visual artists to put on performances, subject to a leg brace from the world of football, where they each got their evening to perform for 2 x 45 minutes:
Claus Ejner, Mette Kit Jensen, Anu Ramdas and Olof Olsson
“It was approached very differently. E.g Mette Kit Jensen invited art into the dressing room for a performance, where, based on the art's nature of breaking rules, she gave football's rule set the rear wheel. You could say that she mixed the red and yellow cards again and activated a completely new way of relating to football and art. She also succeeded in activating her audience, so that all 22 members of the audience participated in everything from battle cries, balloon dancing and shoe swapping," says Frank Altschul Jensen.
The participants were very enthusiastic after the 2 x 45 minutes, but the vast majority of the audience for the performance series came from the world of art, only a few from the football club.
Thorgej Steen Hansen: Viva, Olé a go go (2020). Total installation, changing room no. 6. Photo: Skjold Contemporary.
Total installation in the dressing room
That changed when the dressing room was later used for exhibitions.
Especially Viva, Olé a go go by Thorgej Steen Hansen in dressing room no. 6 has received very positive feedback from the ball club's users, and has helped to make Skjold Contemporary's vision of art and football visible.
It also became awarded by the Statens Kunstfond as one of the most important exhibitions in 2020.
The exhibition has the character of a site-specific total installation that relates to the exhibition space's daily function as a changing room for Skjold's various football teams. It consists of a large continuous mural that unfolds from floor to ceiling across all four walls in the room.
In addition, there is a painting that mimics some of the colorfulness and dynamism that is expressed in the design and color combination of many of the football kits that you see the various clubs around the world wearing before they go on the pitch.
Thorgej Steen Hansen: Viva, Olé a go go (2020). Total installation, changing room no. 6. Photo: Skjold Contemporary.
"We are now so happy with the exhibition that we will hopefully have it permanently in changing room no. 6. This has meant that we have taken changing room no. 3 into use for future exhibitions," says Frank Altschul Jensen.
He finds that artists' self-organized projects generally play an important role in the development of the entire artistic life.
Kristoffer Akselbo: Altar of sport. Skjold Contemporary (2021).
"The projects live their own lives and create a creative free space where the ceiling is high. And an eye is kept on what is going on at the artist-run exhibition venues. We ourselves have been contacted by both Copenhagen Contemporary and GL STRAND in connection with collaboration. I think that the small exhibition venues can contribute with a freshness and a difference that is valuable.”
If you ask Frank Altschul Jensen to name one thing that could improve the conditions for artist-run places, he has no doubts:
"Better finances and more muscles... whoa, it must have been two things!"
Current events in Skjold Contemporary:
In July and August visual artist Kristoffer Akselbo exhibits in dressing room no. 3, Skjold Contemporary.The exhibition Vodoo Simonsen (Sound of Bones) is part of the collaboration ART OF SPORT – ONSIDE with Copenhagen Contemporary, where Skjold Contemporary forms a satellite for the meeting between sport and art.