I just landed in Malmö, Sweden and I was looking to get involved in activities that could help me to build a network. I heard through a friend about danish artist Signa Sørensen (now Signa Köstler) who was directing a performance in cooperation with students from the University of Malmö. So I found out about the date and time of next meeting and I attended without knowing a single soul.
During this meeting they explained that the goal of this project was for students to gain experience while working in the performance. I said I wasn’t a student but I was interested in joining and they agreed.
There were different crews that took care of: sound and light design, multimedia, scenography, IT, Direction, Administration and Public Relations. I joined the Swedish PR group. We worked very close with the Danish organization behind the production KanonHallen, and their PR manager back then: Mette Burmeister.
The name of the performance-Installation was THE BLACK ROSE TRICK and consisted in a 10 days non stop performance in a “ strange three-floor hotel, where the audience is invited to explore the many rooms and secrets, while being watched 24 hours a day by 16 cameras.” We got permission to use an abandoned building and we turned it into a hotel from the 50’s. The general public could just come and visit or they could even check-in and spend the night there. The performance was a success!! Every day was sold out and the whole city was talking about it.
The PR group developed a Guerrilla Campaign to promote The Black Rose Trick hotel. This campaign consisted in producing and placing objects that would make us think about a hotel, using intriguing ways to catch the attention of those who found these objects. My team and I not only developed the campaign concept but also produced it with almost no budget. Matchboxes with the logo, old keys with a room nr and a message. This was my first experience working with this kind of campaign and since then I’ve applied it in many of my projects.
The Black Rose Trick, gave me the opportunity to work with professionals involved in the cultural environment from both Malmö and Copenhagen.
Read more about the project.