Artists Run for Mayor in Danish Town as Political Performance

Two artists, Italian Giuseppe L. Bonifati and Hungarian Linda Sugataghy, are running for mayor of Hostelbro, Denmark, under the banner of the Kunstpartiet (Art Party). Their campaign is framed as an 18-month continuous performance lasting until June 2017, involving door-to-door canvassing, learning the local language, and collective performances with Spanish actor Alberto Martinez Guinaldo. The project culminates in a festival in Hostelbro, engaging local institutions, associations, and schools. The party's motto is 'The Achievement of Beauty through Art.' This year marks the 50th anniversary of Hostelbro's cultural policies, initiated in 1966 by then-mayor Kai K. Nielsen and municipal director Jens Johansen. The artists, using the nicknames Jeppe and First Lady, present their electoral program via a video. The initiative draws a parallel to Edi Rama, the current Prime Minister of Albania, who was also an artist.