1A: The listening effect with artist Brandon LaBelle
16th October 2025
Villa DeLuxe, Växjö
Objectives:
—Design a science café-style event around the theme of Listening and sustainable health, combining artistic and research perspectives and opening space for joint reflection among all participants.
—Guide participants through practical exercises, discussion, and experience-sharing led by artists, exploring different aspects of listening.
—Focus on the transformative power of listening by bringing together theory and embodied activity, collecting personal experiences, and reflecting on how listening affects research practices and engagement with both inner and outer environments.
The Café was designed as an intimate, invitation-only gathering bringing together participants from the three core groups of the project — researchers, artists, and civic society — in order to create a space for close dialogue and trust-building. Conversations with participants ahead of the event helped shape the programme and ensured that the discussions responded to their interests and expectations.
Quotes that Stuck With Us
Berit Linden, citizen:
“The café offered a warm and welcoming space for conversation, with the artist creating a pleasant atmosphere. I feel that connecting and engaging with new people is deeply meaningful. Keep it up!”
Chiara Lenza, researcher:
“Coming together in this way, in this constellation, represents true transdisciplinarity and underscores the importance of incorporating non-academic knowledge as well.”
Åsa Ståhl, artist:
“I loved how open and curious everyonewas — and how little was at stake, sincethere was no competition over resourcesor any pressing shared issue. I’ve alreadyheard about some follow-ups:participants who didn’t know each otherbefore are now referring to one anotherand making plans together.”
Annika Axelsson, citizen:
“I’m struck by how a conversation about something as simple and deeply human as listening, shared with others, can lead to so many interesting stories and reflections — from others, and from each other. Thanks to an open and welcoming atmosphere.”
Stefan Lagrosen, researcher:
“Collaboration among artists,researchers, and citizens canenhance understanding andbroaden perspectives by mergingintuitive creativity, scientificevidence, and real-lifeexperiences.”
Who Came, What Emerged
The event opened with the Cultural University introducing Rock Your Research, followed by researchers presenting work in the knowledge environment Sustainable health. The artistic programme, led by artist-in-residence Brandon LaBelle, combined presentations, discussion, and hands-on exercises inspired by his artistic practice and the researchers’ work.
The artistic programme was led by artist-in-residence Brandon LaBelle. Brandon LaBelle initiated a dialogue with the Sustainable Health steering group and designed the Café set-up based on his artistic practice and the researchers’ work. The programme combined presentations, discussion, and hands-on listening exercises inspired by both artistic inquiry and scientific research.
In total, the Café brought together 16 participants: 7 researchers from health and care sciences, management, and design; 3 artists, with Brandon LaBelle playing a central role in shaping the experience; and 6 members of civic society, including representatives from a civic movement organisation, a local therapists’ association, a regional innovation platform, and members of the general public.
1B: Ungovernable
2nd December 2025
Linnaeus University, Växjö
Objectives:
—The workshop was based on the project Ungovernable, a project that intertwines archival researchwith autobiographical performance and strategies for collective action, drawing inspiration fromfeminist figures such as Elin Wägner and Rachel Carson.
—Thirty participants, mainly from an inspiration day on Learning with Artistic Methods—primarilyresearchers and master’s students from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, representing disciplinesincluding music, literature, and design—engaged in a hands-on workshop at the intersection ofperformance and democratic movement-building.
—Discussions in the café centered on overarching themes of climate, democracy, archives, andactivism. Participants explored questions such as how we can live together, new pathways fordemocracy, and what happens when we listen across groups and identities. The café concluded witha conversation envisioning what it would look like if we “got it right.”
Café 1b was held on 2 December as part of an Inspiration Day for staff and students at the Faculty ofArts and Humanities. The event was also open to the public. The day focused on Learning withArtistic Methods, with the Rock it Café forming one of three parallel afternoon tracks.
The café was held at Linnaeus University in Växjö in an open area where students and staff couldpass by and participate if they wished.
The event opened with The Cultural University presenting Rock Your Research, followed byUngovernable presenting themselves, the project and plans for the afternoon.
As the café was part of an inspiration day focused on Learning with Artistic Methods, there was noseparate research presentation during the café session. Research in the field had already beenpresented during the morning programme, and the majority of participants had attended thosesessions.
