"We no longer can rely on the Church or turn to the aristocracy for survival. These days we need the state to take care of such matters. Otherwise we end up working for the media, happily sleeping in the back seat of the car, with hardly any money in our pockets.

In this conference we have been speaking about concepts like democracy and freedom of speech, about globalisation and the market for art in the West and other such stuff. We have heard the Swedish Culture Minister saying nice words about important initiatives, though we know that these initiatives have fallen apart. The truth is that the Swedish Government is financing an incredible number of teenagers who call themselves artists. They are, definitely, missing the point."

V.M.