Animalariums’ Constellations is a performing arts project that weaves together dance, gesture, language, song and yoik as forms of expression to process and create a resonant space for some of the most burning questions of our time – countdown, extinction, and who is allowed to dream and what can their dreams be? 

In the wake of rapid global climate change, polarizing political climate and a sense of hopelessness, Animalarium wants to connect experiences of humanity, care and empathy through its constellations and give an opportunity to reflect and relate to the world through the work’s questions and topics.

These performative constellations can be described as living cartography, sensory sculptures and a contemporary ritual, where a collective narrative unfolds in the moment. Each performance is unique and is led by a performance host who, together with the audience, makes a selection of topics. Only the audience and the host know which topics have been chosen – the participating performers do not know which topics they will portray. When they step onto the stage they  choose an unknown topic and from there they use the improvisational method Choreo-Constellating to give the subject a bodily expression and a physical presence – through movement, language and voice.

In 2024 and 2025, Animalariums’ Constellations will journey to Norwegian Sápmi, Sweden, and Austria, including the Arctic landscapes of Guovdageaidnu and its indigenous Sámi community, the post-industrial site of Ställbergs gruva (a decommissioned iron ore mine), and the Future Farm at the edge of a growing Vienna. These sites shape the energy and focus of each performance through their unique social and ecological contexts. Each iteration of Animalariums’ Constellations poses questions on countdown, extinction, and who is allowed to dream and what can their dreams be?

The project will create a series of performances named Constellation #2, Constellation #3 and Constellation #4. The first iteration, Constellation #1 Dawn obliges us to dream, was premiered at 3:e Våningen September 2024 and was created in the context of the coastal archipelago of Bohuslän.

Currently it is Liv Schellander and Alexandra Wingate who work with the Animalariums´ Constellations project. The idea was developed together with Lena Kimming (the third Animalarium member), but since fall of 2024 Kimming is on a break from her artist’s work.

Participating artists are Alexandra Wingate, Liv Schellander, Ina Dokmo, Elle Sofe Sara, Emma Elliane Oskal Valkeapää and Siri Anna Flensburg. The project is a collaboration between Animalarium, Elle Sofe Company, Ställbergs gruva, and WUK Performing Arts, with support from Perform Europe, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, Davvi – Center for Performing Arts, Dáiddadállu, 3:e Våningen, Scenkonst Gerlesborg, Västra Götaland Regional Council and The Swedish Arts Grant Committee, and ACT OUT, a project of the IG Freie Theaterarbeit, funded by BMEIA Austria.

Constellation #1 Dawn obliges us to dream, at 3:e Våningen September 2024.