The Hamlet Gallery is created from an idea by Allan Christensen, a Nørrebro citizen. The Concept has then been further developed by the creative business community in the neighbourhood.

In the first exhibition of Hamlet Gallery, "Colours in Black/White", the recesses in the more than 100 m long wall from the last century in Hamletgade where filled with artfotos in large formats showing the youngsters of the neighbourhood. The fotos are taken with disposable cameras by youngsters in the age of 11-17 fra the Mimersgade neighbourhood. The youngsters have documented their lives and their neighbourhood through more than thousand fotos, of which 42 now have a spot in the exhibition. Three of them where awarded prizes by a panel of judges, with the director of the museum ARKEN, Chistian Grethner as the head judge.

Besides the exhibition "Coulours in Black/White" three more exhibitions are planned. The first of these will tour the country, in order to give the whole of Denmark the opportunity to see the pictures. The project Hamlet Gallery have several purposes. One is to give new life to the neighbourhood by decorating i the street with beautifull fotos. These fotos give an insight into the lives of the children and youngsters in the neighbourhood. A large part of the children in the neighbourhood comes from different ethnic backgrounds. The project gives them recognition and teaches them how to take good fotos and how to use these.

There are 3 main purposes of the gallery:

'Colours in Black/White' has been able to get a hold of a great part of the Mimersgade Neighbourhood, both youngsters and adults. The children have learned something about taking fotos, and one of the youngsters expresses the following: "It has been fun to take pictures by ourselves. Normally it is only the adults that are allowed to take pictures".

The largest part of the adult citizens of Mjølnerparken have been to the exhibition. Because their own children have participated or because they are somehow related to a child which has a picture at display. One purpose of the project was to drag the poeple from Mjølnerparken to the Mimersgade neighbourhood. One fotographer from the neighbourhood have expressed that "The exhibition has already become a part of something people associate and indetify as Nørrebro".

The project benefits the many children and youngsters - but of course the entire neighbourhood as well, as it has been handed af street gallery.

The creative businesses of the neighbourhood, The Social Ministry, The association of Neighbourhood Renewal in Mimersgade, The association of INSIGHT and FORESIGHT.

Municipality of Copenhagen
Denmark
Trine Andersen, tel. 0045 35 83 16 00

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Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Citizens' participation