March 23, 2010: Elisabeth Millqvist and Mattias Givell appointed new leaders of the Wanås Foundation
The Wanås Foundation is delighted to announce that it is taking a step into the future. As of January 2011, Operating Director, Marika Wachtmeister will occupy a senior role. As her successors, the board of the Wanås Foundation has appointed Curator Elisabeth Millqvist and Project Manager Mattias Givell, who both strengthen the international profile of contemporary art at Wanås.
Elisabeth Millqvist and Mattias Givell will start at Wanås in August and take on their new positions with immediate effect on January 1, 2011. Their first exhibition at Wanås will open in May 2011. They will both share the executive management responsibility, Elisabeth Millqvist as Artistic Director and Mattias Givell as Project Director. Marika Wachtmeister will continue to work for the foundation, without operational responsibility and as a member of the board.
Elisabeth Millqvist is currently a Curator at Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall where she has worked for the last eight years. Prior to joining Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, she worked as the curatorial intern at Dia Art Foundation in New York (2001-2002) and as Curatorial Assistant at The Wanås Foundation (2000-2001). Elisabeth Millqvist holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Stockholm University.
Mattias Givell is Project and Production Manager and Art Director at Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, since 2005. During the 1990s he worked as Art Director and Project Manager for the art magazines Index and NU: The Nordic Art Review. As a freelancing graphic designer he has worked on commissions for Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall; IASPIS; and The Wanås Foundation. During the 1980s, he spent several years working as an Assistant to noted photographer Christer Strömholm. Besides studies in Art History, Mattias Givell has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Konstfack, University College of Arts Crafts and Design, Stockholm.
Marika Wachtmeister states: ”It is fantastic to be able to look ahead and reinforce Wanås as an important site for contemporary art. I have full confidence in Elisabeth Millqvist and Mattias Givell. Together they constitute a strong leadership that can develop Wanås to its fullest potential.“
Marika Wachtmeister launched the art program at Wanås in 1987 and founded the Wanås Foundation in 1995. Wanås presents nordic and international contemporary art with focus on site specific sculptures and installations. The Park, which is open to the public everyday all year round, holds approximately 40 permanent works of art by for example Marina Abramovic, Janet Cardiff, Antony Gormley, Jenny Holzer, Maya Lin, Roxy Paine, Per Kirkeby and Ann-Sofi Sidén. Exhibitions are also presented in historical buildings and in the Konsthall. Besides producing and presenting art, the Wanås Foundation publishes books and works actively with educational programs and international seminars. Wanås is located in southern Sweden and has approximately 70.000 visitors a year. The Wanås Foundation is a proud member of the Nordic Environmental Club, Svanenklubben.
WANÅS 2010
The 2010 program of the Wanås Foundation revolves around expanded, unique collaborations. The artists Roxy Paine, Ann-Sofi Sidén, and Anne Thulin, who early on in their careers exhibited at Wanås, will return this year. 17 young artists present their works within the project Another Way, a collaboration with The Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm and The Wanås Foundation under the leadership of professor and artist Ann-Sofi Sidén. Further, Wanås green profile continues and the educational collaborations with Cappellagården on Öland and The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. The catalogue for the exhibition WANÅS 2010 includes new essays by Tan Lin on Roxy Paine, by Ingela Lind on Anne Thulin, and by Sinziana Ravini on Ann-Sofi Sidén and the project Another Way.
