I 2002 var fandtes der ikke lovlige fixerum i Danmark. Kunstneren Kenneth A. Balfelt satte gang i den danske debat om fixerum, da han indrettede et fixerum på bunkeren populært kaldet Nålepuden på det nyrenoverede Halmtorv i København. Fixerummet var et kunstprojekt, hvor Kenneth havde involveret fagfolk for at kunne indrette rummet optimalt og kende argumenter for og imod fixerum.

Efter at jeg havde skrevet en artikel i Politiken om renoveringen af Mændenes Hjem i Politiken i 2004, kontaktede Kenneth mig for at skrive tre kapitler i en kunstbog, der analyserede hans arbejde arbejde med social kunst. Min opgave var at interviewe deltagere og fagfolk om oplevelser og vurdering af kunstprojekterne i fixerummet, på Mændenes Hjem og i Hjemløsehuset.

Til kapitlet om fixerummet interviewede jeg sygeplejerskerne Charlotte Fich og Nina Brünés, der var vant til at arbejde med målgruppen af stofbrugere. Jørgen Kjær var talsperson for Brugerforeningen, der er en organisation for stofbrugere. Preben Brandt var tidligere talsperson for Narkotikarådet og daværende talsperson for Rådet for Socialt Udsatte. Politikeren Sophie Hæstorp Andersen var dengang medlem af Folketinget for Socialdemokraterne.

Nu er bogen endelig udkommet, og du kan købe den som ebog. Her er en smagsprøve fra bogen “Art as Social Practice – A Critical Investigation of Works by Kenneth A. Balfelt“. Bogen er på engelsk.

An injection room is a room where drug addicts can take their drugs. Basically, this is as much as Kenneth A. Balfeft knew on the subject when he decided to create an injection room himself. he has followed the debate and taken into account the opinions of experts and specialists. he believes that injection rooms are reasonable solutions to the health and societal challenges which drug abusers present. But despite the persuasive arguments from experts and positive experiences with injection rooms in other countries, the injection room was, and were until 2012 illegal and is still a controversial political issue.

– In making an injection room, my aim is to enable a multi-faceted debate on injection rooms. The debate on injection rooms had gone on for a long time. There had been statements from experts, Narkotikarådet (Narcotics Council) and various ministries, but the debate had been exclusively in the spoken and written language. I wanted to bring a visual contribution to the debate, says Kenneth A. Balfelt.

Protection Room – Injection Room for Drug Users was Kenneth A. Balfelt’s contribution to the Contemplation Room exhibition, which dealt with how one can use the public space. As a resident in the Vesterbro quarter of Copenhagen, which for decades has been a meeting place for drug addicts, Kenneth A. Balfelt has been witness to the everyday life of drug abusers. He has seen that life as a drug addict is both difficult and damaging to one’s health – to a larger extent than it ought to be. Therefore he decided to make an injection room.

As his knowledge of injection rooms was limited, he jumped head first into a three month long research process. Aside from written material he contacted a number of people active within the field, who had knowledge and opinions on the problem. Those whom he contacted urged him to use the project so they could get their own viewpoints across.

– As an artist I have the fundamental principle that I come up with an initiative and explain which direction I would like it to go in. Those I work together with can contribute their thoughts and in this way we get a  common platform to work from. In my experience the project improves when I am open to ideas from other people, says Kenneth A. Balfelt.

Halmtorvet on Vesterbro has throughout many years been a place  that respectable citizens avoided. But the area has been renovated.  And the authorities have done what they can to keep the original inhab- itants and their stoned existences away from the central square, in order to make it attractive for the area’s new inhabitants and the guests in the  fashionable cafés.

Nålepuden (The Pincushion) was a little hillock on Halmtorvet, situated beside a roundabout and formerly an air-raid shelter. On top of the mound one could have previously met some of the traditional stoned inhabitants from the area – namely drug addicts who sat there to get their fix. For Kennneth A. Balfelt it was a paradox that there was a shelter, but the people, who really were in need of it, had to sit on the street to get their fix. It was in this way he found out where to place the injection room.

Thereafter the task was to find out how an injection room should be furnished. During his research Kenneth A. Balfelt experienced that the physical surrounding in the existing injection rooms abroad did not show respect for the people who used them. And it made him decide to come up with his own attempt at designing an injection room.

