”Suveränt för kulturlivet och gemenskapen" - ett nedslag bland Öppna Scener i Göteborg

Abstract

The main aims of this study were to look at how the concept of Open Mic is constructed, how open the events are and what Open Mic mean to the people involved. The method consisted of observations (including participant observation) of seven different Open Mic venues and interviews with eight artists and producers in Gothenburg. ANT – Actor-­‐network theory was used as a tool to analyse the material. Artists, producers and audience are part of a network that make Open Mic happen, and the roles often change, e.g. an artist can also be a member of the audience or one of the producers. The events are often informal and are run by people with a big passion for music and/or poetry. It usually doesn’t cost much financially to run an Open Mic, but it can be time consuming and energy draining. It works a bit differently though at venues where producers are paid by other parts, e.g. the council. The producers decide modus or set the atmosphere, but there are also non-­‐human actors like alcohol, sign-­‐up sheets and instruments that affect the events. Although Open Mic is supposed to be open for everyone and everything each venue is a different world with unwritten rules. To generalise there’s a difference between pub venues and café venues. Poems, women and transgender people are not very common at the pub venues whereas the cultural climate at the café arenas is different. However the worlds are not closed for change and it’s possible to rearrange the content of what Bruno Latour calls ”the black box”. A few people also move between the different worlds, making them more open. There’s a cluster of fragments that unite the artists who visit Open Mic events: their passion for music or poetry, an addiction to the stage, a place where they can rehearse or try out new work. They also see it as a meeting place, a social event as well as an event where they can network and find new opportunities. The artists were positive to the concept of Open Mic and excused themselves for sometimes being critical, e.g. admitting that the audience isn’t always very attentive. Most interviewees mentioned that they wanted more Open Mic events, but some weren’t aware of all the existing venues.