At the fifth edition of OpenART, a special focus is on contem­po­rary Chinese art. A unique cura­to­rial collab­o­ra­tion between inde­pen­dent art curator Feng Boyi and OpenART Director Lars Jonnson sees thir­teen contem­po­rary artists from China preparing artworks for unprece­dented exhi­bi­tions, symbol­i­cally enti­tled “Encounter” and “No Holds Barred”. Ai Weiwei, Xu Bing and Song Dong are among the partic­i­pants.

OpenART 2015 has received a record interest, with 450 artists from more than 70 coun­tries sending in appli­ca­tions. In 2015, OpenART show­cases some 130 artworks, created by 72 artists from 19 coun­tries. The artworks will be exhib­ited on more than 70 venues across city center.

At its third edition in 2011, OpenART made headlines in the international media, after a gigantic bunny was dropped in Örebro’s central square, its tail against the sculpture of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, one of Sweden’s greatest national heroes.

Florentijn Hofman’s “Big Yellow Rabbit” became an icon, loved by many and condemned by some due to its location. The love for the city’s big rabbit went as far as determining a group of people to campaign for saving it from dismantlement.

The campaign to save the rabbit did not succeed. Mats Nilsson explained in an interview with The Telegraph that “we are not interested in having the rabbit reduced to a commercial gimmick.”

After a successful 2011, Mats Nilsson received Örebro Sparbanks’ culture scholarship for his involvement in the exhibition.

It all started in 2008, when two rebel hearts and devoted art freaks decided to give people an alternative art space, one that would be experienced not only physically; a space that people would acknowledge, relive and recollect; a space that would remain in the collective conscience and that would be sacredly kept at the heart of the public. Art for everybody, in the city center – this was the idea that sparked a long-term collaboration and friendship between Mats Nilsson, then Head of the city’s art gallery and Lars Jonsson, a recently Örebro-relocated artist.
“After 10 years in Dusseldorf, which has a long tradition in arts, I’d moved back to Örebro in 2006. Life as an artist in smaller towns can be challenging. I was fortunate to have met Mats shortly after I came back to Sweden. It took us about 10 minutes and a coffee to become friends”, says Lars Jonnson. Mats and Lars started working together at the art gallery in 2007. That year, the gallery received a new policy directive to display art in unconventional places. “And then it struck us. Lars and I both wanted to the same thing – an exciting project that would put cutting-edge art on display in public locations in Örebro”, says Mats.

As a result, OpenART started in the summer of 2008. The first edition featured 71 artists, mostly from Scandinavia, whose works were exhibited anywhere from hidden corners downtown Örebro to shop windows, on rooftops or on the surface of river Svartån. It became popular among the people in no time. A surprise came already in 2008, when OpenART was awarded the “Surprise of the Year” award (Årets överraskning) at Örebrogalan.