True to tradition, the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm will once again open its Graduation Show at Konstakademien, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts on Fredsgatan, in May 2024. This has been the case for 240 years, since the first showcase of students’ work was presented at the first public exhibition in Sweden in 1784.
Until 1977, the fine art school—Kungl. Konsthögskolan/the Royal Institute of Art we know today—was part of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. After the passing of the Higher Education Act in 1977, the Royal Institute of Art became the nation’s foremost art school. By this time, a slow relocation from Fredsgatan to Skeppsholmen had already begun, where the Royal Institute of Art has been since 1995.
When the Graduation Show opens its doors on Fredsgatan on May 23, 2024, it builds on a long tradition. But that does not mean the exhibition is traditional. Quite the contrary. Every year, new artists present renewed visions for contemporary art, which always seems to be in a state of flux. With sensitivity to the world we live in, art offers new perspectives or ways of thinking. The artistic process is like a seismographic device of the undercurrents of reality and the artwork presented is therefore a statement where contemporary viewers can find new angles or ways to think about life.
Two hundred and forty years ago, art was dictated by subject categories in sculpture and painting, which art education was supposed to teach the student how to master. Artistic craftsmanship was the focus of these elevated subjects. Today, artists at the Royal Institute of Art are not forced to master a specific category but rather open to the possibilities presented by the subject and materials of their choosing. The need for reflection is greater than ever in today’s troubled world and art is an expression that represents, directly or indirectly, something fundamental about human existence. The expressions in this year’s Graduation Show are thus also many, from self-contained, reflective, abstract, and mood-setting to political artworks that call to engage in a direct dialogue with the viewer.
The fact that this year’s Graduation Show can once again be seen at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts is not a given considering the financial challenges in both the educational and cultural sectors. Rising rents are making it harder and harder to use Stockholm’s historic cultural buildings for what they were always intended for. The Royal Institute of Art rents the exhibition spaces at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts to present its Graduation Show, and it does so with pride, but our institution is also cognizant of the financial hit this spells. The Royal Institute of Art hopes to continue to exhibit at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in these steady yet ever-changing exhibition spaces, which have been home and host to the ever-changing nature of art over the centuries.
This year, the Royal Institute of Art has had the great pleasure of receiving a donation to realize this catalogue, which is supplemented by an online catalogue available on the school’s website. It is with great gratitude that I, on behalf of the Royal Institute of Art, would like to thank Pontus Bonnier for his generous support of this publication, as well as presenting one of our graduating students with a substantial scholarship. The Royal Institute of Art hopes that this can be an inspiration to others, because this changing world is not only affecting the artist and the arts, but also the institutions of art.
A big thank you goes to all the graduating students for their contribution to this exhibition. Thanks also to the teachers involved and those responsible for the exhibition, the professor Asier Mendizabal, adjunct professor Gunilla Klingberg and the the Royal Institute of Art’s curator Silvia Thomackenstein, as well as all other staff who contribute to the school’s daily operations. And last but not least, a big thank you to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts for hosting the exhibition for the (almost) 240th time!
Sanne Kofod Olsen is Vice-Chancellor at the Royal Insitute of Art.