The work of art Come as you are!
On Riksplan outside of the Eastern Wing of the Riksdag building, you will find the artwork Come as you are! The work was erected in June 2022 in connection with the Swedish Parliament celebrating 100 years of democracy. The artist’s name is Astrid Göransson and the project is a collaboration between the Swedish Parliament and the National Public Art Council.
The work of art Come as you are! constitutes three parts:
The path, constructed of mosaic paving stones, which leads to the Riksdag.
The sculpture, which depicts the first five women in the Riksdag. Kerstin Hesselgren, Elisabeth Tamm, Nelly Thüring, Bertha Wellin and Agda Östlund. They are being carried forward by two young women from our day to show that the fight for democracy and equality continues into the future. The work connects the five pioneers with all future generations.
The book Rounds (in Swedish Rundor), which is a collaboration with the Riksdag’s cleaners, security guards and other employees. Through drawings, they have described their daily rounds at work. The book depicts how taking care of practical matters creates the preconditions for the work of the members of parliament and for democracy. The book is available to download.
On Riksplan outside of the Eastern Wing of the Riksdag building, you will find the artwork Come as you are!
About the site
The site of the work of art is in a specifically defined area of Riksplan to the east of the Riksdag building. The five female pioneers walked through this park on their way to work in the Riksdag building when, at the time, the main entrance was accessed from Riksplan.
Motivation for the commissioning
“Through its direct inclusion of several generations, the proposed sculpture offers great opportunities to open up for discussion on the democratic issues and challenges that we face today, and creates a space for discussion, dialogue and reflection, particularly for school classes which regularly visit the Riksdag. The sculpture captures a frozen moment and is at the same time a symbol of collaboration, democracy and of a common vision.”