Albert Wiking: We Have A Dream

Having a dream is a strong motivation. The purpose of the exhibition and the book We Have a Dream is to inspire everyone to dare follow their dreams: big or small, now or later in life. Dreaming gives us power and courage.

Lunds konsthall shows a selection from 114 portraits, taken all over the world between 2002 and 2016. Each portrait is accompanied by a story, and together they want us to realise that nothing is impossible. The exhibition is a document of our time, showing some of the most known and influential people in the world alongside unknown youngsters who share the common ambition to make their voices heard in their fight for human rights.

We Have a Dream is essentially a photography project, but one that goes beyond the portrait frames. The initiators—Albert Wiking, who took the portraits of the participants, and Oscar Edlund, who interviewed them—wished to make a contribution to a more liveable world by showcasing examples from around the world. A teeming network of contact persons, agents, managers and other gate-keepers have facilitated, or blocked, their countless attempts to gain access to Nobel Prize winners, royalty, activists, performers, artists, entrepreneurs and everyday fighters. Once the enquiry went through it could still take years to reach an agreement or book a meeting.

Among those portrayed are members of the punk band Pussy Riot and the Chinese regime critic and artist Ai Weiwei—people who have stood up for democracy. This is also true about the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who is fighting for girls’ right to education. Other participants include human rights judge Navi Pillay, musicians Annie Lennox, Quincy Jones, Patti Smith and Timbuktu, model and actress Ruby Rose, writers Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Yeonmi Park, as well as UN functionaries Anders Kompass and Jan Eliasson.

Albert Wiking (1956), initiator, photographer and designer. He has authored a number of exhibitions and books, such as Eldvatten (Firewater, 1998), about well-known and unknown people and their relation to alcohol. After premiering at Lunds konsthall it toured for several years and attracted more than a million visitors.

Oscar Edlund (1979), initiator, responsible for the interviews and for recruiting participants. He has previously worked for Swedish Television, His Majesty the King’s Foundation for Young Leaders and the Nobel Foundation.

Wiking and Edlund have previously produced the book and exhibition Rött: mellan kärlek och revolution (Red: Between Love and Revolution, 2001).

Daniel Rydén has written the texts and Henrik Lörstad has created the exhibition audio design.