Örebro Tjejjour is a non-profit organization founded by volunteers in 2006. They provide support to anyone who identifies as a girl, including transgender individuals, offering a safe space to talk about life’s challenges — no issue is too big or too small. Our support services include anonymous chat and phone conversations, available EVERY Monday from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. In addition to providing direct support, we focus on preventive efforts by giving educational talks in schools, organizing girls’ groups and camps, and participating in exhibitions and other important events.
“Magic Carpets” project: Safe Place
During a four-week stay in Örebro, Ukrainian artist Viktoriia Tofan explored how the urban space is experienced by its inhabitants using the public space as a starting point. Together with young girls and non-binary people from Örebro Tjejjour, she investigated what characterizes a safe place and what makes them feel safe in our public spaces. In the workshops with Örebro Tjejjour Viktoriia did collective interviews on the topic Safe Place in order to understand their perspective better. They also created art together, using mostly abstract shapes and colours to catch the feeling of being safe or unsafe. At the end of the residency Viktoriia created a public installation that was exhibited in one of the parks as a part of OPENART Biennial. In her artwork, Tofan lifts in different components from what emerged through workshops and interviews with the participants. Viktoriia also spent time with seniors from Träffpunkt Vesslan.
Number of community members included in the project: 6
Reasons for participating in the “Magic Carpets” project:
”We have a girlcamp every spring with the organization Tegelbruket where we painted with the girls this year. That was very successful so when we got the invitation from Open Art we knew that the girls from this year’s camp would be interested. The project was very interesting to us because our goal is to create a safe place for anyone in need of support.”
– Sandra Söderquist, coordinator, Örebro Tjejjour