Konstfack
Encyclopedia
Konstfack or University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (in Swedish simply known as Konstfack) is a university college for higher education in the area of art, crafts and design in Stockholm
, Sweden
.
In 1857 the first two female students (Sofi Granberg and Matilda Andersson) were accepted, and the following year female students officially were invited to apply.
It became a state school and was renamed Slöjdskolan i Stockholm (Handicraft School in Stockholm) in 1859; and in the context of a thorough reorganisation, where the school was divided into four departments in 1879, to Tekniska skolan (The Technical School). From 1945 it was known as Konstfackskolan (The school of art departments), when the institution was divided into the departments devoted to distinct disciplines that remain largely today: Textile, Decorative art, Sculpture, Ceramics, Furniture and Interior Design, Metal and Advertising and Printing. The school also obtained official status and had a two-year day school and a three-year arts and craft evening school. To this was added a two-year higher Arts and Crafts school and a three-year Art Teacher institute. It was given the status of a högskola ("university college") in 1978. From 1993 it was called just Konstfack, the short form of the name formerly used colloquially.
Long located on Norrmalm, between Klara kyrka and Hötorget
, the school was in 1959 moved to a new building on Valhallavägen
with well-equipped workshops, designed by architects Gösta Åberg and Tage Hertzell. In 2004 it once again moved to the early modernist former telephone factory of L M Ericsson at Telefonplan in Hägersten on the southern outskirts of Stockholm. The 20,300 sqm interior of the old factory building was redesigned by among others architect Gert Wingårdh
.
, Konstfack offers a bachelor degree program (3 years, 180 ECTS
credits, Bachelor of Arts), a master degree program (2 years, 120 ECTS
credits, Master of Arts
). There are also postgraduate courses, the Curator
Lab-education (1 year), and Art Education (teacher program, 4,5 years). The 2-year Animation
education existed between 1996 and 2005; and was located in Eksjö
.
The Bachelor's Program is divided into seven different disciplines:
The Undergraduate Program is conducted in Swedish.
The Master's Program is divided into nine different fields:
The goal of Konstfack's two-year Graduate Program is to attract both Swedish and international students, and the education is held mainly in English.
' introductary course. In 2004 Colour and Form became the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies to respond to the growing importance of interdisciplinary studio practices, under the supervision of professor Ronald Jones
. The department incorporates an array of disciplines from studio practice to The Center for Theory and History to Konstfack's digital media curriculum – Professor Jones likes to describe it as the "mosh pit of creativity".
Link to the official website for the Spring Exhibition 2007 (English version).
Link to the official website for the Spring Exhibition 2008
Graphic Design & Illustration:
Carl Johan De Geer
(artist and designer), Lasse Åberg
(filmmaker), Lotta Kühlhorn, Lars Hall (advertising)
, Oskar Korsár (artist and illustrator), RBG6 (motion graphics), REALA, Stina Wirsén (illustrator),
Ana Biscaia
(a minha professora).
Interior Architecture & Furniture Design:
Claesson Koivisto Rune, Gunilla Allard, Jonas Bohlin, Mats Theselius, Stefan Borselius, Thomas Bernstrand.
Industrial Design:
A & E Design
, Front (arty designers), Ergonomidesign, No Picnic, Propeller.
Fine Arts:
Stig Lindberg
(textile & ceramic designer), Annika von Hauswolff, Carl Milles
, Dorinel Marc, Johanna Billing, Maria Miesenberger, Miriam Bäckström.
Ceramics & Glass:
Bertil Vallien, Per B. Sundberg, Zandra Ahl, Christian Pontus Andersson
(artist).
Art Education:
Cecilia Torudd
(cartoonist), Elsa Beskow
(writer and illustrator of children's books), Gert Z Nordström, Jan Stenmark (artist), Jockum Nordström
(artist).
Textiles:
Astrid Sampe, Hans Krondahl
, Mah-Jong (creators of intellectual fashion in the 60's & 70's), Susanne Pagold (fashion journalist), 10-gruppen.
Metal Design:
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe
, Gunnar Cyrén.
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
History
Konstfack has had several different names since it was founded in 1844 by the ethnologist and artist Nils Månsson Mandelgren as a part time art school for artisans, under the name "Söndags-Rit-skola för Handtverkare" ("Sunday Drawing School for Artisans"). The school was taken over by Svenska Slöjdföreningen (today known as Svensk form) the next year and renamed Svenska Slöjdföreningens skola.In 1857 the first two female students (Sofi Granberg and Matilda Andersson) were accepted, and the following year female students officially were invited to apply.
