Annika Bromberg (view her profile here) strongly believes in the power of art to influence greater society. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in set and costume design from Stockholm University of the Arts in 1997 and has throughout her career designed sets and costumes for over 80 theatre productions. Her work includes exhibitions and performances ranging from children’s theatre to dance, as well as working to share knowledge about sustainability in the arts.
As a freelancing costume and set designer working in Sweden and abroad, her work takes inspiration from the natural world, organic structures and tactile experiences. Costumes and set pieces are meant to be used, performed and experienced. Similarly, her exhibitions use the eye of a set designer to position the visitors as actors. The goal of the exhibition room is to inspire curiosity and make the visitor forget the outside world in a similar way to the magic of live theatre.
Bromberg means that artists have an important role in handling the consequences of climate emergencies. She is the chairman of Swedish NGO Hållbart Kulturliv NU, which aims to create a more sustainable culture sector. She also has a vested interest in the sustainability of the international stage art scene. As a European Climate Pact Ambassador Annika is part of a network that seeks to inspire people and organisations to implement sustainability measures all over the EU.
Among her many works that deal with sustainability is the creation of stage costumes made entirely with recycled fabrics for the stage production MASQUERADE at Malmö Opera House 2024. All costumes and corpus objects were taken from the opera storage and refurbished into new and fantastical creations. This introduces the beauty and joy of creative reuse to audiences of all ages, while also demonstrating to the stage houses of Sweden that we can make sustainable productions if we have the willpower to do so.
