‘Sara is a special place’

One year on from the opening of Sara kulturhus, Marina Georgescu meets the new CEO, Anna Jirstrand Sandlund, to talk about ‘fly-in, fly-out people’, ‘TV sofas’, and the future of English-language programming at Sara. Portraits by Donna Richmond.

One year ago, on September 8th 2021, Sara kulturhus first opened its doors to the public. It has been an exciting, productive year, with more than 800 cultural events for all tastes and ages. Those who’ve enjoyed time at Sara, have not only experienced the different emotions good art provokes, but also enjoyed the rich aroma of new wood, and been able to explore the unique spaces of this world-class architectural marvel.

Deluge of positivity!

It’s been a pretty special first year for Sara, with the building winning the International Award for Wood Architecture, and obviously influencing Time magazine’s decision to name Skellefteå as one of the ‘World’s greatest places in 2022’, after an absolute deluge of positive press in global newspapers such as The Guardian, Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Sara’s newly appointed CEO, Anna Jirstrand Sandlund, who replaced the launch CEO Maria Ekberg Brännström in June, is very satisfied with the cultural center’s first year, but even more excited about its future.

Completes a city

‘I think Sara is a special place,’ Anna says. ‘We need this kind of place in growing cities. It creates self-confidence, a belief in your city. It is a symbol for the city. If you are a growing city, you need this kind of facility to attract people to come here, and not only to work but to live in Skellefteå. Otherwise we have this kind of “fly-in fly-out person”, that just comes here to work and then goes home and pays taxes somewhere else. You need people to be part of this place. And therefore a center like Sara is important because it offers people things to do when they are not working. You can have a cultural life. A cultural center like this is something that makes the map of a city complete.’

Major landmark

Sara is the tallest wooden building in Sweden and one of the tallest in the world. Popping out of Skellefteå’s skyline with its 20 floors, it is also the tallest building in town and therefore can be seen and appreciated from all its different angles. The construction of the new cultural center constitutes one of Skellefteå’s city major milestones, together with the establishment of Northvolt (one of the largest battery factories in Europe), and underlines the current economic expansion of Skellefteå and the municipality’s ambitious plan to develop the region and grow the population to 90,000 citizens by 2030.

Three restaurants

Sara kulturhus hosts the City Library (Stadsbibliotek), MAN (Museum Anna Nordlander), Skellefteå Art Gallery (Skellefteå Konsthall), and Västerbottensteatern (the regional theatre). It has a conference hall, six stages with auditoriums that range in capacity from 50 people up to 1,500, and flexible open spaces such as the southern foyer and the cultural staircase (Kulturtrappan) that can be used for different types of events. It also boasts The Wood Hotel with 205 rooms, three restaurants (Paolo’s, Mandel & Miss Voon), conference rooms and a spa on the top floor.

Rocky start

Despite a rocky start, when some citizens questioned the need for such a building in Skellefteå and suggested the money could be better spent on other projects, this impressive cultural center has brought an air of change and progress to the city. There is a sense of pride in the community, and the landscape of a once small town in the north of Sweden, has quickly changed with new buildings, newcomers and new possibilities.

Originally from Linköping, Sara’s new CEO, Anna, moved to Piteå to study music at the university in 1990, and her children’s grandparents are from Skellefteå, so she has had a chance to witness the changes to Skellefteå throughout the years.

‘I hope those who are moving to Skellefteå do so with the intention of staying. I hope that they can be inspired by the ones that already live here. Something has happened – people are more proud nowadays of what is happening in Skellefteå and of living here, much more so than they were 20 years ago.’ Anna’s background is a solid one. She has already participated in the startup of two cultural centers, in Luleå (Kulturens hus) and Umeå (Väven). Her latest job before joining the Sara  team this summer, was County Music Director (Länsmusikchef) of North Bothnia (Norrbotten). Anna describes herself as an eager and happy person. She says she’s very engaged in what she does, and that when she says ‘yes’ to something she really commits to the project with her heart. When she heard that Sara was being built she felt curious, but said to herself that having participated twice in similar projects, she would move on to other challenges. However, after five years, she was called about the position and felt like she ‘really wanted to do it!’

‘It’s really special to be in this kind of house, to be responsible for people that come in here and to make them happy. You help people to form memories, by providing a happy place to be. The first year showed that it is a house for everyone, since it has so many different kinds of areas for different types of visitors. You have the various stages, the library, the conference area. You end up exploring further into the house than you intended to go to in the first place. It draws people in for different reasons.’

The dreaded TV sofa

At the time of launch, it was hoped that Sara would attract people who wouldn’t normally go to a cultural venue – do you think that’s happened?

‘If I compare it with the other houses I have worked with, the biggest competitor we have is the “TV sofa” – when you build a center like this, the question is always how will we attract the audience who stay at home to watch television, because they’re not used to having a cultural center in their city? If people see that they can enjoy events and shows locally that they may have been used to going to Stockholm to see, then that is an attraction. So I think a lot of people that weren’t used to going to cultural venues or going to concerts are now coming to Sara. That is my belief.’

English programming?

As the English-speaking population grows, can us internationals expect more English-language programming?

‘I have talked to the theater about this, and they are thinking how they can meet this new audience. The theater has to develop on this. However, music, dance and art are international languages.’ How could international newcomers become more involved in Skellefteå’s culture? ‘We need to find platforms to communicate better with international residents,’ Anna says. ’We welcome international newcomers to Skellefteå. Feel free to talk to us, we are always open.’

www.sarakulturhus.se