THE CLASS SWAP August 17 – September 4, 2026

Live Art Danmark has invited the award-winning project “The Class Swap” to Aarhus, based on an idea by Esther Pilkington and Sibylle Peters, Hamburg. The project is further supported by Aarhus Festuge, DOKK1, the Danish Arts Foundation (Statens Kunstfond), and the Gad Andresen Foundation.

Live Art Danmark was founded in 2004 and holds an annual free festival, “Live Art for Children,” which in 2026 takes place in Aarhus at DOKK1 as part of Aarhus Festuge. The Class Swap is part of the festival, which this year explores the socio-political challenges facing the Municipality of Aarhus — within areas such as nature, active citizenship, the labour market, and health.

In The Class Swap, two school classes from different neighbourhoods trade lives for a day. The class from Neighbourhood A visits the school and surrounding area in Neighbourhood B, while the class from Neighbourhood B visits the school and surrounding area in Neighbourhood A. Only afterwards do the students meet to share their experiences in front of a public audience, in a festively staged setting at DOKK1.

The Class Swap has been carried out in several locations across Germany since 2016. Its purpose is to foster an understanding of what life is like for others in the same city. The children experience firsthand what is fun, exciting, or mysterious about the lives of their peers just a few kilometres away.

PROCESS:

The two school classes prepare material for one another. Live Art Danmark visits each school, sets the project in motion, and collects the material a few days later. Parents must be informed and give their consent. Teachers take part in every stage of the project and stay involved throughout.

Preparation: The children in each class consider: What in my everyday life is worth seeing? What should you definitely do, and what should you avoid? All tips, recommendations, and warnings are gathered into a guide for the swapping class. They also organise a programme for the rest of the day — which playgrounds or leisure activities are fun? Could some families be visited at home?

The swap day is agreed upon: it runs from morning until 2 hours after school ends. Throughout the day, the children are accompanied by adults from Live Art Danmark, who document the day with sound, film, and photos.

After the swap day: Drawing on the experiences and documentation from the swap day, the meeting between the classes is planned. This is Live Art Danmark’s task, as they alone are familiar with both sides. They are responsible for ensuring that the key experiences are processed and can be shared.

Preparation at DOKK1: Each class visits DOKK1 for a few hours to rehearse the “show” — that is, the sequence of events for the public meeting with the other class.

THE SHOW:

The first personal meeting at DOKK1 takes place as a festive public event! The classes sit on opposite sides of a hall, with a red curtain hanging between them, which is ceremoniously raised: TATAA! We show films from the day, and the children share their experiences.