Malmö - The Art & Design Scene

Pasaric, A. (Photographer). (2018, September 3). Aerial photography of city [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/aerial-photography-of-city-1388030/

Malmö is Sweden’s third-largest city and is known for its water, art, history, and architecture. It was originally known for being the physical representation of a post-industrial decline and is now a thriving, youthful and diverse city with lots of energy. While under Danish regulation, it further developed as a key commercial port for Europe (Anderson, T. 2014). With the installation of the Øresund bridge, Sweden and Denmark became connected, providing easy access for employment and residential opportunities (Anderson, T. 2014, para. 1). Measuring 16 kilometers long, this structure can be broken down into three sections: the bridge, an artificial island, and a tunnel (Oresund Bron, n.d.).

I found it interesting when I came across this statistic: the age range that makes up 48% of the city are under the age of 35 years old (Elephant, 2018, para. 1). This emphasizes the youthful feel of the Malmö city. Listerborn (2017) reports that the city is currently undergoing urban renewal strategies (pg. 1) with an attempt to refurbish the old perception if it being a shipyard city (pg. 4) One of the main reasons it is part of my exemplar cities list, is that it is known for its biking culture. I believe that having an effective means of transportation that is innovative and sustainable, puts this city one step closer to achieving an exemplary ranking. Malmö Konsthall is one of Europe’s largest contemporary-art spaces that has frequent exhibitions of artwork for the public to enjoy.