Stories Open Doors

During my time at Kunsthal Aarhus, I developed and led a project that brought together art, storytelling and early language development — in collaboration with Aarhus Municipality, exhibiting artists and the Danish children’s author Cato Thau-Jensen.

My goal was simple yet ambitious: to create a children’s book for preschoolers in Aarhus — and later for children in Greenland and the Faroe Islands — that could serve as a playful bridge into the world of contemporary art. The book wasn’t just meant to be read; it was designed to be spoken with. I integrated the principles of dialogic reading directly into the text, encouraging teachers and parents to pause, ask questions and let children co-create the story through their own words and imagination.

As project manager, I coordinated the collaboration and production, but I was also directly involved in the teaching and facilitation at the art centre. And that was where the true magic happened.

When the children arrived at Kunsthal Aarhus, they were greeted by life-sized cardboard figures from the story they had read. You could see recognition light up in their eyes. They already knew this world. They ran up to the figures, pointed, called out their names and led their teachers confidently through the space — as if they were returning to a place they already belonged.

It was deeply moving to see how the story had opened a safe and imaginative world for them — a world of language, curiosity and courage.

That experience has stayed with me ever since. It became one of the early inspirations for Saganauts: the idea that stories can prepare children not just to understand culture, but to enter it — with confidence, imagination and a sense of belonging.