A Moment in Time: Little Rock Nine
Transforming American historical material into contemporary Swedish literature and performing art.
On Tuesday, April 11 starting at 6:30 pm, the Embassy of Sweden will host an in-depth conversation about the ways in which American historical material is transformed into contemporary Swedish literature and performing arts. Register here.
The Little Rock Nine were the group of nine African-American students who attended a racially segregated school in Arkansas in 1957. Their enrollment helped spark the Civil Rights Movement and contributed to the desegregation of the school system throughout the United States. Despite the physical distance, this historical American event engages and inspires the Swedish cultural scene to this day.
How do writers and theaters in Sweden engage with documents from the American Civil Rights Movement? What are they inspired by and how do they tell this story to a Swedish audience?
A group of prominent artists, authors, researchers, and theatre practitioners will discuss how writers and theaters in Sweden engage with documents from the American Civil Rights Movement, what they are inspired by, and the status of children’s right to culture and education in Sweden and the United States today.
Author and journalist Elisabeth Åsbrink, one of Sweden’s most prominent non-fiction writers, is currently writing a book about the Little Rock Nine in close collaboration with one of its nine members, Gloria Ray Karlmark, who has lived in Sweden since the 1960s. Meanwhile, Västmanlands Teater, a Swedish performing arts theatre, will soon show a stage performance by playwright Irena Kraus and scenographer Annika Bromberg about the nine students titled A Moment in Time, directed by Rebecca Örtman.
House of Sweden is located at 2900 K Street in Georgetown.