Magic Tornedalen with cultural entrepreneur Gunhild Stensmyr

Arts

The Story.

Gunhild and her team will host you for at least two nights at the private Arthotel beside the Torneälven river. Her place is a treasure for art lovers and design enthusiasts alike. Her private art collection includes works by some of the most well-known Swedish artists living today, and the interior design is a perfect blend between contemporary and modern and antique. As soon as you have settled in here you will feel your pace of life change. Tornedalen is an exciting place right on the border between Sweden and Finland with a rich history and a fantastic cultural heritage where Swedish, Finnish, Tornedalian and Sami culture are combined – both in language, business, culture and gastronomy. During your stay, you will get the opportunity to experience parts of this secluded place, to meet and learn from local producers and to taste some of the fantastic ingredients Tornedalen has to offer.

Gunhild wants to show the richness of Nordic and Scandinavian food with its connection to the wild origins. The food is all locally produced. Gunhild´s relatives and friends hunt and fish, they pick mushrooms and berries, the villagers bake bread, pitch honey and your housekeeper Simmi cooks your fresh meals every day. Between the home-made meals we will take you on different wildlife excursions and adventures in the surrounding wilderness. Depending on season and weather Gunhild offers plenty of activities, everything from a river boat trip and hunting to dog sledding.  She will offer a guided cultural tour around Torneälv, where you will learn about Tornedalen’s history and lifestyle. Our aim is to bring you really close to the local life, introduce you to the villagers and people who value their local traditions. One thing we can promise you is that the moment you leave you will be craving to return and to create more stories to bring home with you!

The Profile.

Gunhild Stensmyr is a well-known cultural entrepreneur in Sweden. She has been active in the art scene around Sweden for many years and has been praised several times for her work and engagement. She was born and raised in Tornedalen with a bachelor’s degree in Archeology, Ethnology and Art History from Lund University. Her early career started as curator and art gallery manager at Bildmuseet and Norrtälje Konsthall. In 1997 she created her own education and consulting company: NICE – NETWORK IN CULTURE. With a talent for culture and art she has been hired as an expert by the EU, state, regions, and municipalities to perform consulting assignments for different municipalities and county councils. Between 2002 and 2012 Gunhild built and managed Skärets konsthall in Höganäs municipality but the strong roots in Tornedalen made her return to her home village for her current project – the Artvillage that has a hotel and art exhibition space.

Her vision is to transform her village of Vitsaniemi-Risudden to a new cultural hotspot in Sweden. The unique hotel is the first development of the cultural destination, inaugurated in 2013. It consists of a variety of charming accommodations, ranging from sleek rooms and cozy cottages to old forest houses and a luxury villa. The art space “Konsthall Tornedalen” is still in progress. Gunhild loves to share her playground by Torneälv with her guests and showcase the best secrets of Tornedalen. Choose between enjoying magical summer nights with the midnight sun or the spectacular Northern Lights during constant darkness of winter. Gunhild´s hotel is one of the most remarkable hideaways of Northern Sweden, no matter the season.

What does moose or reindeer meat taste like? What did princess Victoria and Prince Daniel do at Gunhild´s hotel? What famous artwork hangs on the walls in the hotel? What dramas are going on inbetween the Swedish and Finnish border region? Where is Gunhild´s secret place in Tornedalen?

Story includes:

  • Minimum two nights in a room or house category of your choice
  • Welcome drink & Tornedals tapas
  • Meals: Breakfast, lunch, evening meal, supper
  • Introduction to the art collection and property´s background with Gunhild
  • Excursion to the Luppioberget, a viewpoint overlooking the “Amazon of Sweden”
  • Visit to the lookout tower
  • Meet the locals with fika
  • Sauna experience
  • Local give away gift
  • Personal stories to bring home from Gunhild Stensmyr


When?

