A HOME
Beckmans School of Design | String Furniture
A project within Vandalorum’s Art and Industry program
The Gallery. 28.10 – 14.1 2024
The program Art and Industry at Vandalorum creates exchanges between industries in Småland and Swedish design and art schools. These exchanges focus on perspectives and approaches through critical examinations of materials, processes, and products. The program’s pilot project, titled “A Home,” involves bachelor’s students from Visual Communication at Beckmans School of Design in Stockholm and String Furniture, manufacturing at Lovas Svets, located outside Anderstorp. String Furniture has donated six shelves to the students from Beckmans. By placing objects in each shelf – without altering it in any other way – the students have experimented with the function, form, history, and symbolic values of the String shelf. They have also designed graphic identities for the shelves. The thematic starting point for their work has been “folkhemmet”, the people’s home, a concept coined by the social democrat Per Albin Hansson in 1928.
In 1949, the publisher Bonniers realized that they could sell more books if the bookshelf had a more central place in Swedish post-war homes. They therefore announced a competition in which they sought a shelf that was affordable, easy to transport, and equally easy to assemble. The contribution by Nisse and Kajsa Strinning, the String shelf, was chosen as the winner and became a very common piece of furniture in Swedish homes during the 1950s. During the same period, Sweden left behind the era of national romanticism and embraced growth and societal development, shifting focus from German and French culture to American culture; Swedish entrepreneurship and industry thrived, topping international trade statistics and welcoming extensive labor immigration; social reforms that laid the foundation for the “folkhemmet” were
implemented; in the Olympic Games, Sweden excelled as one of the highest-ranking nations. Sweden maintained neutrality during the Cold War, and Dag Hammarskjold became the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations; homosexuality had recently been decriminalized, and soon the State Institute for Racial Biology would cease to exist. The story of Sweden underwent a radical transformation.
The title “A Home” refers to the “folkhemmet” but also alludes to belonging within the nation. What was the “folkhemmet”? And what is it today? Who has been included in it, and who has been excluded from it? The title can also be traced back to sayings like “my home is my castle,” Alice Tegner’s song “Du svenska bygd, du hem i nord” from 1901, and Carl Larsson’s book “A Home” from 1899, which aimed to serve as an example of how Swedes should decorate their homes.
The Art and Industry program at Vandalorum is carried out in collaboration with and with the support of The Hamrin Foundation.
Thanks to Beckmans School of Design, String Furniture, Lovas Svets, the Swedish Arts Council, Region Jönköping County, Värnamo Municipality, and Vandalorum’s Partners: Hamrin, Liljedahl & Svenstig
Photo: Sune Sundahl, String Design, 1958 / ArkDes
VANDALORUM Skulpturvägen 2, 33144 Värnamo. Tel. 0370-30 22 00
info@vandalorum.se • www.vandalorum.se
More news from Vandalorum:
Take the opportunity to visit The Bruno Mathsson Prize 40 Years is on display @ Vandalorum until 30/3 2025
Throughout his life, furniture designer and architect Bruno Mathsson (1907-88) was focused on creating a …
Kustaa Saksi Borderlands 16/11 2024 – 11/5 2025 @ Vandalorum
Photo: Jussi Puikkonen. Vandalorum proudly presents the first solo museum exhibition in Sweden by the …
Bruno Mathsson’s prize celebrates 40 years with extensive exhibition @ Vandalorum
26 October 2024–15 June 2025 In 2024, it will be 40 years since the Bruno …
The Bruno Mathsson Prize 40 Years @ Vandalorum 26/10 2024 – 27/4 2025
The Bruno Mathsson Prize is the largest design prize in the Nordic countries. The prize …
