Sauna Sessions is an artistic project exploring the sauna as a space for care, reflection, and community. The event is led by Cristian Quinteros Soto, artist-in-residence at The Nordic Watercolour Museum in 2025. Cristian has previously presented the project in various locations across Sweden, including Liljevalchs and Botkyrka konsthall. This autumn, Sauna Sessions will be presented not only at The Nordic Watercolour Museum, but also at Stockholm Fringe Festival and in Oslo.
Below is the artist’s invitation to the session.
Welcome to Sauna Sessions!
Sauna Sessions is a sauna experience where we come together to share warmth, conversation, and presence in nature. With a mobile sauna, we create temporary meeting spaces in the natural environment, offering an opportunity for us to meet on equal terms, free from presumptions, in a place where the body is welcomed just as it is.
The heat of the sauna and the coolness of the water help us pause and be present – both within ourselves and with eac hother. After the sauna, we gather around a fire to grill, enjoy snacks, and continue the conversation in a relaxed and warm atmosphere.
Participation is free of charge, but pre-registration is required. Participants are limited to a maximum of 9 per occasion. The location is Gråskärsbadet, and we will meet at the entrance to The Nordic Watercolour Museum. Duration approx. 2–3 hours. See all practical information below.
Choose between two occassions:
Wednesday 8 october 6.00 pm – BOOK HERE
Saturday 11 October at 9.00 am – BOOK HERE (Please note that the starting time has been changed)
What to bring:
Nudity and responsibility
At my sessions, participants have the freedom to be clothed or nude in the sauna and while bathing. It's important that everyone feels at ease with their choice – and also open to that choice evolving during the experience.
As someone who has personally struggled with body image, I understand this journey is deeply personal and unique to each individual. I’ve implemented strategies to ensure participants feel safe and respected. These include encouraging open communication, emphasising the non-sexual nature of the experience, and fostering a supportive atmosphere.
The aim is to create a space where individuals feel empowered to make their own choices, and where community and inclusion are at the heart of the experience. While nudity can feel vulnerable in a group setting, I’ve found that most people leave the sessions feeling the experience was more natural and comfortable than they had expected – often resulting in a sense of ease and mutual acceptance within the group.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Cristian Quinteros Soto’s artistic practice explores collective experiences, migration, in-betweenness, and care. Through interventions, performances, and workshops, he investigates how intimate encounters can be sustained, documented, and facilitated in public space. Cristian received his master’s degree from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm in 2021, and has exhibited work at venues including Liljevalchs, Södertälje Konsthall, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Swedish Sports Museum, Botkyrka konsthall, Marabouparken, and Tensta Konsthall.
WebsiteABOUT
Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art (GIBCA) is a contemporary art project taking place every two years in Gothenburg, Sweden. Each biennial consists of several major exhibitions. This year, in 2025, the title is “a hand that is all our hands combined". In times of war, polarization and authoritarian tendencies, the biennial aims to investigate how art can facilitate dialogue and reflection and make resistance possible. Can we think beyond Us and Them? How can we act from a spirit of solidarity? And how do we preserve artistic freedom in the face of rhetoric characterized by exclusion?
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GIBCA Extended is a network and public programme that has developed around the biennial since 2013. The network brings together the local and regional art scene in Västra Götaland. Its participants – individual artists, artist groups, galleries and art centres – create their own programmes and exhibitions during GIBCA, which deepen and provide new perspectives on the biennial’s themes. The Nordic Watercolour Museum has been part of GIBCA Extended since the very beginning.
Read more8 OCT 6.00 PM & 11 OCT 9.00 AM • Sauna Sessions is an artistic project exploring the sauna as a space for care, reflection, and community. The event is led by Cristian Quinteros Soto, artist-in-residence at The Nordic Watercolour Museum in 2025. Participation is free of charge, but pre-registration is required.
11 OCT 3.00 PM & 12 OCT 3.00 PM • On two occasions, The Nordic Watercolour Museum presents video works by artist-in-residence Cristian Quinteros Soto. In his practice, Quinteros Soto delves into collective experiences, focusing on themes such as migration, in-betweenness, and care. Through interventions, performances and workshops, he explores how intimate encounters can be sustained, documented, and facilitated in public spaces.
25–26 OCT 1.00–5.00 PM • How do we communicate without words? Over the course of two days in two different locations, we will, together with AiC Orust and Pernilla Glaser, discover something new together – through experiences that one cannot be prepared for in advance. You are welcome just the way you are. Curiosity is what matters most; previous experience is irrelevant. We will gather to explore how we can meet and engage in dialogue across our differences, shifting perspectives, and varying needs.
