To mark Korsør’s 600-year anniversary, Kunsthal Kongegaarden presents When the Stars Begin to Fall, a solo show by the Danish artist duo Hesselholdt & Mejlvang.

Exhibition period: 2nd October 2025 – 11th January 2026

The exhibition transforms Kunsthal Kongegaarden into a poetic, immersive environment of textiles, ceramics, and sound, while extending beyond the art hall with a six-part flag installation in the garden, and a monumental display of 107 flags across the city of Korsør.

Displayed across 5 rooms, the exhibition unfolds through embroidered textiles collected worldwide, hand-thrown ceramics inscribed with urgent appeals, and a powerful soundscape of rain, wind, fire, waves, and human voices. Together, the works evoke shared narratives of care, fragility, and resilience in a time of global upheaval.

Symbols, Fabrics, Outcries, and Waves
As the title suggests, stars play a central role in the exhibition. The star carries powerful symbolism, ranging from the power display of a national flag to the poetic force of a shooting star. Visitors will encounter this familiar symbol already in the entrance hall on displayed with a flag fragment, where the white stars seem to be detaching themselves from the fabric.

Over the years, and from all over the world, the artists have collected brightly coloured fabrics that hold stories and traces of lived lives, while also sharing common features in patterns and weaves. In the When the Stars Begin to Fall exhibition, these textiles will hang from beautiful hand-turned flagpoles, some embroidered with words and motifs, and others left empty. In a central work, the fabrics are gently tied together and appear disarmed, yet powerful, in their own way.

Hesselholdt & Mejlvang’s ceramic works are created in various types of clay, and appear in natural earth tones combined with vibrant glazes that connect to the colours of the textiles. The vessels carry statements, that outcries about the state of the world, the climate, and calls to action. The empty jars and bowls evoke associations with the ceramics from several continents, but as with the textiles, the inspiration for each piece is not tied to a single origin.

The sound montage is composed of the artists’ recordings from different countries. The audio shifts between the drumming sound of the rain, wind rushing through the trees, crackling fire, singing, crashing waves, screeching from crowds, and more. Together, these audios form a poetic soundscape that rises and falls in an intensity atmosphere.

Flag installation in Korsør’s public space
For Korsør’s 600-year anniversary, Hesselholdt & Mejlvang have created the extensive site-specific project: Flags for Open Horizons. Across the city, 107 monochromes, yet uniquely coloured flags animate the town’s flagpoles, tracing a luminous trail of colour through the historic centre and out toward the fortress.

Inspired by the red and white of the Dannebrog, Denmark’s national flag, the installation moves gradually from deep burgundy to pure white, diverging into warm tones of orange and pink along the way.

At Kongegaarden’s garden, six white flags with swirling stars rise above the Kunsthal.

You are invited to the opening of When the Stars Begin to Fall on Thursday, 2nd October, 2025, from 4–7pm. Opening speeches will begin at 4:15pm.

Supported by: Augustinus Foundation, Statens Kunstfond, Knud Højgaards Foundation, The Danish Art Workshops (SVFK) and Slagelse Municipality.

Kunsthal Konegaarden’s annual program is supported by: The Obelske Foundation