A truly amazing story about art, bad management, cunning, backbiting, and broken promises - what does that sound like? The ingredients of the plot are better suited for commedia dellīarte than public art life in a small Swedish town north of Stockholm. But if it was art, in contrast to real life, surely no-one would have suffered from consequences of the intrigue? by CHARLOTTE BYDLER

A trying debate has been in the pages of local as well as national press about a municipal governmentīs responsibilities towards the public art life and its employees. It started innocently when the vacant post as director of the municipal art hall in Norrtälje, a town of 50.000 inhabitants, was advertised. Twelve persons applied. The Social Democrat leaders of the municipality decided on Niclas Östlind, editor at magazines Hjärnstorm and Index as well as working with the Stockholm Modern Museum. Östlind was advocated by the representatives of the political majority in the cultural committee, and got the position in competition mainly with deputy director of the art hall Torun Ekstrand. Then a riot started in the local paper, Norrtelje Tidning. Norrtälje art hall presents itself as a room for unexpected meetings and surprises - young and untried against the familiar and safe. When it was elected Museum of the year in 1997, the Swedish museum association congratulated the art hall for its vital and exciting program, international scope and its ability to work wonders with small means. The Friends of the art hall must also be mentioned here; an independent non-profit organization that supports the program of the art hall and works in the spirit of public education to inspire interest in art. Together with a group of local artists in Norrtälje and politicians on the right-of-the-centre, as well as political representatives in the cultural administration, they vociferously favoured Torun Ekstrand. Step by step the debate got worse, until any decision was met with the reaction "damn if you do, and damn if you donīt". Mean personal accusations met Östlindīs decision not to move to Norrtälje from Stockholm, situated in comfortable commuting distance. His motivation to keep connections with the national and international art life alive and going was of no help since it was interpreted as taking a stance against local artists (!). Clearly no strangers would be tolerated. That spells "culture as a matter of regional support". Then, the municipal politicians in the cultural committee changed their decision under the pretext that economy didnīt allow for the vacant post to be filled. More pressure from local artists and the Friends of the art hall made the entire Social Democratic cultural committee resign from their posts, and chairman Olle Olsson explained in the paper that his situation had turned unbearable. One can only speculate on Östlindīs feelings when told by Olsson that as things had turned out, he would never get the job. Alas, there were not enough money for municipal musical education, library and art hall. No position at all, consequently. Marita Jeansson, chairman of the local branch of the Social Democratic Party, explained that the culture offered by the art hall was a surplus on offer - a luxury only serving the few and already well-off one may guess. Now, some two months later, Torun Ekstrand is advocated by a brand new Social Democratic committee. Chairman Lennart Allard claims that the post as director was never withdrawn, in spite of what could be read in the paper, and contrary to what Östlind thought. Something is obviously rotten here. These are the positions in brief: culture is discussed in terms of spiritual cultivation, which only allows for pleasant experiences. Hence the Social Democratic view of art as a dispensable luxury, and a complete disavowal of responsibility towards employed in the cultural sphere in the spirit of love it or leave it. Art is of no concern in real life, or worse: supporting art ideologically equals advocating a haute bourgeois life style, with no connections to the wellbeing of ordinary people - i.e. those who (should) benefit from public libraries and municipal music school. The Friends of the art hall and local artists are close to the position "art as spiritual cultivation", with a sprinkle of parochialist nepotism. That is, the local art life should benefit directly from the art hallīs program. Advocating Torun Ekstrand as director is in line with this view, as is disregarding professional advantages such as personal contacts when employing a new director. This does not equal saying that Ekstrand is unprofessional. But as a matter of fact, changing employer is the safest way to gain experience and contacts in art life as elsewhere. Affirmative action policies regarding gender or geographical representation of art hall staff and local / national / international artists shown does not affect this argument, since they would favour Östlind and a broader art hall program. Politicians yielding to local pressure groups (voters?) contrary to advise against it both in and out of Norrtälje is opportunism in practice. The Norrtälje Art Hall that won the 1997 Museum of the Year Prize will surely not be the same after all that has happened. And former director Gunhild Stensmyr (who moved to Gotland Art Museum, surely doing the right thing) was also a Stockholm-dweller who had to defend her choice of place to live. Good PR or not, some Norrtälje voices have been heard to say that art is important for local business life - indeed, who wouldnīt agree seeing the enthusiasm for Stockholm Cultural Capital ī98? But the aim of art taken broadly is not to be good (for) business, however they may be so. "Fine", "élite" or "gallery" art is not just nice, but touches everyday life in very tangible ways: the Bjarne Melgaard / Donald Mader show in Stockholm Historical Museum is a case in point. Unhappily, the Historical Museum directorīs wellintended but clumsy critique of Maderīs photography as child porn coincided with neo-nazi opinions. Would local interests in Norrtälje stand the test of letting art deal with similar societal wounds if there was no immediate local benefit? A public art space is too important to be handled with weak and irresponsible arguments and decisions by politicians and parochial conservatives. There is a lot of homework to be done if municipal art life is to be run in an interesting and professional way. Letting the mad dogs on a competent newly appointed art hall director in order to employ another person is certainly not a working method.~