It became a state school and was renamed Slöjdskolan i Stockholm (Handicraft School in Stockholm) in 1859; and in the context of a thorough reorganisation, where the school was divided into four departments in 1879, to Tekniska skolan (The Technical School). From 1945 it was known as Konstfackskolan (The school of art departments), when the institution was divided into the departments devoted to distinct disciplines that remain largely today: Textile, Decorative art, Sculpture, Ceramics, Furniture and Interior Design, Metal and Advertising and Printing. The school also obtained official status and had a two-year day school and a three-year arts and craft evening school. To this was added a two-year higher Arts and Crafts school and a three-year Art Teacher institute. It was given the status of a högskola ("university college") in 1978. From 1993 it was called just Konstfack, the short form of the name formerly used colloquially.
Long located on Norrmalm, between Klara kyrka and Hötorget
Hötorget
Hötorget is a city square in the center of Stockholm. During the daytime it is the site of a fruit and vegetable market, except on Sundays, when flea markets are arranged....
, the school was in 1959 moved to a new building on Valhallavägen
Valhallavägen
Valhallavägen is a major street in Stockholm's Östermalm district. The street is 3,532 meters long, and the name comes from the Viking mythology of Valhalla....
with well-equipped workshops, designed by architects Gösta Åberg and Tage Hertzell. In 2004 it once again moved to the early modernist former telephone factory of L M Ericsson at Telefonplan in Hägersten on the southern outskirts of Stockholm. The 20,300 sqm interior of the old factory building was redesigned by among others architect Gert Wingårdh
Gert Wingårdh
Gert Wingårdh is a Swedish architect whose company, Wingårdh arkitektkontor, maintains an international practice.- Personal life :Gert Wingårdh was born 1951 into a wealthy family in Skövde, Västergötland county, as the only child. His father owned the local cement factory and the family’s house...
.
Education
Following the standards of the Bologna processBologna process
The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
, Konstfack offers a bachelor degree program (3 years, 180 ECTS
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
This page describes ECTS-credits. For information about the ECTS grading system go to ECTS grading scale.European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other...
credits, Bachelor of Arts), a master degree program (2 years, 120 ECTS
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
This page describes ECTS-credits. For information about the ECTS grading system go to ECTS grading scale.European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other...
credits, Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
). There are also postgraduate courses, the Curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
Lab-education (1 year), and Art Education (teacher program, 4,5 years). The 2-year Animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
education existed between 1996 and 2005; and was located in Eksjö
Eksjö
Eksjö is a locality and the seat of Eksjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 9,676 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The city of Eksjö most likely appeared sometime in the medieval ages when it was the centre for the thing, a regional council. Its first mentioned is from the 14th century...
.
The Bachelor's Program is divided into seven different disciplines:
- Ceramics and Glass
- Fine Art
- Graphic Design and Illustration
- Industrial Design
- Interior Architecture and Furniture Design
- Textiles
- Metal Design
The Undergraduate Program is conducted in Swedish.
The Master's Program is divided into nine different fields:
- Storytelling (Dept. of Graphic Design & Illustration)
- Fomgiving intelligence (Dept. of Industrial Design)
- Experience design (Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies)
- WIRE - curatorial practice and critical writing (Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies + Dept. of Fine Art)
- InSpace (Dept. of Interior Architecture & Furniture Design)
- Ceramics & Glass (Dept. of Ceramics & Glass)
- Art in the Public Space (Dept. of Fine Art)
- Textiles in the expanded field (Dept. of Textiles)
- Master of European Design (Dept. of Industrial Design)
- Jewellery and Corpus (Dept. of Metal Design)
The goal of Konstfack's two-year Graduate Program is to attract both Swedish and international students, and the education is held mainly in English.
Departments
Beside the eight main departments of Ceramics and Glass, Fine Art, Graphic Design & Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture & Furniture Design, Textiles, Metal Design, and Art Education; the Department of Colour and Form was founded in 1983 with the purpose of educating the students in a fine art foundations curriculum modelled on the BauhausBauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
' introductary course. In 2004 Colour and Form became the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies to respond to the growing importance of interdisciplinary studio practices, under the supervision of professor Ronald Jones
Ronald Jones (Interdisciplinarian)
Ronald Jones an artist, critic and educator who gained prominence in New York City during the mid-1980s...
. The department incorporates an array of disciplines from studio practice to The Center for Theory and History to Konstfack's digital media curriculum – Professor Jones likes to describe it as the "mosh pit of creativity".
Examinations & The Spring Exhibition
The third year of the bachelor's program and the second year of the master's includes a free project, ten weeks at BA-level and twenty at MA-level, ending with a public examination and, if the student passes the examination, an exhibition for all graduating students: the Spring Exhibition (Vårutställningen in Swedish). The annual exhibition usually takes place at Konstfack during two weeks in May, with around 150 exhibiting students, and attracts thousands of visitors.Link to the official website for the Spring Exhibition 2007 (English version).
