Heitland Foundation Honorary Prize 2025

Collected Memory at Celle Castle

The human psyche and behavior during times of collapse and emergence of new paradigms.

In connection with the 250th anniversary of Caroline Matilda’s death, visual artists Eva Steen Kristensen, Louise Hindsgavl, and Mille Kalsmose will present a special exhibition at Celle Castle in May 2025. This exhibition will be shown alongside the castle’s own presentation, which explores how today’s era – marked by the disruption of established structures and the rise of new ideas – mirrors the period of Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway.

Caroline Matilda is perhaps best known for her affair with Struensee. Like many intellectuals of the time, Struensee was deeply influenced by the ideas of Rousseau and the Enlightenment, and Caroline Matilda supported a series of reforms he introduced as he gained power.
Times like these, when new beliefs take hold and familiar structures are thrown into question, are often marked by conflicting and even false information. As Celle Castle’s exhibition reveals, Struensee and Caroline Matilda’s era was no exception, with the circulation of critical rumors intended to create discord and division among the people.

In contrast, Mille Kalsmose’s Collected Memory emphasizes unity. This ongoing project creates a contemplative space that serves as a vessel for the myriad emotions triggered by major events, using the voices of those directly affected. Collected Memory is developed on the people's terms, preserving both community and personal narratives while encouraging deeper self-connection within a collective context.

At Celle Castle, Kalsmose will present a variation of the large-scale installation previously exhibited at institutions such as Kunsten – Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Politikens Forhal and Martin Asbæk Gallery in Copenhagen. Visitors are invited to participate by sharing their reflections on today’s shifting paradigms, thereby tapping into the same frustrations Caroline Matilda may have experienced in the years leading up to her death.

Visitors write down their thoughts on paper provided within the installation and then archive them inside the brass structure itself. Through this act, participants engage not only with the artwork but also with each other, fostering a sense of community.

Please share your answer to these questions with us here :

How do you find direction in a world where old structures are
collapsing?

Do you have any experiences or advice on how we can face a
world in turmoil?

What do you do, think and feel?

For more info about Collected Memory visit collectedmemory.world