Knowing how to make: selecting materials, planning, shaping, processing and learning from our results, is essential to being human. Many of us engage in making in our daily lives: whether preparing food, building a shed, growing a garden, or gaining some craft skills at a more advanced level. We all benefit from surroundings that are shaped purposefully, with care and deep knowledge of the materials we use. The results of making – as this exhibition shows – can range widely from virtuoso skill of a craft performed at a high level, to quieter meditations that are the result of our struggle to shape and grow our surroundings, or collaborative processes that connect us to one another.
The twenty-three makers taking part in this exhibition are presenting just some results of three years of bachelor study, or two years of postgraduate work undertaken at HDK-Valand Steneby. Working across wood, metal, and textiles, our students reveal how each material opens a world of possibilities that grows exponentially with the application of new skills, knowledge and connections. Located at Dals-Långed in Dalsland, our school has its roots in the training of craftsmen and women during the depression of the 1930s. Today, our workshops enable students to combine working with ancient tools, such as the hand loom – while also offering access to cutting edge digital tools for design and fabrication.
Students on our BFA Textile-Body-Space programme learn a broad palette of techniques for working with textiles and apply this to a wide range of contexts: from costume design and performance, installation, sculpture, clothing and textile images. The BFA in Wood Oriented Furniture Design focuses on solving artistic and material-related problems in relation to the furniture industry and the surrounding world, while our students on the BFA Metal Art develop a broad palette of technical skills to develop artworks in metal for both public and gallery settings. Students on the MFA in Applied Arts and Design work across material specialisms with a focus on development new critical perspectives through their engagements with material.
The diversity of skills, approaches and perspectives we encounter in this exhibition signals the emergence of a vibrant cohort of makers who will lead and shape their respective fields for years to come. As you explore this exhibition, whether it is online or in the presence of our material creations, we hope it will stimulate some of your own thoughts on what making means to you, and to inspire you to start or continue making.
Participating students
Bachelor's Programme in Textile-Body-Space: Karin Bäckström, Elis Ottosson, Elsa Mellqvist, Fanny Schwarz
Bachelor's Programme in Wood Oriented Furniture Design: Samuel Norlind, Isak Krantz, Hannes Blixt, Lauranne Chapelle-Barry, Kerstin Malmqvist
Bachelor's Programme in Metal Art: Jennie Appelqvist, Steffen Lempp, Filip Schmidt, Eemu Kaikkonen, Ingrid Hopphegg, Anna Grevby, Jean-Baptiste Galon, Oliver Benonysson
Master's Programme in Textile-Body-Space: Fanny Hulebäck, Luisa Recker
Master's Programme in Wood Oriented Furniture Design: Theo Rosengren, Nicolas Girerd, Oskar Jacobsen
Master's Programme in Metal Art: Eurika Zemaityte
