Connecting Collecting - Sveriges Museer

The Pool for LeisureLeisure as a mirror of societyThe Pool for Leisure works with matters concerning people’sfree time. By questioning and deconstructing leisure as aconcept and a phenomenon we can investigate changes thattake place in society and affect the individual. Leisure shouldalso be considered from the perspective of power, whichincludes gender, ethnicity, class, and generation.By Marie Nyberg and Christine Fredriksen»A basic perspective for the workof the pool is that leisure reflectsconditions in society. We are interestedin both publicly organized and individuallyshaped leisure, the commercializationof the leisure sphere and the growingexperience industry. Is post-modernleisure different, and more of a lifestylethan before? But how then does leisurefunction for the unemployed, for sicklistedpeople, children, and pension ers?How do women’s leisure activities differfrom those of men? Does everyone haveleisure?What is leisure?Leisure often used to be regarded as theopposite of work, but the concept of leisureis more complex than that. Workneed no longer be the same as gainfulemployment, and time free of work neednot be leisure. Investigating leisure requiresa multifaceted view of how peopleuse their time. Leisure is a good point ofaccess for studying the present day sinceit is constantly being renegotiated andfilled with new meanings.One way to regard leisure is to divideit into more or less free time. Wheredoes the boundary go, for example, betweenleisure activities and work in thehome? Nowadays people sometimes talkabout adjustment time, maintenancetime, and quality time to designate timefor changing focus, time for looking afterpeople or things, and time devotedto special activities. Leisure can also betime that is not at all free, with a lot ofmusts and scheduled activities.Other terms that have been introducedin recent years are “time-rich” and“time-poor”. Time-rich people are mostlyunemployed, sick-listed, and retired,in other words, groups who have a lot oftime but are not in gainful employment,and therefore do not have so muchmoney. Time-poor people have little freetime outside their salaried work but theyhave a lot of money to spend.Leisure in the form of self-chosenand pleasurable activities or non-activitiescan perhaps only be defined by theindividual based on personal experience.Leisure can thus be regarded as an arenafor self-fulfilment.“Leisure, for me that means woolly hats,anoraks and Elasta pants, and the wholefamily out in the car to drive off on someexcursion… You’re supposed to be active.Or else it’s the youth leisure centre and thatmeant drinking spirits, beer, and smokingcigarettes, at the age of twelve or so. So Ihardly ever use the word leisure, I’ve discovered.I say I’m free”, says Katinka, priest,aged 47. Photo Unni Randin-Stranne.Expanding leisureIn recent studies by the pool, the conceptof leisure has been linked to aspirationsfor life and meaningfulness, the creationof identity and the good life. The goodlife as a concept has become widespreadtoday, used both by commercial interestsand by public society. Communication,health, consumption of culture, andshopping are all elements that are supposedto contribute to creating the goodlife. This applies to the rich part of theworld…At the same time, leisure is expandingand taking an increasing amountof time and place. The arenas of leisureshow who we are. In the arena of creativity,we design and furnish our homes,and in the arena of entertainment, wheretelevision is still number one, there is anever-increasing range on offer. Activeperformance of leisure competes withthe passive reception of leisure.“Doing Samdok”The pool consists of museums with differentorientations, which gives the worka great breadth. An important part of10 • Samtid & museer no 2/07