Swedish author Ida Teren is the 149th guest of the KROKODIL residency program for literary creators in Belgrade. On Wednesday, October 15th, starting at 6 PM, this prominent Swedish writer will present herself to the Belgrade audience at the KROKODIL Center with a discussion about her latest work \u2013 the novel *The Invisible Temple*. This bold yet intimate historical novel covers three days in the life of Hilma af Klint, a visionary behind monumental abstract paintings that depict a life filled with spiritual quests, passionate relationships, and artistic obsessions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1928, during a summer in full swing, Hilma af Klint arrives in London. She is preparing to showcase her paintings for the first time: she has spent over fifteen years working on a series of large-scale paintings, characterized by meticulous craftsmanship and continuous connection to the spiritual world. Until then, no one outside her circle of artist colleagues showed any interest. Soon, at a spiritualist conference, her paintings will finally see the light of day. While Hilma reflects on her journey to this moment, the world might stand on the verge of a significant artistic discovery \u2014 or perhaps it is still too early for her refreshing, radical new vision of abstraction in painting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the novel The Invisible Temple, the now widely respected and avant-garde artist Hilma af Klint, a feminist pioneer and spiritualist medium, comes alive in her time. Told in the first person and based on years of research into previously unexplored and overlooked archival material, *The Invisible Temple* is a bold, comprehensive novel about loneliness and alienation that accompany the pursuit of a unique artistic vision, which largely transcends what others can see. It is also a portrait of passionate connections that enable such a quest, about trust and secrets within the creative community, and about a life \u2014 on the border between the earthly and the spiritual, esoteric and everyday \u2014 that will forever redefine art history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Author\u2019s biography: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ida Teren graduated in history and works as a freelance cultural and literary critic after spending ten years as a permanent literary critic for Svenska Dagbladet, one of Sweden\u2019s leading newspapers. She was born and raised in V\u00e4rnamo, southern Sweden, and lived abroad for thirteen years in many countries across Europe, as well as in New York, Los Angeles, and Shanghai. She currently lives in Stockholm with her husband and two children. Before focusing full-time on writing, she worked as a model and actress (with small roles in films such as *Blondie*, *Something\u2019s Got to Break*, and *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*) and played in an alternative band. In 2020, Ida Teren made her prose debut with the novel *Hugging a Waterfall*, receiving great critical acclaim. She has written several children\u2019s books and published fiction in *Granta* magazine. She is the founder and co-editor of the literary and arts magazine *CONST Literary Preview*. Since 2021, she has hosted the podcast *Kulturbarnen* with musician Pontus de Wolfe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previous works: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Hugging a Waterfall* (October 2020) \u2013 Natur & Kultur (Swedish), Malvern Publishing (Czech), Vakxikon Publishing (Greek) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Freedom, Equality & Sisterhood: writings 2007\u20132017* (May 2017), Mondial (Swedish)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
**Praise for *Hugging a Waterfall*:** <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBrilliant novel about fallen women.\u201d \u2013 Dagens Nyheter <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBeautiful debut novel.\u201d \u2013 Expressen <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cElegant debut of mysterious beauty.\u201d \u2013 Dalademokraten <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFine and subtle debut about trying to find your place in life.\u201d \u2013 Femina <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ida Teren writes beautiful prose and has a sense for dialogue that many Swedish writers lack. The story of June Mensfeld is enchanting, poetic, and violent at the same time. It reminds me of early novels by Sara Stridsberg.* \u2013 Svenska Dagbladet <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really like Ida Teren\u2019s novel\u2026 It\u2019s refined writing.\u201d \u2013 Arbetarbladet <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn accessible novel that can be read in one breath. Despite the difficult experiences depicted, it\u2019s a cheerful novel, full of hope, about how important it is to endure until the pain passes.\u201d \u2013 Bernur<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ida Teren\u2019s residency takes place within the *Centers of Periphery 2.0* project, created by Littfest from Ume\u00e5, Sweden, and the KROKODIL Association from Belgrade, with the aim of strengthening connections between the Nordic and post-Yugoslav cultural scenes and developing a strong foundation for collaboration; promoting democratic values, freedom of expression, and human rights through literary exchange; amplifying peripheral and\/or underrepresented voices; and creating opportunities for dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project\u2019s activities will include two gatherings of literary professionals in Belgrade and Gothenburg in 2025, a festival exchange between KROKODIL and Littfest in 2026, and six monthly residencies for Swedish literary creators in Belgrade, including public events and meetings with relevant literary and cultural actors. The project aims to stimulate literary exchange between these two peripheral regions of Europe by providing platforms for discussion on key themes such as democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression, as well as the key contemporary literary expressions of these fundamental values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Centers of Periphery 2.0 project is supported by the Swedish Institute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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