The festival that started because there was “nothing happening in town” is back for its third edition. This Saturday, May 9, Kultivalen will feature more than 30 acts, with over 1,000 visitors expected throughout the day. Carola, who works with the festival’s pre-production and scheduling, and coordinator Leif shared their experience and vision for the event.
What can visitors expect from Kultivalen this year?
Carola: I think you can expect a lot of creative people. We are up to more than 30 acts. We will have music, local bands, touring singer-songwriters and returning artists. We will have dance workshops and performances, a cyanotype workshop, doll theatre for children, and an art exhibition from Brewing Art, who paint every Saturday. There will also be theatre with Showtime and two other theatre groups. The evening will end with DJs. I think everyone will find something. It is for people, by people.
Leif: We are expecting well over a thousand people here during the day. We have 25 bands who will bring their friends and their friends’ friends. And then all the other acts. There are movies. We’re going to have Pilates. Some people are going to run and eat soup after. I don’t know where this idea comes from, but it sounds fantastic. There will also be a gaming area. If you can’t really find anything worth going here in that program, then my suggestion is next year you come and do what you want to see yourself.
Leif, you have been there from the beginning. How did the idea of Kultivalen emerge in the first place? Who was at the origin?
The person responsible for this is Johanna. She will perform this year. Three years ago, she came in through that door, I think it was like end of January, boring times, there were a few people sitting around and she said, nothing is happening in this town. And I was like, do something then. And four months later, Kultivalen happened. She was one of the main persons the first year and as Kultivalen works, people just said “we help out”, and in the end we had a fantastic big festival. But that was the basis: her being frustrated and nothing, nothing fun is happening in this town, do it yourself, and then she did.
What made you want to join the team?
Carola: This is my first year participating in Kultivalen. I like that we do this together. People themselves have reached out to us to be a part of it, so it feels like we do it as a community. I studied music and event management because I like pre-production of festivals. I thought, “I want to do something. I want to help. I like pre-production of events.” so I joined, and it was welcoming to do it. We are helping each other a lot, and in this, organization, in the arrangement group it’s important that we do things we like to do. So if you want to swim, you can swim. [laughs]. I like to do pre-production, then I did it. Someone likes e-sports, then she did it. Someone likes Pilates, she will do it. It’s not like you need to do this because we need to have this. And that’s amazing.
Leif: I think the question is, why do I think Kultivalen is a good idea? It’s very engaging if you want to be engaged. It is very allowed. If you come with an idea and it’s within the Swedish law and the general principle of culture yourself and doesn’t cost a million crowns to do, let’s do it. Come do your crazy thing and it’s perfectly fine. It’s also grassroots that bands and acts and things that do not already have a crowd or an audience get to play, get to do their thing.
“Expect to see the unexpected”
What was your biggest challenge this year?
Carola: As responsible for the scheduling, I think it’s that many artists want to play at the same time, so our biggest challenge was to make a schedule that works for everyone. The time most people wanted was the evening, but the festival starts at 12, so we want music happening in the early day also. Some artists will travel from nearby cities, then maybe we prioritize them to have a later time while the local people have earlier. If there is someone that we missed, maybe it will be a surprise. They can just show up and that would be fun.
Leif: This year, it is a lot about technique. Music instrument, chords, drums, mics, all that, I don’t have the knowledge. So for me, it’s dependent on others. I mean, they were not slow. They were just experienced in the way that I felt a little bit nervous about this because I didn’t know.
What are you the most excited for? Do you have a band, an activity or a moment you are particularly impatient of seeing perform?
Carola: I’m most excited for seeing all the work we’ve done, how it will look on Saturday. I am very interested in the doll theater. I think it’s unique. I’m not a kid [laughs] but still, it’s for everyone. I’m also excited to see the theater groups. I look forward to the dance workshops and seeing which types of people go to the different acts. I hope everyone will be happy.
Leif: Three things I think you should see at the festival. We are lucky this year that the group In The House is organizing a hardcore mini festival in Insikten. It’s going to be four bands. So if you want to see people that do somersaults and dance like crazy, go check it out. There are many things to see, but there are also two girls. One will sing and I think play guitar. And the other one will hang from a ring on that thing outside and do acrobatics. I’m a bit curious what’s going to happen there. And then, of course, I’m going to plug my own little thing that I’m doing. Black box poetry. I won’t say more, but I think that would be cool.
Carola, can you speak about your performance?
In the evening we will have dance performance with the DJs. Benita and me will do one dance each. I will do a burlesque act. Burlesque is a body positive dance. And my act is about duality between Sweden and Lebanon. I have a performance I’ve done in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and now I do it here in the city I was born in. I performed this act in 2023. I took burlesque classes in Gothenburg. I had private sessions with my teacher. I had this idea, and then she helped me on the way to create it.
My outfit is that I have my flags on me. One side of me is Swedish and the back of me is Lebanese. I’m trying to find who am I. Am I Swedish, Lebanese, or both? Am I nothing? But then I realize, I’m the best of both worlds. In this act I will be very anxious about where I am. Then I take off the flags and I throw them away. But then I realized, I can combine them instead of having one side.
I am still struggling. When I am in Sweden, I feel I’m too Lebanese, but when I am in Lebanon, I feel too Swedish. So I’m kind of a mix, and, in some areas I belong more, in some areas I feel, oh, I’m different, but I think I need to embrace it more. Dancing is a universal language, so I think wherever you come from, I think you’ll understand what I want to say with my act. I’ve had people say that they feel the same, because they might be half Swedish, half something else. And they’re like, “Oh, I understand you.”
To wrap up this interview, what three words would you use to describe Kultivalen?
Carola: Art, fun, and community. Art, because we will have a lot of wide creative areas. Dancing, music, art exhibition, dance performance, e-sport gaming, workshops. The community, we do this together as a team, both with the volunteers and the artists. And fun, because I think you will have fun. think you will enjoy it, because there is lots to choose from and I think it will attract everyone.
Leif: Expect to see the unexpected. Chill day. It’s not pressure. We’re doing it for free. It doesn’t cost anything. So, what if it’s not perfect? It’s not like one of the main festivals in Gothenburg or in Stockholm where everything has to be perfect. It is a fantastic event.
Writer: Amy Villette
