# Konstfack

Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design, is a university college for higher education in the area of art, crafts and design in Stockholm, Sweden.

## 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 Konstfack, the short form of the full 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 former headquarters of LM Ericsson at Telefonplan in South Stockholm. The 20,300-square metre interior of the old factory building was redesigned by architects including Gert Wingårdh.

## Education

Following the standards of the Bologna process, Konstfack offers bachelor's degree programmes (3 years, 180 ECTS credits, Bachelor of Fine Arts), and master's degree programmes (2 years, 120 ECTS credits, Master of Fine Arts). There are also Art Education programmes (teacher programmes, 4/5 years and 5 years). The 2-year Animation education existed between 1996 and 2005; and was located in Eksjö.
There are seven Bachelor's Programmes:
* Ceramics and Glass
* Jewellery and Corpus
* Fine Art
* Graphic Design and Illustration
* Industrial Design
* Interior Architecture and Furniture Design
* Textiles
The Undergraduate Programmes are conducted in Swedish.
There are five Master's Programmes:
* Craft (Ceramics and Glass / Jewellery and Corpus / Textiles)
* Design Echologies
* Fine Art
* Spatial Design
* Visual Communication
One goal of Konstfack's two-year Graduate Programmes is to attract both Swedish and international students, and the education is held mainly in English.
There is also a doctoral program given in collaboration with Royal Institute of Technology:
* Art, Technology and Design

### Professional courses

Konstfack offers courses for professionals, for example CuratorLab and Research Lab.

### Departments

Konstfack has four departments:
* Craft
* Design, Interior architecture and Visual communications
* Fine Art
* Department of Visual Arts and Sloyd Education

### Examinations and The Degree Exhibition

The third year of the bachelor's programme and the second year of the master's includes a degree project, ten weeks at BFA-level and twenty at MFA-level, ending with a public examination and, if the student passes the examination, an exhibition for all graduating students: the Degree Exhibition (Vårutställningen in Swedish). The annual exhibition usually takes place at Konstfack during two weeks in May, with around 180 exhibiting students, and attracts thousands of visitors. Link to the official website for the Spring Exhibition 2023.

## 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):

### Fine arts

* Hilma af Klint (1862–1944),
* Stig Lindberg (1916–1982) textile and ceramic designer,
* Annika von Hausswolff (born 1967),
* Carl Milles (1875–1955),
* Johanna Billing (born 1973),
* Miriam Bäckström (born 1967),
* Caroline Schlyter (born 1961),
* Mamma Andersson (born 1962),
* Annie Bergman (1889–1987),
* Elsa Björkman-Goldschmidt (1888–1982),
* Siri Derkert (1888–1973),
* Elsa Danson Wåghals (1885–1977)

#### Ceramics and glass

* Bertil Vallien (born 1938),
* Per B. Sundberg,
* Zandra Ahl,
* Christian-Pontus Andersson (born 1977)

### Design
#### Graphic design and illustration

* Carl Johan De Geer (artist and designer),
* Lasse Åberg (filmmaker),
* Brita Granström (artist and illustrator),
* Lars Hall (advertising),
* Tuulikki Pietilä (artist),
* Stina Wirsén (illustrator),
* Tove Jansson (artist and illustrator),
* Vivi Sylwan (drawing instructor, textile historian and textile curator)

#### Interior architecture and furniture design

* Claesson Koivisto Rune,
* Greta Magnusson-Grossman

#### Industrial design

* A & E Design,
* Katja Pettersson,
* Veryday (formerly Ergonomidesign),

#### Metal design

* Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe,

#### Textiles

* Astrid Sampe,
* Hans Krondahl,
* Helena Hernmarck

### Art education

* Cecilia Torudd (cartoonist),
* Elsa Beskow (writer and illustrator of children's books),
* Jockum Nordström (artist).

## Sources

* 1 2 3 4 "Konstfack" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
* ↑ Annual report 2022 (in Swedish, read 18 October 2023) and annual report 2020 (in Swedish, read 27 October 2020).
* 1 2 3 4 5 "This is Konstfack History". konstfack.se.
* 1 2 Björkman, Ivar; Konstfack 2006-07, Stockholm 2006. ISBN /91-85549-00-2, ISBN /978-91-85549-00-9.
* ↑ "Sveriges Arkitekter - Konstfack Telefonplan 7 juni 2004". Archived from the original on 2006-01-28. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
* ↑ "Klint, Hilma Af". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00099420. ISBN 978-0-19-989991-3.
* ↑ Museum of Designand Craft. "Stig Lindberg". Röhsska museet.
* ↑ Global Feminism: New Directions in Contemporary Art. pp. 247–248. ISBN 9780872731578.
* ↑ "Annie Bergman". Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
* ↑ "Elsa Andrea Elisabeth Björkman-Goldschmidt". skbl.se. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
* ↑ "Siri Karin Derkert". skbl.se. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
* ↑ Hammenbeck, Stefan. "Anna Ingeborg Elsa Danson Wåghals". Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon (SKBL) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
* ↑ "Danson, Elsa". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford University Press. 31 October 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00046662. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
* ↑ "skbl.se - Anna Sofia Vivi Sylwan". skbl.se. Retrieved 2024-09-30.