12 Tuesdays and nice things
Working with ”12 Tuesdays and nice things” we have been thinking at articrafts as a way of communicate. Is it possible to communicate with aestethics as the only language? Or, seeing it in another way: to make handmade articrafts together, is it a way of talking? Which social potential is there in articrafts?

For twelve Tuesdays Altoum Alimoardi, Sara Isaksson From, Wafa Galip, Åsa Jungnelius, Khawar Ali Karim, Nasin Rashid and Zobida Nagi Sharegh have been seeing each other regularly at Tensta Konsthall and work together in different articraft techniques and materials.

We got to know each other through a We Work In A Fragile Materials-workshop ”you can do it” that was realized through a collaboration with Tensta-Hjulsta Kvinnocenter at Tensta Konsthall in the fall 2004. Since we have had limited possibilities to express ourselves by speaking we have mostly been refered to the visual marks we have made together.

It has been important to try to make an allowable climat where there are no rules of what kind of aesthetic forms or expressions are good or bad, nice or ugly.
When it was time to end ”12 Tuesdays” we wanted everybody to have the possibility to express their experiences from the meetings. Therefor, we invited Hero Rashid from Tensta-Hjulsta Kvinnocenter as intepreter when the group met to make an embroidery on cloth. The conversation was taped and choosed parts has here the function as the groups jointly story about ”12 Tuesdays and nice things".

Sara Isaksson From and Åsa Jungnelius

Conversation September 13, 2005, Tensta Konsthall
Attending: Altoum Alimoardi, Wafa Galip, Sara Isaksson From, Åsa Jungnelius, Hero Rashid, Nasrin Rashid and Zobida Nabi Sharegh

