Konstmusiksystrar (Sisters in Contemporary Music) is a network for composers and sound artists who define themselves as women, non-binary or transgender people. It was founded in 2014 by Marta Forsberg and Lo Kristenson, who at the time were studying composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. Our website with its ever-expanding list of composers and sound artists functions as a vital resource for anyone interested in diversifying the commissioning and curating of contemporary new music. Together the Konstmusiksystrar members form a platform for a new generation of contemporary music.

Konstmusiksystrar has significant experience collaborating with musical institutions. We regularly arrange concerts, network meetings, workshops, panel discussions and calls for works both in Sweden and abroad. Previous collaborative partners include Konserthuset Stockholm, Blåsarsymfonikerna, Intonal/Inkonst, Ultima Contemporary Music Festival, Svensk Musikvår, Sound of Stockholm, Rönnells Antikvariat and Atalante Göteborg among others. From Konstmusiksystrar’s conception, we have developed our own methods in music curation which we implement within our collaborations. Our curatorial methods focus on collectivity, community building and the challenge of established aesthetics in new music. Our project I slumpen tjänst (In the service of chance) was focused on curation through chance and lottery as a method to challenge how we think about selection.

Konstmusiksystrar regulary organises workshops where women, non-binary people and transgender people can explore their artistry in a safe environment on on their own terms. The impact of Konstmusiksystrar´s pedagogical work on  diversifying the field of contemporary music was acknowledged by STIM (Swedish Performing Rights Society) and RUM (National Association for Young Musicians) who in 2019 awarded Konstmusiksystrar Framtidens Musikpris (Future Music Prize) in the category Enabling for Young Composers.
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By offering a platform for artistic collaboration between composers, we aim to promote solidarity and increase the sense of community within the field of new music. In 2019 Konstmusiksystrar, in collaboration with the Blåsarsymfonikerna, commissioned a musical piece by five composers to be written collectively to celebrate the 200th jubilee of composer Clara Schumann’s birth. Other collaborative projects include Sound Pals - Inter-nordic collaboration at distance (2021) and KS Rock (2018-2019), a sound workshop where composers met regularly to collectively explore music making in an inclusive, and low-prestige setting.

Konstmusiksystrar regularly organise and attend conferences, panels and seminars on issues of diversity in contemporary music. These include Islands on the Move (Ultima Festival 202, Oslo), GRiNM Network Conference 2019 (Zurich) FEMeeting 2018 (Lissabon and São Luís). We have also written articles and contributed to publications such as Taking the Temperature: Crisis, Curating and Musical Diversity and GRiNM x Oncurating. Many of our members have strong connections to the international music scene and have had the opportunity to share Konstmusiksystrar´s philosophy and work with multiple artists and organisations abroad. We are very proud to see composers in other countries inspired to start and run networks in the same spirit as Konstmusiksystrar, such as Womens Sound (Ukraine), Oramics (Poland) and SKLASH+ (Denmark).

In 2021, the board decided to separate our list of composers from membership in the association. Anyone (regardless of gender) who sympathises with the association's statutes can become a member. If you are a composer or sound artist and want to be represented on our list you can apply through the same form. To become a member in Konstmusiksystrar is free of charge.

The Konstmusiksystrar organisation is led by the board in collaboration with the executive leader.

We value transparency and practise collective decision making. We actively work against disrimenation and have worked consciously to not reproduce discriminative structures that we have experienced as students and professionals when we make work and organise projects in Konstmusiksystrar’s name.

Chair: Adele Kosman
Treasurer: Suvi Richter
Members: Athanasia Kotronia, Agnes Kofoed Christianson, Ia Erlandsson
Alternate: Vanessa Massera, Cornelia Karlsson

Executive Leader: Anna Jakobsson

Contact:
Adele Kosman – chair@konstmusiksystrar.se
Anna Jakobsson – info@konstmusiksystrar.se
Nasia Kotronia – media@konstmusiksystrar.se
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Webpage & design: Johanna Lundberg

Documents:
Stadgar
Årsprotokoll 2021
‍Protokoll extra årsmöte 2022