Overview:

Cities need bottom-up spaces for music, experiment and creative expression. Does Malmö have enough of those? Newly appointed director of City planning will give us a sneak peek into the future of Malmö and the role of culture in it. Ingo Cando and Juni Karlsson will discuss the current challenges and opportunities accompanied by Lutz Leichsenring from Vibelab who can share his insights from a global perspective. The panel will be moderated by Ella Overkleeft who works with independent cultural spaces throughout Europe and has recently moved to Malmö.

Madura has been part of the underground scene in Malm̦ for several years and has set fires to countless dance floors. With driving house tracks, deep baselines and minimalist beats, sprinkled with the occasional banger, she creates a sound that always keeps the floor moving. She is one of the creators behind the house collective Krux Рthat focuses on creating magical dance floor experiences whilst promoting equality in the scene.

Follow her on Instagram

Ingo Cando, creator and director for Wotever World, a Queer Arts & Culture event organisation started in London 2003, and as of 2020 have a platform and seat here in Malmö. Wotever World do Create Community and MeetUps for LGBTQIA+ humans, and we do this via stage, live music and performance. There might be a Wotever Malmö opening soon.Ingo is 58, queer, non binary and Swedish, also worked as a cultural producer during WorldPride 2021.

You can visit Wotever World here

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Marcus has been the director of the city planning department in Malmö Municipality for the last two years. He previously worked in the same capacity in Lund, the neighbouring city of Malmö.  Marcus has also been the chairman of Nordic City Networks for the last couple of years. Nordic City Networks is a network of nordic cities whose common challenges and possibilities are investigated collaboratively. As an urban planner with 20 years of experience, Marcus has worked with city development in all types of scales. From policy level to urban strategies and from development areas to urban design. Marcus has always worked with an interdisciplinary perspective in which technical, cultural, social, economic, and environmental perspectives and architecture are intertwined. This broad perspective is crucial in formulating sustainable strategies for creating dynamic, liveable cities for the future of cities in general and Malmö in particular.

Lutz Leichsenring is the co-founder of the Creative Footprint and one of the world’s leading authorities on protecting creative industries. In 2018 Lutz co-founded VibeLab, an organisation that aims to engage, connect, inform, promote, and counsel cross-sector stakeholders to keep cities vibrant and flourishing after dark. Recognising that music venues are cultural assets that significantly enrich and improve society, the VibeLab network helps those who are seeking out new paths to make a change in their community. Since 2009, Lutz has been the spokesman and executive board member for the Berlin Clubcommission. He has fought tirelessly for the rights of Berlin’s vast underground club scene by organizing demonstrations, conferences, workshops and by speaking at round tables and parliamentary committees. Lutz started his career in nightlife immediately after high school, when he built one of the largest platforms for music event listings in Germany. He went on to run a nightclub and restaurant until 2010, and today is one of the chief shareholders of Berlin and London-based software company Young Targets. His role with the Clubcommission and the Berlin Musicboard has lead Lutz into the city’s Chamber of Commerce, where he frequently votes on development issues that protect creative space affected by gentrification.

Ella Overkleeft is concept developer, curator and consultant. Through various arts and culture projects she stimulates social innovation within urban and rural environments. She is the co-founder of The Night Mayor Foundation in Amsterdam and she is the Capacity Building Manager at Trans Europe Halles in Sweden, where she focuses on empowering independent cultural spaces all over Europe. Ella is as much an activist as a spiritualist, and with a set of strong believes and an holistic approach, she aims to push things forward by stimulating human interaction and connection.