MUSEUMS OR NOT? PART 3: SUBWAY SERIES STOCKHOLM

Beyond Tradition | Joanna Wreakes

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This February I had the pleasure of visiting my sister who’s working in Stockholm for the year. In planning all the things we would do during the week, Instagram was a major tool. One Stockholm attraction kept popping up - the brightly coloured subway stations all throughout the city.

Stadion Station. Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes.

On top of regular commuting from my sister’s apartment into the city center, I planned to visit some  stations that my travels wouldn’t have taken me. During my subway-hopping tour there was such an interesting mix of people to be seen. There were plenty of other tourists, all on our own little self-guided tours, hopping off trains to wander the brightly painted cavernous stations, taking pictures for social media to prove that we were there. However, most of the people I saw were simply Stockholmers going about their daily business, seemingly unaffected that they were passing through “the world's longest art exhibit.”

Mörby Centrum Station. Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes.

The Art in the Subway project in Stockholm is not the only initiative that brings art installations into typically dreary subway stations, but it is arguably one of the widest-spread. Installations are found in over 90% of the subway stations, featuring works created starting in the 1950s by over 150 different artists.

Countless numbers of eager Instagrammers flock to the stations each day to get their snaps. The art in the subway is so popular that it’s even spurred its own hashtag - #subwayseries_sthlm (I would know, as I definitely used this hashtag on my own Instagram post of some of the stations I visited). “Subwaygrammers,” as they’re referred too, are made up of Stockholmers and tourists alike - and the photos seen are taken both in special visits and during daily commutes.

Despite the social media impact of Art in the Subway, it’s intriguing to think about the history. This project began in the 1950s, long before the advent of social media & “subwaygrammers”. While the brightly coloured installations make a great photo, I think they may serve another purpose: lightening up the winter blues. Notoriously dark and grey in the winter, in January Stockholm only gets around 6 hours of light each day, making these colourful subway stations more than just a great photo-op.

The author pictured in T-Centralen Station. Photo courtesy of Molly Wreakes.

"Tilted Arc" aka public art gone wrong (source).

While the discussion around public art is so often negative with complaints about wasted tax money or an inconveniencing of space (see: Richard Serra’s tilted arc), art in the subway is a refreshing site. Allowing commuters whimsical views during their travels, while generally being unobtrusive (save for tourists with selfie-sticks), the project allows all people a small glimpse into “the world's longest art exhibit” without even having to step foot into a traditional museum building.