Sara: Maybe one needle to little?
Åsa: Sara, come on!
Sara: I was just going to look for a needle.
Åsa: Wafa do you want a needle?
Altoum: Take mine!
Nasrin: I saw a cloth in a shop that had a predrawed pattern to sew after. Can you draw on the cloth and I sew?
Sara: But you decide what to draw then.
Nasrin: A little cottage and mountains. Some nature.
Åsa: I think I’ll draw on paper and then we have to count.
Wafa: I draw a Kurdish landscape for the embroidery, with mountains and sun.
Åsa: We have Hero here as interpreter today because we want to ask you that has been here about your thoughts about this meetings.
Nasrin: I think it’s been good and nice to come here. We have dared to go into the society in another way. You have learned us how swedish people are. It has been a good and positive experience.
Sara: And you have learned us about women in Tensta. Or about women that has moved to Sweden. I don’t know other women from Iran, Iraq or Turkey. Can I borrow the needle?
Wafa: I have learned to make a statue of my face and empty it inside, I couldn’t do that before. It’s been really fun.
Sara: You have been taking a class in ceramics too, haven’t you?
Wafa: No, but I will take one in Hässelby.
Åsa: We haven’t really been like a ordinary class.
Nasrin: No, you have more been like friends for us.
Åsa: We have wanted to learn to know you by doing things together. In that way it’s been easier to get closer to each other.
Wafa: So, what is your function? Are you teachers or how did you get this idea?
Åsa: We are not teachers.
Sara: We are craftswomen. We have gone to school for pretty many years to learn handicrafts. And now we use handicrafts to learn to know you better. It is not so easy to get to know people from new places without a reason, so this is our reason. To make you come here, we said come and work with us.
Altoum: I understand.
Wafa: I have thought that you are teachers. When you came and asked us if we wanted to come, you said you were going to learn things.
Sara: We never said that, we said that we can learn from each other.
Åsa: Me and Sara have said that we don’t want to be teachers. That’s why we have said, do like you want to, when you’ve asked. There is no right or wrong when you express yourself aesthetically.
Sara: But what have you said to your families? When you come home, what do you tell?
Nasrin: I have been talking very positively about this. It’s been very fun, especially the visit at the museum this weekend. I called my nephew and told him about us.
Sara: Yes, it was very fun to visit Nationalmuseum together.
Åsa: Most of the museums in Stockholm has free entrance. It doesn’t cost anything to visit.
Nasrin: I wonder if we can visit the house of the king next time?
Åsa: Of course!
Altoum: why don’t you go by yourself? I have been there with my daughters.
Nasrin: But I don’t have anyone that can join me.
Nasrin: I wonder if we can visit the house of the king next time?
Åsa: Of course!
Altoum: I thought it was very fun to. I liked the old furniture most, especially the royal furniture.
Nasrin: I liked the old furniture too.
Åsa: What did you think about the first exhibition we saw, with the modern things? (Koncept Design 2005)
Nasrin: The clock in the first room was very interesting. I have been talking about that one at home, it had laser or something that showed the seconds, I thought it was very beautiful. (Albin Karlsson, Nu, 2004)
Altoum: Wafa, you have to use Swedish or Kurdish, not Arabic.
Wafa: I moved from Kurdistan to Bagdad when I was a kid. That’s why I have problems speaking Kurdish. So when i don’t find the words in Kurdish, I use Arabic, I want you to respect that.
Nasrin: It’s difficult with language, one has to be patient. I haven’t even understood when somebody have said to me in Swedish, ”be patient”. But when one do practical things, one learn to use the words. It’s like using the words twice. But I don’t know if I think that the handicrafts is a language by itself. Words are needed.
Åsa: This place we have been at, Tensta Konsthall, what do you think about it?
Nasrin: It is like a open place for meetings where it’s possible to learn new things. It is very good, I feel good when I come here.
Sara: I remember when you asked me, what does ”konsthall” mean? And I couldn’t really explain because it’s so different. The ones that works on the konsthall decide what the konsthall is. Now, this group together with the other people that are working here, decide what konsthall is.
Altoum: Why don’t anyone know what kind of place this is? That’s odd.
Nasrin: My first meeting with Tensta Konsthall was when these Turkish artists was visiting (Oda Projesi, Tensta Konsthall, 2004). They asked us at Kvinnocenter if we could make food for a meatball competition, so I came here with my meatballs and everybody that took part got an honour. It was exciting and nice.
Åsa: And then we did that workshop ”you can do it” in playdo-clay too.
Nasrin: It was fun that it became an exhibition in the city with the things. (Blås&Knåda, You can do it, 2004). To get that attention, that people thought it was nice even if I didn’t think that, it has meant a lot.
Åsa: What did you think when me and Sara came to Kvinnocenter and asked if you wanted to go on working with us?
Nasrin: From the beginning, I didn’t think it seemed so exiting to come here. But still, I wanted to come here and see what it was.
Sara: Did you get curious?
Nasrin: Yes, and you were also very respectful, you cared about us and therefore i wanted to give it one day a week to come here. From the beginning we were many but some haven’t continued, maybe because they didn’t like it or didn’t have time. But we thought it was fun, so we continued. You have done a lot, but we felt we were needed too.
Sara: Yes, without you it wouldn’t have become anything.
Nasrin: I have one question for you. What do you think about getting to know immigrant women? I want to know your opinion about us?
Sara: I was suprised that you have so much humour, you dare to joke about serious things. And i think it was brave of you to come here when you didn’t know us and didn’t know who we were.
Åsa: It has been very fun to get to know you. I am impressed about you patience when we have been trying to understand how to make this something good.
Nasrin: We have known that this will lead to good things.
Wafa: How many people has actually been painting this place? (The Leopard Cube, Tensta Konsthall 2005)
Åsa: I don’t know, we have to ask the people that works here.
Wafa: I think it’s really nice.
Nasrin: It’s much nicer than last year, more like home but the best with this place is to see you.
Wafa: I want to cook food for you and bring.
Sara: That’s great, and we can bring food too.
Altoum: Only if you don’t have beer in the food.
Åsa: Just a little, no i’m just kidding Altoum, no beer or wine. Is it okey to have wine in the food?
Altoum: No, not wine either.
Nasrin: I have tried when my nephew graduated, but just tasted. But I didn’t like it, it was just strong. When is the ending party?
Åsa: October 29 but I don’t know what time. But on the day, probably between 12 and 18.
Altoum: October 29. it’s Ramadan, it’s not possible to have a party that day.
Åsa: But it’s allowed to eat when the sun goes down isn’t it? We can have the part later that day. Nasrin, do you celebrate Ramadan?
Nasrin: No, it’s no problem.
Åsa: Altoum, can you come later?
Altoum: No, I will not come.
Åsa: then we can have our private party another time and you can come that day instead?
Altoum: That sounds good.
Wafa: What is your plans for the future?
Sara: This is soon over. This cloth will be the last one. If you don’t want to come here and show us how to burn in wood of course. But then it’s over.
Åsa: we can still see each other of course but it will not be the same as before when we see each other every Tuesday.
Nasrin: Don’t you have any new class or project?
Åsa: We don’t really know yet. We think it’s been great to get to know you. We really want to go on working together.
Sara: But what do you think about what we have made here; this cloth, the self portraits and the dolls, house and the ceramics?
Nasrin: It’s been fun to do different things every time.
Altoum: But it hasn’t become so nice things all the times.
Sara: I think so.
Nasrin: We wish it would have been better. But it’s difficult. I’ve never drawnd or anything before.
Åsa: Never in school or when you were a kid?
Nasrin: No, I wasn’t interested.
Altoum: Before I got bad sight i used to do handicrafts at home.
Nasrin: At home I don’t feel like doing anything but here it’s different.
Altoum: Ow, my hand is hurting.
Sara: But the cloth looks good.
Nasrin: If I can take the cloth with me, I can finish the selvages at home.
Åsa: Sure.
Nasrin: Bye bye. I will go home and sew the hole night. I sew the last selvage and the mountain that Zobida and Wafa has drawed until I see you next time.
Åsa: We’ll see each other on Tuesday then.
Nasrin: In sha allah.

Sara Isaksson From and Åsa Jungnelius work with crafts in konceptual context. In the project ”12 Tuesdays and nice things” they have been interested in the social potential of handicrafts, they have seen the artistic work as a way of come through language and cultural differences. Focus has moved from the traditional result of handicrafts, to the making and the social meetings.
Åsa and Sara also work in their laboratories with glass respective cheramics. They are also members of the craftgroup We Work In A Fragile Material.