K7 Week – a significant event in Denmark’s cultural calendar

The vision behind K7

Astrid Sperling, project manager at ADBC Studio—the organization behind K7, says that the creation of the K7 week was impulsive. 

“We were having a festival for youth but we didn’t have anything of relevance necessarily for the young people – that’s how K7 was born,” remembers Astrid Sperling.

As she sees it, the vision behind K7 is “to make a stronger connection between the young and these forms of culture that might seem a bit boring or irrelevant.” 

Removing financial barriers

Astrid Sperling elaborates, "Engaging in Denmark’s cultural life can be quite expensive, therefore the free access provided during K7 Week removes this obstacle, making cultural participation more inclusive." 

Exchange students Divi and Johanna, visiting the “Designmuseum Danmark” in Copenhagen, share that their aim during K7 Week is to see as much as possible since museums are free of charge. Otherwise, they would “think twice before purchasing a ticket.”

“It makes it more accessible to people who might not have enough money – I know that Amelienborg and Christianborg are participating in this week and they’re quite expensive,” says Divi. 

K7 Week attracts visitors who might stay away for different reasons. 

Christian Aagaard, director of Amager Museum, emphasizes this point: “It’s always interesting for us to see how we can get visitors, that would normally not come here, to visit us. K7 is great for doing that. They are making an effort to open the door for some of our non-regular visitors.”

Creating future users

Christian Aagaard notes the potential of K7 to influence the future landscape of cultural engagement: “Having a free pass to visit museums can also teach young people to become cultural users – and in that way make them come back when they are older. You can call K7 a recruitment channel for future cultural consumers.”

Nicolai Oreskov Westh, Communications director at Copenhagen Contemporary, also shares the same perspective that K7 is a long-term investment.

“There are statistics made from Danmarks Statistik that shows the more exposed you are to art and culture in your youth, the more likely you are to revisit and value art and culture when you get older,” he states.

Experiencing art

A high-school graduate, solo traveler from Germany, Hilke, sees K7 initiative as a possibility to incorporate art into personal life. As she sees it, art can seem too complicated for people and that can distance them from culture. 

“K7 motivates you to see art and experience it if you’re not a person who would do it normally,” thinks Hilke. 

A Lithuanian couple, Benas and Gabriele, who are living in Copenhagen permanently, enjoy the escapism that museums offer. During the K7 week they revisit their favourite museums.

“It is a way to run away from daily life,” tells Benas and highlights that getting closer to art provides a temporary break. 

Astrid Sperling from ADBC Studio believes that K7 serves a purpose far beyond simply making art accessible to youth. 

“For us it's about creating experiences for young people with other young people”. She explains, “we know that a lot of young people want the sense of togetherness – to feel part of a community.”

This story is for audience interested in making art and culture accessible to youth and can be published at (https://www.repubblica.it)