– The general attitude seemed to be that if one offers social counsel- ling then it doesn’t matter if the rooms are unattractive. It made it clear to me that I also wanted to work with the stigmatisation and exclusion that goes on at the design level, says Kenneth A. Balfelt.

But quite quickly it also came to focus on human prejudices. Even though Kenneth A. Balfelt felt that he was open and non-judgemental, he realised that he also had prejudices. Deep inside he assumed that drug addicts were a little dumb and that in reality they had put themselves in the situation they had ended up in. He realised these prejudices during a visit to an outpatient department, where the head of the department treat- ed its visitors in exactly the same way as he treated any other people.

– Afterwards, when I interviewed an addict, I could hear a voice inside me that said – “what he says sounds stupid. What use can I possibly make of that?” I realised that I was prejudiced. I was able to put it aside, since I had become aware of it. For the first time I began to listen, and since then I have become more aware of the various nuances of these people I have met. I can see that they are just as different as any other person I meet and can contribute with just as much or just as little. It has been important for me in a humane sense to acknowledge this, says Kenneth A. Balfelt.

Even the physical furnishing of the room should be functional and reflect the value of the users. Kenneth A. Balfelt quickly realised that an injection room was not just a room with a particular furnishing. In order for an  injection room to function in this manner, there needs to be nurses. – From the start I had not considered whether or not there should be nurses in the injection room. It was only after I realised what an injection room really was that I considered this. An injection room is a nurse – that is the core of an injection room, Kenneth A. Balfelt underlines.

The project got engaged people involved, financial backing, moral support and practical help from around 30 persons and organisations. Amongst others, an architect student, a journalist, residents of the area,  a film documentarist and several local companies made contributions.

In this text you can meet some of the people who got involved in the project. The nurses Charlotte Fich and Nina Brünés work with drug addicts in an outpatient department and as a street nurse,  respectively. Jørgen Kjær is spokesman for Brugerforeningen, which is the union for active drug users. Preben Brandt is a qualified psy- chiatrist, former spokesman for Narkotikarådet (The Narcotics Council) and  current spokes- man for Rådet for Socialt Udsatte (The Council for Socially Marginalised People). Politician Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, the then  parliamentary member for Socialdemokratiet (The Social Democrats).

Charlotte Fich – nurse in the outpatient department “Stæren” for addicts: The project showed that there is room for both a subcukture and trendy cafés.

When drug addicts appear in art it is normally because the artists want to exhibit a hideous and cruel reality. Therefore, the nurse Charlotte Fich was surprised when Kenneth A. Balfelt approached her. His aim was to create a piece of art which took the addicts’ own subculture as its starting point, as well as their expression. He wanted to create an injection room where drug addicts could get their fix. Charlotte Fich has worked for the same goal for many years.

– Kenneth wanted to show that the injection room is more than just being practical and hygienic. It is an artistic assignment and a challenge to create a beautiful piece of city furniture, says Charlotte Fich and adds:

– He made an underground cave,  in order for the addicts to feel good. A model of an injection room in  actual size was like a gift. It gave  specialists an example from which to begin their discussions, and it could wipe out the myth that injection rooms should be sad and ugly.

– To have an injection room made, as I had myself wished for over many years, and on top of that to have it made by an artist, transforms it from a piece of bread, necessary from a health perspective, into a cream cake, she says.

When Kenneth A. Balfelt contacted her, Charlotte Fich had some mis- givings, but she knew that she had to participate. She used to work as a street nurse, and here in this country she is the one of the leading figures with insight into ‘fixing up’. She is known as an outspoken advocate of injection rooms, and as she is employed by Copenhagen local author- ity this has, over the years, given her a few political bruises. Therefore she asked her manager in the Familie– og Arbejdsmarkedsforvaltningen (Family and Labour Market Administration) for permission to participate and she got his approval.

Firstly, Kenneth A. Balfelt told her what she already knew about  getting a fix. And because it was related with artwork, Charlotte Fich felt free to come up with all sorts of thoughts and ideas.

– One could give one’s imagination a free rein, because an artist has a much broader framework and freedom to move in than an architect, for example. If an architect had asked for my advice, we would probably arrive at a very hygienic and precise injection room, says Charlotte Fich.

But even though the injection room was an art project it was, after all, more than a picture one went in and looked at. It also needed to function in practice.

