In a collaboration between artist Pablo Castilla and Havremagasinet, an open studio is held every week for young people who want to create art. Participation is free of charge and attracts everyone from younger children with parents to upper secondary school students.
It’s Monday evening and the windows of the Havremagasinet art gallery are lit up. An EPA tractor with young people rolls in. Parents arrive with younger children. Everyone heads straight to the studio, where Pablo is waiting with a smorgasbord of materials for art and making, along with knowledge and ideas. Before long, one by one, they get started on projects they come up with themselves or with guidance from Pablo.
It’s clear how much the opportunity is appreciated when the children and young people start talking about what makes them come here:
“I think it’s fun to just sit and work on art.”
“I like sculpting and drawing with pencil.”
“It’s fun to draw—here you get more inspiration.”
“I draw comics. Here you get something else to do than just sitting at the computer.”
“Here you can do pretty much whatever you want—things you don’t have at home.”
“This is a great idea.”
A safe place
“For me, it means a lot to help give children a safe place where they can be creative and be themselves. A place where they can meet like-minded friends and discover that art can be so much more than just painting, sculpting, or making music,” says Pablo Castilla.
He explains that art can also help you feel better, understand yourself and your needs better, or simply try new materials and ask questions.
“I try to accompany them on that journey. I feel very grateful to be part of it and to try to make a small difference. And that Havremagasinet has made it possible.”
Pablo has been an artist for many years and has been deeply involved in various creative projects in Boden over the years. Among other things, Gallery 14 was created to keep an art gallery in central Boden, through Boden’s Arts & Crafts Association, where Pablo was chair in 2025. He has also worked as an art educator at the municipal culture school.
“My project Skapande started at the culture school and, during 2025, was offered as an extra activity for children in Boden.”
The initiative was very popular, so when the project ended, parents and children wanted it to continue.
“That’s when I decided to try to create my own art project and talk to different stakeholders to see if anyone was interested in giving Skapande a place and a budget,” Pablo explains.
In collaboration with Havremagasinet, it is now continuing through 2026.
“I’m very happy about that, and also grateful to the culture school that started the project and was so generous in collaborating with us—among other things by letting us use materials that were left over and by contacting parents from the culture school’s Skapande group in 2025 to let them know the project is continuing.”
For his own part, Pablo hopes that Gallery 14 will continue to be an art hub in central Boden, and that he’ll be able to focus a bit more on his own art.
“My plan is for Boden to be a city of culture. I want people who think of Boden to be able to say:” “How much fun they have there in little Boden. It’s not a big city, but they also invest in things like art, culture, and creativity.” I also hope the arts programme remains as something Boden is truly proud of—a place where you can see how skilled, happy, and talented the students are. And that young people will feel they have a place, through associations or other initiatives.
TEXT: ANNA BERGSTRÖM
