Mariangela Mendez Prencke is the art gallery director who spent most of her adult life in major metropolitan areas. Now, she has permanently traded the hustle and bustle of big cities for närhetsliv.
With a white bucket in her right hand, Mariangela Mendez Prencke hurries up the stone steps. Her quick pace causes the sound to reverberate softly between the walls of Havremagasinet’s staircase.
Climbing the stairs is part of her daily routine as she oversees each exhibition. The plastic bucket contains remote controls to start the screens that complement the physical exhibitions. It also holds an indispensable blue duster for tidying up the small traces left by history.
Havremagasinet, completed in 1914, was once an integral part of Boden’s garrison, storing grain for horses. To keep the oats fresh, a rather complex system was built to transport the grain between floors. However, technology advanced more quickly than anticipated, rendering the facility outdated before it was fully operational.
Horses were soon replaced by motor vehicles, and the need for grain diminished. Nevertheless, the building continued to serve as a grain storage facility until 1971.
Though it has been 53 years since the granaries were emptied, old oats still occasionally drift down from cracks in the ceiling, needing to be swept away with the duster.
ART THAT STIRS EMOTION
Today, the building serves an entirely different purpose – a meeting place for contemporary art and a venue where local and international artists converge. Havremagasinet is also Norrbotten’s county art gallery and a respected institution in the art world.
“Here, people should encounter art and feel something. Wonder, anger, love, perhaps even comfort. We aim to evoke emotions,” says Mariangela, who serves as the gallery’s director.
It is her responsibility to curate the exhibitions and manage the staff at Havremagasinet. Her goal is to create a space where local narratives resonate with global themes.
“I believe it’s crucial to give artists from Norrbotten the opportunity to be seen in a space that is accessible to the public. We are able to do this thanks to public funding from the municipality and the region.”
After more than 20 years as a curator in major cities like Bogotá, New York, and Hamburg, Mariangela is well-versed in creating platforms for art. Her interest in art has been present since childhood, but it was during her education that she discovered her passion lay elsewhere.
“I realized my drive was stronger when it came to creating spaces for art rather than producing the art itself. Helping people experience and engage with art has always been my goal.”
The current exhibition theme at Havremagasinet centers around the concept of home, a notion that shifts and takes on new meanings depending on time and place.
A PERSONAL FAVORITE PLACE
One of the installations tells the story of a collective of migrant workers who left their home in Paris in 1977 in search of a new future. They settled along the Senegal River in Mali and founded the agricultural cooperative Somankidi Coura.
What began as a dream of living in harmony with nature has since grown into a successful enterprise. Today, with over 100 members, the cooperative cultivates crops such as onions, bananas, and chili, using regenerative methods to secure both their livelihood and the future fertility of the land.
“The story may be about another time and place, but the theme is just as relevant here and now.”
For Mariangela, Havremagasinet is a second home. Or perhaps the first, depending on whom you ask.
“Yes, I spend quite a lot of time here. This is one of my absolute favorite places to be – both at work and during my free time”, she says with a smile.
The themes and exhibitions at Havremagasinet are typically replaced every six months. The ongoing green transition in the region is also reflected in an upcoming exhibition – Futureland, which will focus on climate and futurerelated questions.
“I want us to work with art that engages and moves people. Futureland will address critical issues concerning our world and what is happening here in Boden and the Arctic. I believe it will evoke strong reactions.”
It was love that brought her to Sweden almost ten years ago. She grew up in a small tourist town in the Caribbean part of Colombia, but has lived most of her adult life in cities with millions of inhabitants.
“I moved here from a city with 11 million people, city where everything was at least two hours away. Here, I can bike to most places within minutes. It gives me more time and a quality of life that I truly appreciate.”
CULTIVATING IN THE CITY
One of the interests that this newfound time allows for is gardening. During the summer months, her family’s garden is filled with a variety of crops, and at the time of the interview, it is harvest season.
“There’s a lot of work right now, but it gives us the opportunity to be a bit more self-sufficient. For someone like me, who has lived in big cities, it’s amazing to live in the heart of town, have a large plot to grow on, and own a house at a reasonable price. It’s a luxury I want to cherish.”
Mariangela sees great advantages in living the närhetsliv. At the same time, she dreams of a Boden with a more vibrant cultural scene. She hopes that the societal transformation currently underway will help realize this vision.
“In my opinion, Boden has historically focused more on supporting sports and outdoor activities, and it could do more to foster cultural life. We in the cultural sector also need to improve our ability to collaborate and form partnerships. I’m optimistic.”
However, she finds the balance between the town’s offerings and the quality of life in Boden hard to beat.
“I never want to live in a big city again. For me, it’s enough to travel, experience what large cities have to offer, and then come home to the närhetsliv.”
TEXT: ANDRÉ SAMUELSSON
