Kiki Muukkonen

Part of the creative complex Subtopia, the Hangaren venue is a 2100 square metre open space (formerly a lumber warehouse) that was opened in 2010. Its location in Alby, a suburb of Stockholm, places it in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the city. Programming four circus performances a year, for 3-8 performances apiece, it generally has near-full houses — but of audience members who've taken the Tunnelbana in from the centre. While successful at reaching these groups, and at placing Hanagren and contemporary circus in the most influential cultural papers, in recent years the goal has been to find ways to engage local communities — not so easy when the larger municipality, Botkyrka, estimates that the 86,000 inhabitants speak some 100 different languages.