Artists: Skaparkollektivet FORMA

Today, the non-profit association 17 000 owns the artwork. The association aims to promote and encourage the individual’s inherent ability to independently and collaboratively create a society defined by empathy, compassion and respect.

Photos: Felix Gerlach

In seeing the artwork as a method in an aesthetic, conceptual and powerful design, the Jury were unanimous in naming 17 000 this year’s winner of the category Applied arts and crafts. An unusually large collective creative process illustrates politics in a tender, poetic and inclusive way. Idea and execution are married and materialise a number as a bodily experience, making 17 000 a truly monumental work to be experienced in many ways and places.

Artist: Cecilia Levy
Client: Stockholm County Council, Nya Karolinska

With In Fusion – Contemplation Pieces, Cecilia Levy combines her keensense of paper with a clever concept. The work’s many layers, figurative and literal, offer poetic and thought-provoking expressions that linger. A brilliant example of how well handcrafts work as public decoration.

Artist: Kristin Larsson
Exhibitor: Blås & Knåda

In an almost alchemical process, Kristin Larsson experiments with materials and technology in objects that challenge prevailing glassblowing traditions. According to this year’s Design S Jury, Kattguldet represents the exploratory joy and curiosity representative of contemporary handcrafts.

Artist: Åsa Elmstam

Exhibited at Hangmen projects and Konsthantverkarna 2019.

With her project ”Vad är jag värd”, Åsa Elmstam sheds light on how handcrafts are valued in the apparatus of contemporary production. Her thoughtful design opens up for discussion about the value, not just the result, of what different bodies do both in a locally oriented crafts practice and in a global market.