Link to the official website for the Spring Exhibition 2008
Notable alumni
A selection of some distinguished former students at the different departments at Konstfack (Art or designer groups referred to by their collective names):Graphic Design & Illustration:
Carl Johan De Geer
Carl Johan De Geer
Carl Johan Louis De Geer af Finspång is a Swedish artist, writer, musician and friherre of the De Geer noble family.Carl Johan De Geer grew up in a castle in Skåne, in southern Sweden...
(artist and designer), Lasse Åberg
Lasse Åberg
Lars Gunnar Åberg , better known as Lasse Åberg, is a Swedish actor, musician, film director and artist. He was born in the small town Hofors, but grew up in Stockholm...
(filmmaker), Lotta Kühlhorn, Lars Hall (advertising)
Lars Hall (art director)
Lars Christer Hall is a Swedish advertiser and art director.-Biography:It was an art teacher in primary school that suggested that Lars Hall should apply to Konstfackskolan in Stockholm. He started at age 15, worked as a freelance during his studies, and graduated in 1960...
, Oskar Korsár (artist and illustrator), RBG6 (motion graphics), REALA, Stina Wirsén (illustrator),
Ana Biscaia
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
(a minha professora).
Interior Architecture & Furniture Design:
Claesson Koivisto Rune, Gunilla Allard, Jonas Bohlin, Mats Theselius, Stefan Borselius, Thomas Bernstrand.
Industrial Design:
A & E Design
A & E Design
A & E Design is a Swedish design company, founded in 1968 by the duo Tom Ahlström and Hans Ehrich , after graduating from Konstfack, the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm...
, Front (arty designers), Ergonomidesign, No Picnic, Propeller.
Fine Arts:
Stig Lindberg
Stig Lindberg
Stig Lindberg was a Swedish ceramic designer, glass designer, textile designer, industrial designer, painter, and illustrator....
(textile & ceramic designer), Annika von Hauswolff, Carl Milles
Carl Milles
Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor, best known for his fountains. He was married to artist Olga Milles and brother to Ruth Milles and half brother to the architect Evert Milles...
, Dorinel Marc, Johanna Billing, Maria Miesenberger, Miriam Bäckström.
Ceramics & Glass:
Bertil Vallien, Per B. Sundberg, Zandra Ahl, Christian Pontus Andersson
Christian Pontus Andersson
Christian Pontus Andersson is a Swedish artist and sculptor, living in Södermalm, Stockholm.Christian Pontus Andersson was born in the small town Brattfors, county of Värmland, in Sweden. First working as a television journalist, Andersson hesitated between studying plastic surgery or becoming an...
(artist).
Art Education:
Cecilia Torudd
Cecilia Torudd
Cecilia Torudd is a Swedish cartoonist. She is the daughter of Albert Levan, studied Art Education at Konstfack, University College of Art, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, and is the author of Ensamma mamman. She is also known for her long standing contributions to Kamratposten.-References:...
(cartoonist), Elsa Beskow
Elsa Beskow
Elsa Beskow was a Swedish author and illustrator of children's books...
(writer and illustrator of children's books), Gert Z Nordström, Jan Stenmark (artist), Jockum Nordström
Jockum Nordstrom
Jockum Nordström is a Swedish artist, best known for his vivid collages, but also for his drawings, paintings and work as an illustrator.-Biography:Jockum Nordström was born December 19, 1963 in Sweden in a family with two brothers and one sister...
(artist).
Textiles:
Astrid Sampe, Hans Krondahl
Hans Krondahl
Hans Krondahl is a Swedish painter, tapestry weaver, textile artist and textile designer. He studied painting and textile art at Konstfack, in Stockholm from 1955 to 1960. Krondahl set up his own weaving studio in 1962, where he created tapestries and related artwork, and he also took up fabric...
, Mah-Jong (creators of intellectual fashion in the 60's & 70's), Susanne Pagold (fashion journalist), 10-gruppen.
Metal Design:
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe , often known simply as Torun, was one of Sweden's most important 20th century silversmiths and a master jeweller. She is the first female silversmith to have become internationally famous...
, Gunnar Cyrén.
See also
- Valand School of Fine ArtsValand School of Fine ArtsThe Valand School of Fine Arts , usually called Valand, is a School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded as the Gothenburg Drawing School in 1865 and has been part of the University of Gothenburg since 1977. The school is situated in central Gothenburg.Approximately 90 students study...
- Royal University College of Fine Arts, StockholmRoyal University College of Fine ArtsThe Royal Institute of Art is an institution in Stockholm, Sweden for higher education in art, founded in 1735. The school was part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, until 1978 when it was made independent. It is under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.-External links:*...
External links
- Konstfack, official website
- The Spring Exhibition 2007 The website for the Spring Exhibition 2007 (English version).
- The Spring Exhibition 2008 The website for the Spring Exhibition 2008.
- The Spring Exhibition 2009 The website for the Master Spring Exhibition 2009.