– I could see that he had considered the height and weight neces- sary for the interior. If you need a fix in the neck, if you need to inject in the groin, then you need to have this much space. The room must have a certain openness, so you can be found if you are about to die of an overdose. And in order for it to not be a total exhibition of humiliating situ- ations for the individuals, it needs this kind of privacy. I saw those consid- erations in the finished product, so therefore he must have listened to our words, says Charlotte Fich.

When the injection room opened she was one of the nurses who was on duty. She remembers especially the white smocks the nurses wore.

– At the bottom of the sleeve was written stay with me (BLIV HOS MIG), and when one folded the edge of the sleeve up it read life with me (LIV HOS MIG). It was discreet and spoke volumes for what went on in an injection room with nurses, tells Charlotte Fich.

People attempt to close their eyes to the fact that there are drug ad- dicts who inject themselves. In this way they believe that they can be free from relating to reality and taking a position on it. If it were up to Charlotte Fich, the bunker would have had a sign with injection room written in pink neon over the entrance. A sign that could show that an activity takes place here, just as other signs tell us that here is a library, a hairdresser and a chemist.

She is against the tendency to cover up subcultures and hide them away, so they don’t bother others. This position became ex- tremely clear for her after she participated in the injection room project. She used to imagine an injection room on a bus or discreetly placed on a side street. Now she is of the opinion that it was appropriate that the injection room was placed on the newly renovated Halmtorvet.

– We can easily have several dimensions together. One of the trend- iest places in the city with cafés in steel and glass and in between them there was a bunker containing an injection room. It was perfect. Each culture has its own physical expression. Those from the subculture have a right to be, just like all the others. I learned from this project that it’s possible for these things to be placed side by side, says Charlotte Fich.

The placing in a bunker was meant to underline that this is a sub- culture. But when the subculture has its own style and its own place, it signals that it is there on an equal footing with other forms of culture.

– There is something symbolic in the fact that it is a bunker. It means that we go underground, we hide ourselves a little, but we also come up again. We are a subculture, and we play on it without being ashamed, says Charlotte Fich.

She believes that it is important that the culture becomes more visible in this way. Just the fact that we begin to talk about drug abuse can ease the burden for those who are injecting themselves, for example. At this present moment in time they see themselves as bad citizens, and they feel that everything they do is wrong. Charlotte Fich underlines that drug addicts are also sweet and helpful people and she wishes that both the population and the drug users themselves recognise that just because they take drugs does not mean they are hopeless at everything else.  Our acceptance of their lifestyle is a condition for them to be able to  hold their heads high as proud people.

Before, during and after the injection room project, Charlotte Fich con- templated how a subculture could be integrated in society. The project itself gave her the possibility of experiencing an injection room that gave her new arguments and a belief in a broader cooperation.

– How can we use each other to uplift society? If we put our energies together there may well be some problems that stand out clearer, rather than being blurred, she points out.

Kunstnere som sociale oversættere

Kunst, der ligner indretningsdesign, men som er socialarbejde. Et projekt på Mændenes Hjem giver samfundets udstødte et mere værdigt liv

Af Lise Blom; Foto Kenneth Balfelt

Robert Olsen, som er forstander for Mændenes Hjem på Vesterbro i København, leder efter et ledigt lokale.

– I institutionsmiljøer er der to fast forankrede holdepunkter, receptionen er det ene og forstanderens kontor det andet. Man kan kalde dem patriark symboler – nu er de væk. Det er interessant for både medarbejdere og brugere, at de ikke eksisterer, siger han.

For to år siden kontaktede han de to kunstnere Kenneth A. Balfelt og FOS for at involvere dem i processen med at skabe ændringer på Mændenes Hjem. Institutionsbygningen trængte til mere end maling og nyt linoleum på gulvet.

– Vi skal programmere stedet. Det er væsentligt, at folk får en større følelse af samhørighed og fællesskab, når de er her. Så kan de komme ud af deres ensomhed og ind i et fællesskab og tage imod hjælp, siger Kenneth A. Balfelt.

– Kunstnernes ide er at bruge associationer fra hjemløses hverdag. Den gamle reception bliver lavet om til et nattesoverum. Det tager udgangspunkt i, hvordan en kupe i en togvogn er designet, Det er en fin association til hjemløses hverdag, hvor mange har sovet i tog, siger Robert Olsen.

