Janosch creates Stofan | A Public Living Room
Janosch Bela Kratz is the first user to create his own public living room at the Library. His creation is a part of the project Stofan | A Public Living Room. The aim of the project is to create different versions of social spaces at the library, a place where people can start conversations and connect with others. Janosch has chosen his spot and will start the first conversation in it on Tuesday the 28th of September at 5 pm in Grófin. We asked him a few question on his creation.
Which spot did you choose for your Stofa?
It is the poetry corner on the 2nd floor in Grófin. I chose this spot because it is away from day light, a bit hidden, gives a feeling of being secure and safe. You are not so exposed to the public or other users of the library. Good conversations derive from hidden places.
What will you to place in it?
I try to create a room, or more a sketch of it, drawing walls with textile. I add pillows and a carpet that make it warm. Then I will have a selection of books. Like when you enter a living room of another person you get an understanding from the selection of objects of the person living there. Only now it gives an idea what this livingroom wants you to talk about. And I will have tea, there is nothing better than holding a cup of warm tea in front of you when you discuss important topics.
What kind of feeling would you like to give users?
The feeling you get as a child creating a house with blankets, your first own home. I am not sure if safe is the right word to describe it. It is a warm place and you can create it as you want it to be. But the space is not completely closed off, you see what is happening outside through the thin fabrics. You are not excluded from the surroundings, and it is open to those who want to enter.
Who would you like to invite to start a conversation with?
I don´t know yet. Either someone who has researched history on migration or a member of the Icelandic community of immigrants. It will be a rather spontaneous invite. But I would also like to have people around who like to take part in the discussion. It is a continuation of my graduation piece in MA Design at LHÍ on creating an immigration history and the culture around it. Within the research the community of the Facebook group “Away from home – living in Iceland” interested me a lot and the discussion taking place there. In Stofan I want to take threads from these discussions and bring them into this warm and hidden place. My graduation project was very abstract in the end. Now, I see this as a chance to connect ideas on immigration history and culture to the space of the library and to the actual community.
Do you have an inspiration, a place that you relate to your Stofan?
This installation by fellow student Felix Buchholz who worked with fabrics to rebuild his grandmothers house, a very fragile but warm illustration of home.
More on the work of Felix Buchholz can be found here.
Further information on the project Stofan can be found here.