Palo Alto Art Center Boasts a Swedish Connection

With the addition of Denise Laxén di Zazzo as the new Family, Teen & Outreach Coordinator, the Palo Alto Art Center now has a Swedish connection.

Denise comes from Palo Alto’s sister city in Sweden, Linköping, where she worked as a museum educator and project leader. She also served as a museum director, curator and the individual in charge of all public art for the nearby of Motala in Sweden.

“In general, I feel that the art scene is connected worldwide,” she says. “You see the same currents.”

She says she likes the fact that the city of Palo Alto supports the arts, much in the same way that the Swedish government heavily funds public art and art programs in that country. Sweden maintains a strong percent for art program. Whenever the government in Sweden constructs a new civic building, such as an elementary school, it is recommended that a certain amount of funding be put aside for public artwork to be placed either inside or outside the new structure.

In her new role at the Palo Alto Art Center, Denise says she wants to make art for teens and families more accessible and relaxing.

“I want to create an atmosphere where you can feel free to try new things and it’s not so much about accomplishment,” she says. “For me, it’s all about listening to the city and the target groups I will be working with, finding out what they want, and setting up events and projects that suit them.”

She further defined her objectives by saying that she wants artmaking to be more about the process of creating art rather than the end goal of producing something.

Denise says she welcomes the challenge of attracting a larger teen audience through events such as Teen Takeover nights. “With teens, I think it’s all about exploring your inner self and discovering new things,” she adds.

In Sweden, Denise recalls a rewarding moment she shared with a teenager who had OCD. She says they were looking at art in the museum when the teen opened up to her after responding to a piece of artwork. “I literally saw the change in her eyes, how she reacted to the specific piece of art I was showing her,” she says. “It’s really beautiful when you make a connection like that.”

Denise also wants to engage families in artmaking that involves the entire community in group projects, like a mandala, in which an artist draws a large pattern and participants pour colored sand over it.

She says, “That’s that great thing about the Art Center—you can try things here that you can’t do at home.”