News – John Huntington

Together we can quit

The Swedish Public Freedom Service invites you to the workshop “Together we can quit!” in Jönköping, a practical guide in the art of quitting under the guidance of our newly started unit for termination management.

The demands of our time to constantly start anew, accelerate, consume and in various ways increase growth and speed is creating a climate collapse. At the same time, it prevents society from developing in the direction of greater care, empathy and thoughtfulness.

Learning to quit is therefore necessary. Together we need to rid ourselves of constant employment, activity and consumption.

In the workshop, we follow a carefully structured and playful method where we develop new methods to stop everything from small-scale everyday habits to institutionalized behavioral patterns. The workshop is about 90 minutes long and relates to permaculture principle number six “Create no waste”. No pre-registration or preparation is needed. The workshop is part of the project “Jorddyrkare” held at Österängen konsthall.

For more information visit Jordyrkare at Österängen Konsthall

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Nationwide working groups

During the spring and summer of 2022, we have summoned more people to Kanslibyråns operations. Now approx. 1200 people, or 0.12 per thousand of Sweden’s population, is a members of one of the bureaus working groups. Each group is assigned a task and consists of about a hundred participants. Membership can be seen as an honorary assignment, a call to action or a break in the daily routine.

Participation is entirely on a voluntary basis, all group members are anonymous and there is no requirement or expectation of feedback or documentation.The purpose of performing each group’s task is to create an opportunity for the participants to get a different view of their own everyday life. The task creates space for irrational kinds of actions that may directly or indirectly affect people in the members’ environment.

Performance at Teater Albatross

The Dark Administrator (Svartadministratören) is a performative lecture on bureaucracy and resistance. With the office workplace as a starting point, the work deals with contemporary human beings heavy addiction to systematizing everything in its surroundings.

The work is a collaboration with musician Dödsvarg (Jon Ekström) and was earlier performed at Skogen in Gothenburg. Now the work is presented at Tokalynga Flying Festival in Gunnarp, a pluralistic festival presenting theatre, music, dance, poets, researchers, politicians and more.

The work is performed at Saturday 6^th of August.

More information about the festival

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The Mission Statement of Kanslibyrån

Kanslibyråns programförklaring (The Mission Statement of the Secretariat Bureau) is now being launched: a collection of texts and poetic elements that have been produced during two years time. The Mission Statement is structured in twenty-seven individual paragraphs where the bureaus view of society and the world are put into words. A number of methods and strategies for escaping established norms about rationality and efficiency are outlined.

The publication is in Swedish, 60 pages in paperback format.

To read more and order a copy please visit kanslibyran.se

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The Dark Administrator at Skogen

The Dark Administrator (Svartadministratören) is a fiery speech, a performative lecture on bureaucracy and resistance. With the office workplace as a starting point, the work deals with contemporary human beings heavy addiction to systematizing everything in its surroundings.

The work is a documentary collage of examples, stories and demonstrations where an everyday frustration linked to feelings of powerlessness and loss of meaning takes place and is given space to unfold. Various forms of ritual protective measures are presented and an alternative professional role slowly emerges from the shadows, accompanied by apocalyptic tones and sounds from the abyss.

John Huntington is a conceptual artist who, with various forms of interventions and claims, questions preconceived notions about everyday life, work environments, public institutions and political spaces. In his practice, he explores the borderland between everyday life and art, between individual and institution, between citizens and society, both by himself and as part of the collaborative projects Kanslibyrån & Frihetsförmedlingen.

As Dödsvarg (Death Wolf) the musician Jon Ekström has created a world dominated by insanity and madness. The sound is inflated under thick layers of paranoid delusions. There are dark tones emanating from a bombastic, raw and cold punk. Jon is also the singer of the band Slutavverkning and was a member of the band Detektivbyrån.

By: John Huntington // Music: Dödsvarg (Jon Ekström)

Image: Institutional corpse paint 1-4

More information and how to book at the Skogen website

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Frihetsförmedlingen in Boden

Frihetsförmedlingen (John Huntington & Lars Noväng) is participating in the exhibition “Maskinerna är igång” produced in the urban space by Havremagasinet in Boden.

