A Place in Europe + SSE

From December 4, 2019 to January 31, 2020, the film-sculpture A Place in Europe stood outside the main entrance of the Stockholm School of Economics. Created by artists Cecilia Parsberg and Erik Pauser with architects Haval Murad and David Martinez Escobar, the work brought questions of migration, belonging and inequality directly into the public space of Sveavägen.

About the exhibition

Title: A Place in Europe
Artists: Cecilia Parsberg and Erik Pauser
Architects: Haval Murad and David Martinez Escobar
Dates: December 4, 2019–January 31, 2020
Location: Outside SSE’s main entrance, Sveavägen 65
Presented by: Misum and SSE Art Initiative

A Place in Europe is a film-sculpture made by artists Cecilia Parsberg and Erik Pauser in collaboration with architects Haval Murad and David Martinez Escobar. It takes the form of a 1.3-ton house that appears to be sinking into the ground. On its underside, a screen shows the short film A Place in Europe.

The film’s protagonist, Thomas, had slept under a loading platform in Stockholm for three years and was facing eviction. He represents a displaced citizenry living in a parallel economic, political and social reality. The film tacitly asks: Is a person’s destitution a result of individual or societal failure?

The work reflects on scarcity, despair, belonging and migration, placing these questions directly in public space. By showing the film outside the School, it reached SSE students and staff as well as pedestrians on Sveavägen.

The installation was presented in partnership with SSE, Liljevalchs Konsthall and Stockholm Konst. It had previously been shown at Odenplan in Stockholm, in Örebro and in Karlstad.

Public conversations at SSE

The installation became a starting point for two public conversations at SSE.

January 15, 2020, 12:00–13:00 — Meet the creators
SSE students invited the artists and architects behind A Place in Europe, together with Thomas Kwame Awarija, the protagonist of the film, to a lunchtime conversation in room Ragnar. Read the archived event information.

January 22, 2020, 16:00–17:30 — Wealth inequality and the role of art in democracy
The artists and SSE researcher Jesper Roine joined Stefan Jonsson, Professor of Ethnicity at Linköping University, for a conversation in room Ragnar. Read the archived seminar information.

About the collaborators

Cecilia Parsberg is an artist and PhD in Fine Arts. Her research-based practice addresses urgent social, political and existential questions, often combining documentation and activism. Her work has been shown at Moderna Museet and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and at Tate Modern in London.

Erik Pauser is a filmmaker, producer and artist whose documentaries frequently examine social issues, including war and its consequences. His films and installations have been presented internationally and have received awards at international film festivals.

Haval Murad is a civil engineer and architect educated at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. He founded Detail Group, whose interdisciplinary practice focuses on sustainable urban development and the intersections of architecture, art, politics and society.

David Martinez Escobar is an architect educated in Mexico and Sweden, with a specialization in Design for Sustainable Development from Chalmers University of Technology. As a partner at Detail Group, his work has focused on sustainability in social development and the role of the architect.

Explore further: A Place in Europe project website · A Place in Europe on Cecilia Parsberg’s website

Art has a crucial role at SSE, leading us to reflect empathetically on the global challenges of contemporary times. A Place in Europe circles around scarcity, despair, belonging and migration and I’m glad that both our students and the pedestrians on Sveavägen get a chance to experience and ponder it. It raises questions some of our researchers try to answer.
Lars Strannegård
President, Stockholm School of Economics