LM Ericssons väg 14
SE-126 27 Stockholm
Sweden
T +46 8 450 41 00
Mara Lee Gerdén joins Konstfack as Professor of Theory and Art History. She has an international artistic practice that stretches from poetry to performance lectures and essays. She has a PhD in literary composition from Valand Academy and is currently running a research project that is investigating the connection between emotions and power within art and literature. What unifies Lee Gerdén’s artistic practice is an approach that integrates marginalised histories and positions based on the problematisation of dominant knowledge traditions. As an author, essayist and researcher, Lee Gerdén has been widely published and has a broad international network. She has extensive experience of teaching theory and essay writing within tertiary education in the fine arts.
Mara Lee Gerdén (born in 1972) has published a number of books. Her début was Kom (2000), which addresses issues such as power, sexuality and femininity and the novel Ladies which has been translated into several languages. She has also translated works by the Canadian poet Anne Carson. Mara Lee Gerdén obtained her PhD in 2014 in the subject literary composition from the University of Gothenburg with the thesis När Andra skriver: Skrivande som motstånd, ansvar och tid (The writing of Others: Writing conceived as resistance, responsibility and time).
She joins the Art department’s faculty that consists of professors Loulou Cherinet, Every Ocean Hughes (formerly known as Emily Roysdon), and Lisa Tan.
With senior lecturers Henrik Andersson, Ricardo Atenzia, Johanna Billing, Johana Gustafsson Fürst, Martin Gustavsson, Mathew Gregory, Gunnar Larsson, Anita Malmqvist, Palle Torsson, Joanna Warsza. Lecturers Lars Ernholm, Cecilia Järdemar, Thomas Karlsson, Johan Paalzow, Nina Svensson, Ann-Marie Tung Hermelin.
Doctoral students in the department are Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen, Behzad Khosravi, and Cara Tolmie.
Magnus Bärtås is Head of Research at Konstfack.
Gunilla Muhr is the Head of Department.
Other news
Professor Every Ocean Hughes is the recipient of the prestigious Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University fellowship for the 2019–20 academic year. Her most recent project, Help the Dead, recently debuted at KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin and at Volt in Bergen. Thomas Elovsson will serve as guest professor during this time.
And Konstfack has received a grant from the European Commission, Erasmus+ to partner with Birzeit University in Ramallah for the 2019–20 and 2020–21. Thanks to this grant, art students and teachers at Konstfack and Birzeit will be able to visit and work at each partner institution to share questions, skills and teaching and learning methods and experiences. Please contact senior lecturer, Ricardo Atenzia ricardo.Atienza [at] konstfack.se for more information.
Public lecture and artist talk series
The art department’s public lecture and artist talk program takes place in the evenings, 5:30–7pm in either the Svarta Havet or Mandelgren auditoriums at Konstfack. This year’s series has been organized by professor Lisa Tan. All lectures are free and open to the public. Welcome to all!
Michael Rakowitz, September 19
Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz makes sculptures, installations, gestures and actions that grapple with the history of Iraq, its diaspora, and the broader Middle East. He is associate professor at Northwestern University in Chicago,IL.
James Richards, October 10
James Richards is an artist living and working in Berlin, Germany. Through archival research, found footage and extensive collaboration, his video, sound and curatorial projects examine themes of obsession, desire and technology.
Jumana Manna, January 21
Jumana Manna is an American-born artist of Palestinian decent raised in Jerusalem. She works primarily with sculpture and film to addresses the body, nationalism, history and the construction of community.
Please check konstfack.se for any updates or email lisa.tan [at] konstfack.se for more information.
About Konstfack
Konstfack is Sweden’s largest university of arts, crafts and design and has educated the artists, designers, craftspeople and teachers of tomorrow since 1844. All our study programmes, as well as our research, are based on an artistic foundation and we currently have approximately 1,000 students and 200 employees.
