The Daily Reporter

Coverage by Casey Gibb

BREAKING NEWS

It’s fall, y’all!

I mean, technically not, but one can dream right?

Espresso House, the unofficial sponsor of our mornings, has officially released their fall menu and it had our program’s group thread absolutely stoked for some of that pumpkin *spice*.

Stayed tuned for how the pumpkin chai stacks up against our Seattle's trusty ol' Starbucks!

PRIDE & POWERPOINT - September 6th

There are few things this group loves more than coffee, but one of them is definitely the cafeteria at the University of Copenhagen, which we were fortunate enough to be able to visit on Wednesday for a presentation and discussion with Steve Taylor, the Head of Secretariat for Copenhagen Pride.

Steve Taylor discussing the background and context for Copenhagen Pride.

Steve Taylor started working with Copenhagen Pride just a few years ago, but previously worked with London Pride for 7 years before coming to Denmark in the middle of the pandemic.

Throughout his presentation, Steve touched a lot on the sustainability focus that the organization has tried to adopt, as well as their ethical sourcing practices.

For instance, the rainbow bracelets sold during Pride (see right) were previously manufactured in China; however, the lack of visibility in their labor practices and supply chain implored Steve and his team to look to another location for production. In the end, the Copenhagen Pride team settled on manufacturing them in Hungary - a place not historically known for being the most friendly environment for being LGBTQ+ persons. A large portion of Copenhagen Pride’s focus has always been on strengthening and safening historically hostile environments for LGBTQ+ persons. Thus, by moving production to Hungary, the organization was able to not only have visibility on a more ethical supply chain, but also ensure a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals, since the manufacturer had to guarantee that they were not supporting their government or receiving support from their government AND that they would support their LGBTQ+ workers.

Additionally, the bags which individually package the bracelets are now made from a compostable material - cornstarch! Instead of creating enormous amounts of plastic waste, the bracelet bags can now be composted in your garden and not tossed away in the garbage.

Perhaps one of the coolest points made by Steve during the presentation was their organization's reasoning for making all Pride events free. Steve noted that even if they were to charge 50 DKK to enter, there would be someone, somewhere who would not be able to pay that. That barrier to entry is directly in contrast with their mission, as stated below.

“We are an inclusive organization, working for the whole community - opposing all inequality.”

Thus, all events during Copenhagen Pride are absolutely free, which not only allows, but also encourages, all socioeconomic levels to participate in the week’s events and activities.

Due to their non-reliance on ticket sales, Copenhagen Pride has to source their money from other sources. Steve noted that 10% of that comes from beer sales during Pride and the rest is a combination of either public or private funding. Each year the municipality gives Copenhagen Pride a sum of money to work with, but that hardly funds everything. The organization also has to reach out to local businesses to form partnerships and gain donations to support the remaining 70% of funding. Their ethical boundaries, unlike many other Prides throughout Europe, are stringent in allowing the organization from private sources. For instance, if a business wants to be a partner, but they invest in a country where homosexuality is illegal, Copenhagen Pride will not allow the partnership.

Overall, the students LOVED Steve's presentation, with many noting it as one of the best from this program!

Illustration drawn by Steve detailing the inner-workings of Copenhagen Pride 2021! This rough sketch was one of many things that made the discussion so engaging!

ODENSE OUTING - September 7th

After our adventure to Aarhus last week, we decided to trek back out west to a little (or not so little) town called “Odense” to meet with Jens Galschiøt, an infamous Danish artist, at his studio/gallery in the area.

BUT before we could get there, the Danish Dude and Dudettes had to make a little excursion to the train station.

Heading Out
After Morten and Juliana scored our seats on the train, the group all delved into our own schenageans for the 1.5 hour journey.

Jamie, Riley, and I enjoyed our Espresso House beveraginos and Quinn did what Quinn does best - hide in the photos.

Example number 542 of Quinn escaping the photo.

Following the partial cross-country rail extravaganza, our fearless Danish leader, Morten, searched for the proper bus to board, which we rode for another 20 minutes.

Touring the Studio & Gallery

When we arrived at Jens’ studio/gallery, we were greeted by the front yard full of some of his most infamous statues, which included the “Pillar of Shame”, “In the name of God”, and “My Inner Beast”.

"Pillar of Shame" - sculpture used throughout recent activism movements to provide shame and a reminder of the past, as well as a call to prevent the repeating of history.

"Pillar of Shame" is sculpture created by Jens that is used (without copyright) in many recent activism movements (including the original placement in Hong Kong) to provide a reminder of the past, as well as a call to prevent the repeating of history.

Inside, we got a tutorial on how bronze casting works and the different methods used by Jens’ team to replicate and produce different statues, displays, and exhibitions. Jens advocated for better treatment of the environment through many of his works; however, the bronzing process works in a manner contrary to his artistic statements. This was an exponentially challenging problem during the COVID-19 pandemic when more sustainable resources for bronze casting were not only more expensive, but harder to come by. To remedy their emissions, Jens’ studio installed solar panels that cover nearly the entire roof of their studio - allowing for the power and energy needed for bronzing to come by more sustainable means. While they have not been able to make the entire bronze casting process more eco-friendly, Jens’ recent addition of the solar panels has helped bring them close to carbon neutral (if not entirely).

One segment of the bronzing process used by Jens' team. This portion uses electrolysis - a process I don't quite understand, but definitely looked very cool!

Outside, we saw the back courtyard. Amongst scattered old statues casually sat two pieces of the Berlin Wall, “Freedom to Pollute”, and “Unbearable”.

The Berlin Wall - two fragments of the Berlin Wall placed in Jens' studio's yard that he's collected as a result of his work and partnered projects.

"Freedom to Pollute" - a replication of the "Statue of Liberty" that stands tall in America. Jens' team carted this around Europe with smoke machines to create discussion about the pollution large countries, like the United States and France, are allowing within their borders.

"Unbearable" - another climate-centric work of Jens' that pictures a polar bear being impaled by a graph of the rising CO2 emissions around the world. The piece was created to spark dialogue at a climate summit in France a few years prior.

Overall, the visiting the home and creation site of many of Jens' most infamous works of activating art was truly a well-loved journey for many of the students. As we continue to process and reflect on each of the moving exhibits we saw, I'm sure much more will be discussed concerning the impact these pieces had on each of us individually.

Heading Home

The sun had us all a little tired coming home, but the strongest of us (Jamie and Riley) pushed on to the optional excursion to see the Hans Christian Andersen museum.

The rest of the crew secured the liquid gold (chocolate milk) and settled in for the long ride home.

And with that, my time as your daily reporter has come to a close. Reporting live from Copenhagen, this has been Casey! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Rolling the Credits!

Shout out to these Denmark Divas who helped bring lively discussion and positive energy these past two days!