The main idea of the South Baltic project Wind energy in the BSR – the Upgrade is to overcome some of the obstacles standing on the way of developing the wind energy in the Baltic Sea countries.
Particularly in cities and towns, people do not have a concrete perception of the topic energy production. Electrical current comes out of the socket and remains something abstract, a permanently available resource, with one being hardly aware of its origin. The Upgrade project choses a sensuous approach to wind energy use. By bringing energy production from this renewable source into the public urban space, art enables an aesthetic experience that allows a very different approach to the topic – far away from so frequently used tools as information campaigns, listing advantages etc.

The implementation of the idea in the Upgrade project is done via an art contest: 9 teams from Poland, Sweden and Germany were invited to develop concepts for three wind art sites in Rostock, Kalmar and Gdansk – every team for the site in its neighbour countries. Thus, the team from Rostock will work related to public places in Kalmar and Gdansk, the Polish team regarding Rostock and Kalmar and the Swedish regarding Gdansk and Rostock. This international approach demonstrates that wind energy is a joint topic in the Baltic Sea Region - a topic that enables and requires international exchange, a topic to be accessed locally as well as from a cross-border perspective by nonverbal sensuous interaction.

The international jury under chairmanship of a representative of the Swedish Kulturrad will select the best three drafts in September 2011. Afterwards, the winning teams will be asked to install their objects in the relevant public space. In Kalmar, this will be a wind art object next to a school, in Rostock an object on the territory of an art and media school with many children and adolescents passing by but also used for events. In Gdansk it is a public park where the object is going to be installed. From spring/summer 2012 on, the art objects will be installed and accessible for visitors.