With locations all over the world - it’s not only a destination where you’ll find the most outstanding photography but also a place where art, experience, and society meet. We sat down with Susanna Wendt, VP of Development & Retail at Fotografiska and Johanna Rostedt, Head of Global Accounts at Bolon, to talk about the power of collaboration.
Susanna: If I have to describe Fotografiska in three words, I will use our mission statement; to inspire new perspectives. Fotografiska is known to be the contemporary museum of photography. But we are not just about art. It's a place where art, experience, and society meet. We want to be something other than a regular or ordinary museum. We want to be a place where we involve the local community and make them part of our experience and our journey.
Johanna: We share the same values and admiration for art, design, and architecture and are honored to be Fotografiska's chosen flooring partner for the exhibition areas. Collaboration with Fotografiska is a dream collaboration for Bolon.
Susanna: When we first opened in 2010, we approached Bolon to work with us as we wanted to be an inclusive museum. We chose Bolon because we work with dark exhibition halls with beautiful lighting which shouldn't be reflected on the floor. Furthermore, we need a floor capable of allowing children to run and people to wear heels without disturbing other guests. Bolon could offer that with their flooring. The Bolon floor should and must not play the leading role in our design, but it plays an important part in the experience in the exhibition halls.
Johanna: The choice of Bolon for Fotografiska exhibition areas and the continuous collaboration with every museum are excellent references and examples of the unique features that Bolon flooring can offer. The area of use is demanding in many ways – there is extremely high traffic, but the flooring also needs to be beautiful but subtly so that the visitor focuses on the art.
Susanna: It has been a wonderful partnership, and we've worked together to improve the products over the years. When we open new venues, we only have to make slight adjustments. We installed our first Bolon flooring in Stockholm in 2010, and it's been here for nearly 13 years. On average, we have 400.000-500.000 visitors annually, adding to almost six million people who have walked on these floors.
Johanna: Collaborating with a high-level brand as Fotografiska is an excellent honour for Bolon. To follow Fotografiska's magic journey and success gives us a lot of joy, and we are very proud to be a part of the journey and wish to continue our collaboration with future venues.
Susanna: The future, I hope, will be that we open more Fotografiska houses around the world and that Bolon will continue to be our partner on this journey.
