The Mall Users Research Association was a multi-year participatory research project that gathered information about shopping mall use. The association is interested in thinking about shopping malls as social spaces that are shaped by how they are used, and creates publications, performances and interventions based on its research.

In May of 2021 MURA was installed as a research platform at Nitja senter for samtidskunst in Lillestrøm, researching Lillestrøm Torv and Strømmen Storsenter.For the duration of the installation visitors to the gallery were invited to leave their thoughts on local shopping malls on the walls of the research platform.    

In Spring 2022 a second interation of MURA was developed in collaboration with the DKS Test Lab in Oslo hosted by Oslo Kunstforening and Fotogalleriet.

This iteration was co-produced with students from Etterstad VGS, and will become part of an ongoing series of zines capturing teenage insights into the function and structure of contemporary shopping malls.

Photos:

Tor Simen Ulstein / Nitja Centre for Contemporary Art
Sakib Saboor / DKS Lab

Support:

Nitja Centre for Contemporary Art
Kunsthøyskolen i Oslo
DKS Lab Oslo (Fotogalleriet / Oslo Kunstforening)