Join us for The Opening of Gothenburg Fringe 2024 as it takes place in the mystic but yet cosy Seminarieparken which a newly restored school garden outside the old birth house and next to the old Epidemic hospital, inspiring this year's theme: 'Journey of Life'.

Birth and death are certainties but what happens in between is fluid, improvised or abstract. Come join us on the exploration of what Fringe has to offer.

16:00- 20:00 hrs
Discover the garden with improvised music, theatre, dance and explore the sound of a long forgotten organ in the university building. Play ping pong with death, eat tacos and read the future.

The programme features:
- Organ music by Gustaf Malmsten
- Ceramic sculptures by Eva Fluur Jonson
- Micromégas VR Jewel by Jelizaveta Suskaja
- Ping pong with Death by Linda Spåman/Fadil Aliu
- An Improvised Garden Theatre by Chaotic Neutral (roaming)
- Violin performance by George Bacos Sand
- Improvised Dance Performance by Anna Hallqvist
- Echoes of silence - interactive art installation
- Äkta Spåman - Tarot reader

Eva Fluur Jonson

Eva is a passionate ceramic artist who graduated from HDK, the Academy of Art and Design in Gothenburg. Her artworks range from porcelain figurine sculptures and portraits to fine utilitarian ceramics.

Though executed in a realistic style, her works evoke a dreamlike feeling, capturing many human emotions, while lifting up common social topics in a surreal manner. On the Opening Day, you can see Eva’s sculptures from her exhibition “Poisonous plants”, along with some completely new works.

Anna Hallqvist

Anna is a dancer based in Gothenburg. She is studying her last year at Balettakademien Göteborg, graduating summer 2025.

Anna’s biggest interest within dance and the performing arts is improvisation as well as the interaction between the performers, the movements and the surroundings. She says:

“Taking inspiration from the theme of the opening day: 'Journey of life' and my love for improvisation, my acts at the opening of Gothenburg fringe will be totally improvised - as life is. Whatever comes to my consideration will show. Letting the surroundings change me, as well as letting myself change the surroundings.”

Linda Spåman
Linda Spåman is an artist and illustrator, with a master's degree from HDK, the Academy of Art and Design in Gothenburg. She writes in several fanzines and participates in various art projects. On the Opening Day, you will see:

1. Death plays Ping Pong
   With inspiration from the 1480 painting "Death playing chess" by Albertus Pictor and and of course a wink to "The Seventh seal" by Ingmar Bergman,1957 here comes "Death plays Ping Pong". This performance piece was made for the green second hand plant pop up shop "De Dödas Blommor" and made its first appearance in 2018.
   Performance artist: Fadil Aliu
2. Äkta Spåman
   Äkta Spåman is a performance, a tarot deck or two, a book, and a personal journey into to the mystery of being a human. But also a chance to ask anything and pick a card that could tell you everything (sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't).
   Performance artist: Linda Spåman.

Chaotic Neutral

Chaotic Neutral presents "Journey of Life - An improvised garden theatre". Christian Hjärner and Liv Vistisen-Rörby will pop up three different times in the Seminary park and play improvised scenes based upon the theme "Journey of life"! Improvised theatre is not scripted and we make use of the audience suggestions, so please come, find a nice shaded spot, yell some suggestions and let's have a super fun time together!

Jelizaveta Suskaja

Jelizaveta is a contemporary jewelry artist who graduated from HDK, the Academy of Art and Design in Gothenburg. About herself and her piece that you can see on the Opening day she says:

"My name is Jelizaveta but everybody calls me Liza.
I am a jewelry artist currently located in Gothenburg.

You have probably heard of the fairy tale Thumbelina written by Hans Christian Andersen. When I was a child I imagined myself being as tiny as her, the gigantic world seemed to me to be more beautiful and full of tempting adventures. I still think that, sometimes.

It's striking where our imagination can take us. When I work on my jewelry I aim to be a demiurge, to create my own new world. At times, I craft my works so that if I were to become tiny and drop onto my jewelry, I would see a marvelous landscape. Such associations, are for me a vessel that transfer ideas to the material.

Micromégas is a VR experience where one could walk on top of one of my brooches. It is done by 3D scanning one of the pieces and then enlarging it into the size of a small mountain virtually."

Elise Rouille

Echoes of silence: An immersive exploration of grief

In this thought-provoking piece, each participant is invited to sit inside a coffin—a space symbolizing both an ending and a passage. As they settle into this intimate, reflective environment, they are enveloped by a multi-language soundscape. Voices from around the world, each sharing personal stories of grief, loss, and healing, echo through the space. The recordings weave together a rich tapestry of raw human emotion, transcending language and cultural barriers. This performance challenges each individual to confront their own feelings about mortality, loss, and the ways we cope, ultimately fostering a shared understanding of grief's place in the human experience.

Gustaf Malmsten

Journey of Life: Past echoes and a new future.

What is it like to shape the journey of life through organ music? Can it be exciting, uncertain or perhaps improvised? Organist Gustaf Malmsten will explore the sounds and expressions of the Eskil Lundén organ in the organ hall in Annedalsseminariet through experimental improvisations on different genres in three short concerts.

George Bacos Sand

George Bacos Sand will challenge their background as a classical violinist by playing from Bach's partitas for solo violin on electric violin. The performance will explore baroque style playing on a modern instrument combined with the extended range of effects that is made available with the electric violin.