The exhibition Garden Futures: Design that grows @ Vandalorum
Stefano Boeri, Bosco Verticale, Milan, 2014 © Stefano Boeri Architetti. Photo: The Blink Fish, 2018. …
Garden Futures: Design that grows @ Vandalorum
Stefano Boeri, Bosco Verticale, Milan, 2014 © Stefano Boeri Architetti. Photo: The Blink Fish, 2018. …
Beckmans Design school | String Furniture: A Home @ Vandalorum
A HOME Beckmans School of Design | String Furniture A project within Vandalorum’s Art and …
Front Exhibition “Design by Nature” in Formladan, Vandalorum 3 June – 5 November 2023
The 2023 Bruno Mathsson award winner is Front, one of Sweden’s internationally most established design …
Lisa Larson exhibition 22/4–5/11 2023 @ Vandalorum
Vandalorum is pleased to present an extensive exhibition with artist and ceramist Lisa Larson. Larson …
New exhibition with Bruno Mathsson prize winner Pierre Sindre @ Vandalorum
It is now time for Pierre Sindre to receive this year’s Bruno Mathsson Prize, one …
Tips for the upcoming Christmas-holiday: Monica Förster Bruno Mathsson prize 2021 @ Vandalorum
The exhibition “Monica Förster Bruno Mathsson prize 2021” will be shown from November 20th 2021 …
Travel as a tool @ Vandalorum
27 March – 19 September is a joint Nordic exhibition that considers the significance of …
Systrarna Jobs 21/3 – 27/9 2020 @ Vandalorum
The sisters Lisbet Jobs (1909–61) and Gocken Jobs (1914–95) created ceramics and patterns for textiles …
Pierre Sindre exhibition “Små stad” @ Vandalorum
Exhibition 27/6–18/8 VANDALORUM Box 404 331 24 Värnamo Tel. 0370-30 22 00 info@vandalorum.se www.vandalorum.se
Fredrik Wretman @ Vandalorum
Fredrik Wretman: I C 3 D Exhibition 15/6–20/10 2019 We are proud to present artist …
Staffan Holm: Presens @ Vandalorum
Utställning i Formladan, 8 december 2018 – 12 maj 2019 Vernissage 8/12 kl 14 med …
Wasteland från avfall till arkitektur – Vandalorum
Wasteland – från avfall till arkitektur 16.6 2018 – 13.1 2019 Vernissage 16.6 kl. 14. …
Signe Persson-Melin @ Vandalorum
SIGNE PERSSON-MELIN Tingen måste ha utstrålning! Utställning i Formladan, 2 juni–21 oktober 2018 Vandalorums stora …
Utsnitt @ Vandalorum, 26/11, 2017 – 4/3, 2018
UTSNITT ur Tore G Wärenstams samling 25/11 2017 – 4/3 2018 Vinterns stora utställning i …
Eero Aarnio @ Vandalorum 3/6–8/10 2017
EERO AARNIO – en finsk designikon Utställning i Formladan 3 juni-8 oktober 2017 Vernissage 3 …
Ljus @ Vandalorum. 6/5 – 15/9 2017
Utställning i Lada 1: 6 maj-15 oktober 2017 Vernissage fredag 5 maj kl 18 med …
Jonas Bohlin @ Vandalorum. 21/1–28/5 2017
Utställning i Formladan 21 januari–28 maj 2017 Vernissage lördag 21 januari kl 14 i samband …
Jonas Bohlin @ Vandalorum
Premiärutställning med JONAS BOHLIN i Formladan Vernissage 21 januari 2017 med Jonas Bohlin och museichef …
Ingegerd Råman, 3/9 – 22/1 2017
Estimated and popular exhibition gives extension of Ingegerd Råman exhibition at Vandalorum. Will be shown …
Gustav Person – Till för fogande @ Vandalorum
GUSTAV PERSON: Till för fogande Utställning + byggsats i monumentalformat, 11 juni – 21 augusti …
The New Map, 9/4–29/5 2016
How can we find a new pathway for local production and consumption? 24 designers and …
Ralph Erskine 7/11 2015 – 10/1 2016 Vandalorum
Ralph Erskine 7.11 2015 – 10.1 2016 Arkitekt med engagemang för samhället och människan. Vandalorum …
Bruno Mathsson-priset 2015 29/8 – 1/11 Vandalorum
Utställning med årets pristagare Claesson Koivisto Rune Bruno Mathsson-priset delas ut den 29 augusti 2015 …
Byggstenar – Bruno Mathsson, Ditte Hammerstrøm, Sigurður Gústafsson
Utställning i Lada 1, Museum Vandalorum, 4 juli-1 november 2015 Sommarens huvudutställning på konst- och …
25 KVADRAT: 25 arkitekter tolkar Attefall 2015 @ Vandalorum
Utställning + öppen studio 13 juni–18 augusti 2015 I sommar visar Vandalorum 25 svenska arkitektkontors …
Nordic Design Today 2013 @ Vandalorum
Exhibition of the World’ s Largest Design Prize at Vandalarum VANDALORUM is honared to …