This knowledge transfer interview is part of the Nordic Insights project, which facilitates knowledge transfer from Nordic experts to Romanian and Moldovan cultural practitioners on addressing cancel culture issues related to public monuments and contested heritage.
As one of three planned knowledge transfer interviews, this discussion between Iwona Preis (Director at Intercult & Governing Chair of Smart Coop Sweden) and Oana Nasui (cultural researcher) explores Nordic approaches to contested heritage, waterfront development, and community-engaged artistic practices that can inform the development of strategies for Romanian and Moldovan contexts.
Key Topics Discussed
“Turning the Tide” Stockholm Lab
Iwona describes their recent lab (held the previous week) addressing climate change impacts on urban development and planning. Intercult, working with EU cultural funds, collaborates with artists, cultural organizations, municipalities, and decision-making bodies across Europe. Their focus on waterfront cities examines how rapid urban development affects water quality and citizens’ relationships with water as a vital resource.
The “Memory of Water” Project – Contested Industrial Heritage
This project directly addresses the theme of contested heritage central to Nordic Insights. Across multiple European cities (Gdansk, Stockholm, Govan, Ostend, and one city in Ireland), the project examined post-industrial waterfront sites where artists and local communities either contested or supported preservation of industrial heritage. While the project influenced municipal discussions and prompted community consultations, it achieved partial rather than complete changes to development plans—demonstrating both possibilities and limitations of artistic intervention in heritage debates.
Historical Context: Sweden’s Heritage Demolitions
Iwona provides crucial historical perspective on Sweden’s 1960s-70s urban renewal, when planners demolished large portions of cultural heritage (old wooden quarters in the Klara district) citing overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, replacing them with modern concrete structures. This traumatic loss created lasting public awareness about heritage preservation that continues to influence contemporary debates—offering a cautionary tale relevant to Romania and Moldova’s approach to their own contested heritage, including communist-era industrial sites.
Redefining Heritage: Industrial Sites as Cultural Memory
The conversation addresses a core Nordic Insights concern: what constitutes heritage worth preserving. Oana notes that in Romania, some industrial sites aren’t yet recognized as heritage, requiring long-term education about historical value. Iwona’s work demonstrates Nordic approaches to recognizing post-industrial sites as legitimate cultural heritage deserving protection and creative recontextualization.
Artists as Community Megaphones – A Key Methodological Insight
This concept directly informs Nordic Insights’ emphasis on artistic interventions. Iwona describes artists not merely as creators but as facilitators who amplify community voices in urban planning and heritage decisions. Artists engage citizens through participatory methods, helping them articulate concerns about development and heritage preservation—a methodology transferable to Romanian and Moldovan contexts.
Case Study: Marabou Factory, Sundbyberg – Successful Community-Artist-Municipality Collaboration
The Marabou chocolate factory site (2010-2014) provides a concrete model for the action plan Nordic Insights aims to develop. Artist Kerstin Bergendal, invited by Sundbyberg municipality, used “durational strategies” and play to engage residents about proposed densification plans through her PARK LEK project. The resulting citizen-created alternative plan was exhibited publicly and ultimately approved by the municipality, rejecting plans from six major developers. This demonstrates successful artistic mediation between communities and decision-makers—precisely what Nordic Insights seeks to replicate for contested monuments.
Urban Labs as Transferable Methodology
The urban lab approach offers a practical framework for Nordic Insights’ virtual roundtables. These labs bring together diverse stakeholders (artists, citizens, researchers, municipal representatives) for structured dialogue on contested heritage. Intercult conducts these twice yearly across European cities, demonstrating the feasibility of regular, multi-city knowledge exchange similar to Nordic Insights’ planned structure.
Organizational Scale and Political Independence
Both participants reflect on advantages of working through small NGOs rather than large institutions: political independence, freedom of speech, agility, and flexibility. However, they acknowledge the need to integrate research and data (statistics, economic arguments) with artistic/emotional approaches to influence decision-makers effectively—an insight valuable for Nordic Insights’ multi-perspective research approach (institutional, academic, grassroots).
Interdisciplinary Collaboration as Essential Framework
The conversation concludes by affirming what Nordic Insights embeds in its structure: addressing contested heritage requires combining artistic practice, community engagement, research, and institutional partnerships. Neither purely artistic nor purely research-based approaches suffice alone for complex heritage debates involving historical trauma, contemporary values, and diverse stakeholder interests.
Key Takeaway for Romania & Republica Moldova:
Nordic approaches demonstrate that successful recontextualization of contested heritage requires sustained multi-stakeholder dialogue facilitated by artists, political independence of organizing bodies, integration of community voices with institutional decision-making, and realistic expectations about gradual rather than revolutionary change in heritage policies.
