4. Secret missions, epic places: Karina Sarkissova and Molly Engblom

drift dialogues

In the fourth episode of drift dialogues Karina and Molly discuss their practices, and their use of text as well as the role that spaces outside of the studio and institutions play in their practices of dance, curating and poetry.

They touch upon the use of montage and collage and dig into their motives for making art departing from two meetings in the studio at höjden, right in the beginning of 2024 where they exchanged practices by sharing, leaking, and finding common points of interest.

Karina Sarkissova is an independent curator and dramaturge based in Uppsala and Stockholm. She graduated in 2012 at the School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam (SNDO) and in 2019 at Dutch Art Institute (DAI). Karina is together with Pontus Pettersson curating the annual festival My Wild Flag, as well as curating the performing arts program at Norbergfestival with Olof Runsten. Karina is a cofounder of höjden in Östberga, a space for artistic production. Karinas practice is dramaturgical, choreographic and curatorial; she is regularly working with other artists’ work and develops choreographic contexts.

molly is a dancer, choreographer and poet based in Stockholm with a BFA in Dance performance from Stockholm University of the Arts (2019). molly works experimentally with dance, voice and text to make work that takes place in different spaces; like a body of water shifts shape, the choreographic leaks in and out of stage rooms, art galleries, magazines, and unconventional places e.g. outdoors. Through strange, tender and shivering fictions she wants to create situations where relational and poetic encounters can take place. Currently she is investigating the poetics of monstrosity, abjection and desire.

Works mentioned:

And then it got legs, Jeroen Peeters

Generative Fictions, or How Dance May Teach Us Ethics, Alice Chauchat, Post dance book

Red doc, Anne Carson

Kafé mix, a series of performance evenings at höjden arranged by Jennie Bergsli, Stina Ehn, Lisen Pousette

Edith Ekström, graphic designer

INTER, by Karina Sarkissova. Commissioned work for the project Myths and realities, a lesbian oddysé

höjden studios is an artist-run space for work and a shared context for artists and cultural workers to meet. Join us at https://hojden.house

drift is a proposal that aims to trace artistic and discursive tendencies moving through höjden studios. It simultaneously constitutes a forum where materials and ideas can transform, resonate or fall apart in the movement of recurring meetings. drift is a record of cacophonies landing slowly over time as artists at höjden studios invite for openings and points of connection.

drift is produced by Oda Brekke and Scott Cazan

Mastering by Foad Arbabi

Graphics by Edith Ekström