“The exhibition encourages us to think about what work and labour means today and how it relates to the city, the present and not least the notion of freedom. We become aware of how the material conditions in a place, together with the bodies that inhabit it and work in it, create both local and global connections over time and space. Like the parts of a machine in constant motion, everything seems to be connected.”

Participants: Fikret Atay, Kalle Brolin, Suzanne Ciani, Theresa Traore Dahlberg, Frihetsförmedlingen (John Huntington & Lars Noväng), Petra Hultman, Eyvind Johnson, Lennart Nilsson.

The exhibition is open 18 February – 6 March 2022

Artists interpret the public pension funds

“The national AP-fonderna (’Allmänna pensionsfonderna’, public pension funds) administer over 1500 billion kronor of the tax payers’ pension money. Several billion kronor are being invested, in the form of shares and bonds, in the fossil fuel industry. The questions around the pension funds’ investments, their ethical framework, and our immense need for change are both complicated and hopelessly bureaucratic, and at the same time they constitute an emotional and political powder keg. How can we address these questions in an artistic way?”

In 2020, the climate activists Anna Bokström and Johanna Norrbo invited artists to interpret/visualize the activities and management of the swedish public pension funds. The participating artists are: Nina Bacos, Anna Bokström, Ann Engqvist, Sara Granér, Max Gustafsson, Ilona Huss Walin, John Huntington, Lena Ignestam, Babawale Obayanju and Ella Tillema.

The project is financed by the organization Both Ends and the association Fossilfria Pensioner who presently runs the campaign.

Welcome to the opening at Galleri 54, Friday 29th of October at 6pm to 9pm. Free soup will be served. At 6.30pm we will talk about the the public pension funds.

Foto: Johanna Hanno

Exhibition “What is new”

Kanslibyrån (John Huntington & Per-Arne Sträng) is participating in the Group show “Vad är nytt” (What is new) in Gothenburg, opening 1 Oct 2021

“The exhibition is set after a period of time when social and cultural encounters have been largely missed. To fill this void, Ateljéföreningen Nya Fabriken is arranging a huge exhibition in one of GötaVerken’s old premises, a 1000m2 empty industrial building. In it, we are organising a group exhibition with Gothenburg-based artists.The vernissage will take place Friday 1st October from 17:00-late. We plan for a big celebration where we can meet, see art and form new and stronger bonds with colleagues and peers. The purpose is to show everyone interested, from the public to politicians and contributors, the artistic diversity and quality that exists in Gothenburg.”

The Potato Economy on Zoom

During the autumn of 2021 I will perform my work “The Potato Economy” for different art associations around Sweden. The work is part of the project “Performance on Zoom” produced by Sveriges Konstföreningar.

Based on my large collection of stamps from various public institutions, government bodies and private companies, I will be telling a story of money, power and bureaucracy while performing a number of actions and movements where stamping becomes a powerful performative act.

The work will be performed for Socialstyrelsens konstförening, Totalförsvarets forskningsinstituts konstförening, Sveriges Konstföreningar Norrbotten, Sveriges Konstföreningar Gävleborg, Konstföreningen Esplanaden (Kemikalieinspektionen), Folkhälsomyndighetens konstförening, Studio Växt, Konsthantverkscentrum, Sveriges konstföreningar, Strängnäs konstförening, Boo konstförening.

Kanslibyrådagarna 2021

This year’s conference will take place in the forest between Töreboda and Laxå 11-12 June. There are three intensive program items on the agenda, where repetition and structure are at the center.

Welcome to take part in the conference’s activities on Kanslibyråns Instagram account. The conference applies a variable schedule and the program items will be announced gradually. Stay updated on Friday and Saturday to experience the gathering digitally.

Image: Program item 2 – “Organize the fir-cones in the forest”

Instagram: @kanslibyran

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