Aarhus 2017: Once in a lifetime

Our year as European Capital of Culture is a unique opportunity for citizens and companies, says CEO Anders Byriel.

Walking into the Kvadrat showroom in Ebeltoft is like stepping into an Aladdin’s cave. The floor is shining white. The round table, walls and shelves are white. But the room is full of magic, with the colours and patterns of hundreds of the firm’s famous textiles filling the shelves.

Next to the white table, in a chair upholstered in Kvadrat material, sits CEO Anders Byriel. With all the successes he and the company have enjoyed, one might almost expect him to be holding Aladdin’s mythical magic lamp.

In reality, Byriel is a man who spends 200 days a year travelling abroad. In 2015 alone, he won two prestigious awards: the Erhverv Aarhus Award, and the 2015 Owner-Manager of the Year award. And as if that’s not enough, he holds positions on several other firms’ boards, yet is known for his ability to stay 100% engaged, no matter where he is. Perhaps the 15km runs he enjoys four times a week help him to stay constantly focused on the here and now.

Byriel is well placed to give us his perspective on European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017. His firm is a sponsor of the initiative, and he is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Aarhus 2017 Foundation.

“Being European Capital of Culture 1996 helped revitalise Copenhagen,” he says. “A great many positive changes helped boost the city’s culture and business community. That’s why I’m excited about Aarhus being designated for 2017.”

Creating history
Byriel believes that Aarhus has traditionally been slightly introverted as a city.

“The European Capital of Culture year will transform the place, giving the city and its region new energy.” he says. “Aarhus has an opportunity to create its own history as a European city.”

He points to the success of Liverpool as European Capital of Culture 2008. The city was completely transformed for its year of culture, and attracted many visitors from the UK and overseas, as well as artists, cultural players and companies. What’s more, the benefits continued beyond 2008.

Byriel is convinced that the many hundreds of projects and events being developed for Aarhus 2017 are already changing the way people work in the region. He says:

“Companies are being trained to improve the way they run cultural projects. They can move from step two to step four on the cultural stairway. This will forge stronger creative industries, and make the Central Denmark Region stronger within Denmark and Europe. The central Jutland area already has a strong reputation for architecture, film, animation, and the creative industries can move into other fields if there is the appetite to do so.” And he adds:

“The creation of 400 or so events and activities for 2017 will help ensure critical volume of creative companies and industries in this part of the country – long after the Capital of Culture year is over.”

Business benefits
Kvadrat is one of many corporate sponsors working with the Aarhus 2017 Foundation.

“As a creative company, it was essential to be involved,” says Byriel. “I look at the many Aarhus 2017 activities almost as ‘vitamins’ for the company and its employees.”

Kvadrat has made a concerted effort to move events to Denmark in 2017, to reap the benefits that all the cultural events will offer customers and visitors. Byriel believes that when other companies see the Aarhus 2017 programme, they’ll be keen to get involved and become partners. With a twinkle in his eye, he adds that the quicker a company becomes a sponsor, the more marketing benefits they’ll experience over the next two years.

There are two types of sponsors. For example, Kvadrat is a sponsor for a large arts project in the countryside, whereas ARLA is specifically involved with projects relating to food.

Why support arts and culture? As a company, Kvadrat has many partners in the fields of architecture, design and art, so its interest in the arts and cultural projects is natural. The firm has previously sponsored exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale, and is currently a sponsor of the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum and the Glasmuseet (Glass Museum) in Ebeltoft. The company’s headquarters in Ebeltoft is itself an oasis of design, architecture, art and culture.

Surrounded by 6,000 square meters of rolling landscape formed during the Ice Age, the main building is covered by hand-moulded bricks. Four years ago, it was transformed into a major sculptural work called Your Glacial Expectations, by visual artist Olafur Eliasson and Austrian architect Günther Vogt. Inspired by the mirror-like surface of glacial lakes, five elliptical mirrors were positioned around the landscape, which consists of trees, bushes and animals – including sheep, which provide wool for the company’s textiles.

When it comes to being engaged in arts and culture projects, this CEO needs no Aladdin’s lamp. Byriel’s goal is clear:

“At Kvadrat, we’re very selective about finding products and projects that suit our organisation. And when we get involved, we do so whole-heartedly. Each project we engage with is something we could not produce by ourselves, but will inspire both our employees and customers.”

Anders Byriel
CEO of Kvadrat, Vice-Chairman of the Aarhus 2017 Board of Governors, Owner-Manager of the Year (2015), Winner of the Business Aarhus Award (2015), No. 35 on the 2014 Wallpaper Global Design Elite Ranking.

Kvadrat is a corporate sponsor of Aarhus 2017.

Read more about Kvadrat at the company website

Read more about how to become a partner