Huset kommer også til at give husly til en campingvogn, der skal bruges til samtaler. Kenneth A. Balfelt forklarer, at campingvognen signalerer hygge, mens et normalt mødelokale signalerer magt. Der føler brugeren føler sig afmægtig, når han sammen med medarbejderne skal lave planer for sit liv. Det at tale sammen i en campingvogn er en måde at nedspille situationen og symbolværdien.

Kunstnerne har brugt ni måneder til research. I en periode læste de rapporter og besøgte sociale institutioner for at sætte sig ind i området med socialarbejdernes briller på. På samme måde satte de sig ind i arkitektens arbejdsmetode. Deres kunstneriske overvejelser minder derfor om de pædagogiske og indretningsmæssige tanker, andre faggrupper gør sig. Kenneth A. Balfelt beskriver deres rolle som sociale oversættere. Han husker sit første møde med huset:

– Da vi kom, så vi, at der ikke var noget fællesskab. Der var fragmenterede mennesker, som gik rundt for sig selv. Ingen krammede hinanden, ingen sagde hej, der var ikke nogen, der snakkede eller sad sammen og spiste. Der var helt konkrete fysiske størrelser at arbejde på for at skabe en mulighed for et fællesskab.

Mindre vold

Indgangen til Mændenes Hjem var placeret i en port i sidegaden. Brugeren skulle opgive sit navn og en grund til besøget, før medarbejderne, som sad bag en glasrude i receptionen, lukkede ham ind. Det møde kunne let provokere brugerne, og netop i receptionen opstod konflikter, som i nogle tilfælde ledte til trusler og vold mod medarbejderne. Indenfor var fire klaustrofobiske gennemgangsrum med tunge gardiner og uden bløde møbler. Her kunne samfundets udstødte få en pause fra livet på gaden.

– Måske var der en, som brækkede sig i et hjørne, mens andre sad for sig selv og skulede ud i luften, siger André, som er 29 år og bruger af huset gennem otte år.

– Der var ingen samlingspunkter, ingen karakter, ingen spor af mennesker og  ingen planter, for man frygtede, de ville blive stjålet, husker Kenneth A. Balfelt.

For at undersøge brugernes behov lavede kunstnerne med et par design- og arkitektstuderende en workshop. Klokken ni om morgenen stillede de et bord med kaffe, te og cigaretter midt på gangen, så brugerne enten måtte gå udenom eller sætte sig ned.

– De skulle se os, og vi skulle se dem. Vi skulle mærke, hvad deres holdninger var. Ville vi være i stand til at tale med dem, eller ville de løbe væk, siger FOS.

Workshoppen varede til klokken tre om natten. I den tid diskuterede brugerne deres holdning til stedet, og på plancher kom de med forslag.

– Selvom nogle var omtågede af narkotika, havde vi gode samtaler om de her emner. Det var fantastisk at opleve og med til at cementere ideen om, at man kan skabe et fællesskab på Mændenes Hjem med de ressourcer, der er tilstede, siger Kenneth A. Balfelt.

Ud fra deres research har de formuleret en række værdier for deres arbejde. Fællesskabet er sikkerhed hedder en af værdierne. I praksis betyder det, at indgangen nu er uden kontrol. En egetræsdør med udskæringer af blomsterranker og beslag med inspiration fra helleristninger har afløst den upopulære reception. Dermed har medarbejderne opgivet den sikkerhed, de havde ved at kunne kontrollere, hvem der kom ind i huset.

– Hvis vi får skabt et fællesskab, så burde der principielt ikke være nogen, der vil slås med en, der vil hjælpe, siger Kenneth A. Balfelt.

Selv om medarbejderne ikke var ansat som vagter, blev de ofte opfattet sådan af brugerne, dengang receptionen stadig eksisterede, fordi de var bundet af arbejdet der. Nu bruger medarbejderne mere tid sammen med brugerne ude i stuen. De kan snakke om vejret, se fodbold på tv og dermed skabe en bedre kontakt, som er første skridt på vejen til egentlig hjælp.

– Brugerne får lov at se andre sider af os nu. De har ikke længere et fjendebillede af os, siger Lars Pedersen, som er socialarbejder og sikkerhedsrepræsentant på Mændenes Hjem.

Kø til badeværelset

Lige indenfor den nye indgang står en reol. Der er sprøjter og kanyler i skufferne. En ung mand er lige trådt ind ad døren. Med runde kinder ligner han mere naboens søn end en af husets faste brugere, som livet på gaden har givet indfaldne kinder. Han er usikker, mens han leder efter en pose til sprøjten og kanylen. En kvinde kommer ham til undsætning og tømmer sin DSB pose, så han kan få den.