All the year around


Additional Activities:

dine with the locals, private dinner in a scenic place, outdoor cooking, food workshop, boat trip, nature bath, art & craft workshop, Nordic skiing, hiking, dog sledding, snow mobile, canoeing, ice fishing, river fishing, old time fishing, wildlife hunting, bird hunting, bear watching, reindeer herding, picking berries and mushrooms, guided culture tours, arctic night forest our, midnight sun tour, northern light tour, do it twice new year celebration, Santa Claus excursion

 


Price Range:

from €€



Cold bath & painting workshop with Linda Vagnelind

Arts

The Story.

Linda is a master at motivating and inspiring people through creative workshops combined with challenging activities such as taking ice baths, climbing and performing hand stands. With this story we fling the doors wide open to experience the best of the best of Linda´s world: take a cold bath, paint and socialise over a sumptious dinner. The day starts with a welcome and introduction about the cold bath workshop by the sea. Linda explains about the health effects and benefits including how they can aid better sleep, reduce stress, increase body control, improve focus and provide a huge energy kick. Linda will coach you in how to control your body and your mind in ice cold water.  You will do some breathing exercises before you enter the water. Science says that cold baths increase creativity so before the adrenaline has worn off you will find yourself in front of a canvas channelling your inner Picasso.

The activity that follows is an indoor workshop. Linda will teach you how to release performance anxiety and show you how to build your creative confidence. Before you begin to paint, Vagnelind goes through helpful theories and enables you to practice with two quick exercises, a sketch exercise and one in painting. Then you will paint with a theme that “symbolizes” values ​​and the group’s common visions that bind the team together.The painting workshop will be the proof of your personal creativity after the cold bath, but don’t worry too much about it as we all have hidden talents and Linda is there to help you discover them. Linda will wrap up the day with a private dinner surrounded by your own private view of your works of art. And the piece of art you painted? Well that is your story to bring home with you.

The Profile.

Linda Vagnelind is a multi-talented artist who has a huge passion for all kinds of creativity. All her artistic work is represented under her brand VAGNELIND and is displayed around the world. Linda works mainly as an artist with various exhibition and gallery activities. Her signature is large paintings where she interprets people and their stories sculpturally with wide brushes and thick colour, somewhere in the borderland between 2D and 3D. One of her most famous art projects was made at the world famous ICEHOTEL, where she built a suite of ice and snow. Another of her talents is showed in her book “KALLA BAD”, where she is the author, photographer, and art director. The book was published by Bonnier Fakta and caused a huge trend to do cold baths all year around, no matter of the water temperature. She is also the only artist to be booked for a single exhibition with 15 large singer portraits at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 in Malmö.

If she is not painting in her studio at 2am or participating in a charity gala with her art work then she loves to spend her summers at her beach house south of Gothenburg.  Here she does lots of water sports like paddling, snorkelling and surfing. In the winter season she does indoor climbing, biking and ice bathing. She believes the adrenaline kick of swimming in cold water is her best tool to perform more efficiently as an artist. Linda is an energetic person constantly looking for new adventures and inspires people with her personal stories.

How was it to run a fashion brand and a boutique with your husband? Why did she climb up Sweden´s highest mountain Kebnekaise dressed in just underwear? And what did she do in Los Angeles together with Viktoria Silverstedt? What was her artwork at the Icehotel in 2020?


Story includes:

  • Welcome healthy drink and introduction of the day
  • Workshop cold bath: health effects, strategies on breathing and relaxing and to gain control over the body’s reactions in the cold water (1 hour)
  • Workshop painting: waking up the body with simple balance movements and breathing exercise to overcome challenges (2 hours),
  • Beverage and snacks during the workshops
  • Location for painting workshop
  • Equipment: easels, canvas, paint brushes and paint coats
  • Private dinner with selected beverages
  • Personal life stories to bring home from Linda Vagnelind


When?

All the year around


Additional Activities:

interior design workshop, sculpture workshop, running guide, Gothenburg Design Tour,


Price Range:

from €€