13/5–27/8 2023: Designarkivet, Nybro
22/11 2023–14/1 2024: Form/Design Center, Malmö
Round Here is about the many different craft and design histories that exist around us, here in Småland. The exhibition tells you about design and craft in a broad sense – about design and craft that deal with the shaping of everyday life, design and craft that are not tied to purchasing power, products, and abstract perceptions of beauty and ugliness. The exhibition shows a selection of Designarkivet’s extensive collection of artistic processes, but above all, Designarkivet steps aside to make space for a diversity of stories that were previously not visible in design historiography.
Historically, very little design history has been written from Småland, despite the fact that a great deal of design has been produced here, not least through the successful glass and furniture industries. Instead, the design history has been formulated and decided by the institutions, museums, and universities of the big cities. Similar structures are also reflected in Designarkivet’s collection, a collection based on the individual designer’s design processes and products. The exhibition Round Here is instead about design and craft that can be found in civil society today, in local heritage museums and local historical networks. Together we write craft and design history with the entire Småland – a diverse story about different everyday lives, about material skills and crafts, and about life out in the country districts.
The exhibition is produced by Designarkivet and summarises the three-year development project (Re-)learning the Archive. The project has developed a method for how we can expand the writing of design history through an inclusive, listening, and learning practice.
PARTICIPANTS
Magnus Bärtås & Behzad Khosravi Noori, Dädesjö Hembygdsförening, Annika Elmqvist, Makda Embaie, Frantzwagner sällskapet, Hönsalottas Luffarmuseum, Kalmar Läns Hemslöjd, MADAM snickeri och restaurering, Evelina Mohei, Tuomo Nieminen, Ann Rydh, Sandsjö hembygdsgård, Studio Goja, Rosa Tolnov Clausen & Daniele Burlando.
