Published – The Photobook in Sweden

Published is the first exhibition to highlight the history of the photobook in Sweden, from the earliest examples from the 1860s to today’s extensive publishing. The exhibition includes 200 titles based on three central themes in photography: Society, The Self, and The Image. As part of the exhibition, a series of artist talks, book launches, and interviews with leading photographers, designers, collectors, and publishers will be organized. The exhibition is curated by Niclas Östlind, Akademin Valand in collaboration with Elsa Modin and Louise Wolthers, Hasselblad Foundation.

Program and activities

February 8, 5–8 PM
Opening

February 9, 1–3 PM
Published – a historical exposé of the photobook part 1
Fotoskolan STHLM is organizing four photo-historical lectures based on the photobook. The lecturer is Niclas Östlind, Ph.D. in photography, curator, and author. Niclas Östlind specializes in photography, contemporary art, and historiography. The first lecture provides a background to the great interest in photobooks that has grown since the beginning of the 2000s, and how it has affected the understanding of photo history. The focus is on books published between 1860–1940 and where both scientific and artistic publications have a prominent place. See dates below for parts 2-4 of the lectures.
Organizer: Fotoskolan STHLM/Folkuniversitetsföreningen

Saturday 9/2, 3:30 PM-4:15 PM
Publishing in an expanded field
Kalle Sanner presents Akademin Valand’s work on developing courses in publishing and around the publication with the courses Artist Book and Publication in the expanded field. Åsa Andersson Broms and Carl Johan Erikson present the Royal Institute of Art’s course The Photographic Artist’s Book, a one-year course primarily aimed at those working in the fields of art, photography, and publishing.
Moderators: Annika Thörn Legzdins, chairman of Fotoförfattarna/Swedish Photographers’ Association and Pelle Kronestedt, operations manager CFF.

February 10, 1–3 PM
Published – a historical exposé of the photobook part 2
The second lecture will be a review of the photobook from the 1950s to the postmodern breakthrough in the 1990s. Books that tell about both Sweden and other countries have a strong presence, as do the documentary accounts of various workplaces and environments that shape people’s lives. During this period, there is also a shift where the book is increasingly regarded as an object in itself. See dates below for parts 3-4 of the lectures.
Organizer: Fotoskolan STHLM/Folkuniversitetsföreningen

February 10, 3:30–4:30 PM
Book release: Me, the Studio
Beata Fransson in a conversation about her book Me, the Studio with the publisher Matilda Plöjel, publisher from Sailor Press and Niclas Östlind. Me, the Studio is an artistic project that has been going on for over ten years. Beata Fransson has investigated early photography history, especially from how the medium was developed to be able to portray people and how it in turn affected concepts such as individuality and identity.
Organizer: Sailor Press

February 12, 9 AM–12 PM
Book production from start to finish
About printing technology, repro, color management with Magnus Sandström, color management manager at TMG Sthlm.
Organizer: TMG Sthlm

February 13, 6–7:30 PM
The Self, the Image, and Society
The photographers Anna Clarén, Hannah Modigh and Ewa Stackelberg speak on the theme of The Self, the image and society together with Fotografisk Tidskrift’s editor Jenny Morelli. In what ways do the books depict and guide identities and societies? How does the photographer manifest their own position, and how do the stories go between fiction and the documentary requirement? What are the specific qualities and opportunities for the photobook and the image, can they be seen as artistic expressions?
Organizer: CFF and Fotoförfattarna/SFF

February 16, 10 AM–12 PM
Published – a historical exposé of the photobook part 3
The third part focuses on the development of the photobook from the 1990s to today – a period that includes both a lively “do-it-yourself” culture and lavish Coffee Table Books. It is also during this period that the photobook gains increasing importance. See below for dates for the final part of the lectures. Lecturer is Niclas Östlind, Ph.D. in photography, curator, and author.
Organizer: Fotoskolan STHLM/Folkuniversitetsföreningen
Link to event and registration >