– Tag hellere et sæt værktøj for meget, end et for lidt, siger hun til ham, mens hun putter tre ekstra sæt i posen.

Væggene er revet ned, så der nu er et stort lokale. I den ene halvdel ligger kantinen med store og små borde, så folk kan bestemme, om de vil spise sammen med andre eller alene. I den anden del af rummet står computere og sofaer. På endevæggen hænger en enorm fladskærm. Brugerne følger med i Nyhederne, snakker og spiller computer. Enkelte kokser i en rus.
André finder en ledig plads i sofaen og prøver at skjule en guldøl mellem benene, som han godt ved er forbudt i stuen. Efter hans mening er Mændenes Hjem blevet et bedre sted at være, efter at renoveringen er gået i gang.

– Folk er blevet gladere for at være her. Det giver mere liv i huset, når der sker noget. Det allerbedste er det nye toilet og badeværelse. Jeg har et diplom, der viser, at jeg var den allerførste, som tog bad i det. Det bliver meget brugt. Før tog nogle af de her mennesker aldrig bad, siger André og peger ud på baggangen. Her står et par brugere utålmodigt i kø til badeværelset, som er udsmykket med en lysekrone og fliser i blå og grønne farver.

Designer koksestol

FOS mener, at de som kunstnere krydser en moralsk bro. Kunsten er traditionelt kun til for sig selv, men her skal den skabe værdier for mennesker. Og den skal kunne skabe nogle rum, hvor mange forskellige slags mennesker skal kunne fungere og føle sig tilpas. Derfor hedder en anden værdi – troen på et andet livssyn.

– Man skal acceptere nogle ting, som man normalt ikke accepterer. Det er nemt at indgå i fællesskaber med folk, som ligner en selv. Men for at skabe et moderne fællesskab, så bliver man nødt til at sætte sig ud over sine egne værdier, forklarer FOS.

Det handler om at møde folk, der hvor de er i livet. Mange af brugerne er narkomaner, og kunstnerne arbejder på at designe en stol, hvor de kan sidde godt, når de kokser.

– Der vil være en masse naive mennesker, som siger, at når vi accepterer, at en narkoman skal sidde i en behagelig stol, så accepterer vi også hans gøren, siger FOS og tilføjer, at en dårlig stol ikke får narkomaner til at kokse mindre.

– Hvis institutionen ikke viser et menneske respekt, så kommer du aldrig nogen vegne. Så bliver man ved med at stigmatisere og udstøde folk, siger Kenneth A. Balfelt. Han mener, at forudsætningen for at komme videre er, at personen føler sig OK som menneske.

Arbejdet med renoveringen er halvt færdigt. Ingen har prøvet at lave et lignende projekt før, så det er et eksperiment, hvordan værdier formuleret af kunstnere fungerer i praksis.

– Man kan mærke en stemningsændring. Der er begyndelsen til et fællesskab. Men der er masser, der kan gøres endnu, konstaterer FOS.

Fakta

Mændenes Hjem har tilbud til psykisk syge, misbrugere, slidte folk fra gaden, et herberg for hjemløse, sygepleje, et kontaktsted med opsøgende arbejde, en kantine med varm mad, mulighed for en nats søvn indendørs og en natcafe.
Budgettet for renoveringen er på 3,45 millioner kroner. Københavns Kommune og forskellige fonde har indtil videre bidraget med 1,5 million kroner.
Besøg Mændenes Hjem på www.maendeneshjem.dk

Kenneth A. Balfelt (1966) er uddannet fra Goldsmiths College i London. I 2002 indrettede han et fixerum for narkomaner på Halmtorvet i København. Det var et kunstprojekt, som gav nyt liv til debatten om fixerum til narkomaner og resulterede i møder med politikere.
Læs mere på kennethbalfelt.org

FOS alias Thomas Poulsen (1971) er uddannet fra Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi. Egentlig synes han som kunstner, det er sjovere, at male og lege med ler, men han føler, at samfundet svigter de svageste, derfor involverer han sig i projekter som dette. FOS er repræsenteret af Galleri Christina Wilson i København og galleriet NW Projects i London.
Læs mere på www.socialdesign.dk