February 16, 1:30 PM-3:30 PM
Published – a historical exposé of the photobook part 4
In the final lecture, the perspective is broadened and the photobook is placed in the wider context that the institutional establishment of photography in Sweden has meant. It is a journey from the beginning of the 1970s with the Photographic Museum in the Moderna Museet to today and Fotografiska at Stadsgårdskajen. Lecturer is Niclas Östlind, Ph.D. in photography, curator, and author.
Organizer: Fotoskolan STHLM/Folkuniversitetsföreningen
Link to event and registration

February 20, 6–7:30 PM
The Photobook – Now and in the Future
In recent years, we have seen a number of new publishing-related initiatives within the art field emerge. How will we relate to photobooks in the future? How and where are photobooks informed, displayed, noticed, published, sold, read, and archived? Participants: Photographers Björn Larsson, Per Englund and Nina Korhonen. Moderators: Annika Thörn Legzdins, chairman of Fotoförfattarna, Swedish Photographers’ Association and Pelle Kronestedt, operations manager CFF.
Organizer: CFF and Fotoförfattarna/SFF

February 27, 6–7 PM
Collecting – the photographic book as a collector’s item
About the photobook as company, as a voice, as an angel in the room, as comfort and as an exhibition in miniature. Bruno Ehrs, photographer and collector of photographic literature, talks about how and why he built up his large collection. Bruno brings rare photobooks and tells what makes them special.
Organizer: CFF and Fotoförfattarna/SFF

March 1, 5:30–8 PM
Double release and conversation with August Eriksson – Circling the mountain & Lotta Törnroth – Imaginary Islands

6-6:30 PM Book release with photographer and artist August Eriksson in conversation with Susanne Fessé about the book Circling the mountain.
A monk wanders around Mount Hieizan night after night to empty his mind and transform into a living Buddha. At the end, he has traveled a distance equivalent to the circumference of the earth. August Eriksson traveled there to walk around the mountain himself and find the wandering monk. Eriksson is interested in how perception is related to movement and the possibility of finding the meaning of life through something as seemingly desperate as walking in circles.

6:30-7 PM Book release with photographer and artist Lotta Törnroth in conversation with photo historian Iréne Berggren and designer Dennis Hankvist.
Imaginary Islands takes place in Greenland, in the capital Nuuk where Törnroth is on a studio residency. The magnificent beautiful sea that surrounds the island has attracted Törnroth there. There are many who have given their lives to the sea here, but one is also dependent on what the sea gives for survival. In her photographs, she exposes herself to the sea. Early mornings, in freezing cold and with long exposure times, she stands and acts with the light from a flashlight as a communicator between the sea and the viewer of the image.
Organizer: Blackbook Publications and Skreid Publishing.

March 6, 6-7 PM
“A desire to fill a gap”
Can you separate the work from the artist and the artist from the work? How do you make choices of expression? When does it become a film and when does it become a book? Participants: Shaon Chakraborty, artist, photographer and director and Björn Engberg, photographer and artist.
Organizer: CFF, Fotoförfattarna/SFF, Tempo Documentary Festival.

March 7, 5–9 PM
Fotografisk Tidskrift / Tecknaren – Release & Conversation
Double release for Fotografisk Tidskrift and Tecknaren plus a conversation about the interplay between photographer and designer. Participants: Hanna Johansson, AD at Tidningen Vi and Thron Ullberg, photographer. Moderator Maina Arvas, editor-in-chief Tecknaren.
Organizer: Fotoförfattarna/SFF and CFF.

March 9, 1–2:30 PM
Joakim Roos on “The Platz”
Documentary photographer Joakim Roos has worked with visual storytelling for over 30 years. Over the past two years, he has gotten to know a group of Romanian Roma and with The Platz 1 and 2 he portrays their lives, when they are in our geographical location.
Organizer: Fotoförfattarna/SFF, CFF and Tempo Documentary Festival.

March 10, 2–4 PM
Finissage with Gerry Johansson
Gerry Johansson is internationally one of Sweden’s most famous photographers. He began photographing in the late fifties and has contributed to several photography magazines. Since 1985, he has mainly worked as a freelance photographer and has published many photobooks. Gerry Johansson will show and talk about all his books, just over 30 pieces over the years.
Organizer: Fotoförfattarna/SFF and CFF.