"During this lecture we will explore the critical and caring potential of craft. By following the threads of craft, we can learn with various places, local makings, various conditions, many imaginations, and diverse histories. Yet, we see how craft following epistemologies of Western modernity is divided into categories such as applied arts, handicrafts, Art, ethnography, and culture history, a division that has resulted in separate histories and institutions. Starting in the Luleå Biennial 2022 – Craft and Art, this lecture will discuss the caring potential of craft if we view craft through a place-based understanding instead of a pre-defined institutional framework. The Luleå Biennial is Scandinavia’s oldest art biennial, taking place in Sápmi - the land of the indigenous Sami people. In the 2022 biennial edition expanded its contemporary art remit to include craft, an expansion opened up for a dynamic listening and learnings beyond given epistemological separations. The lecture will examine how we, through craft, can articulate dialogues with places and people on their own terms instead of viewing them through predetermined hierarchies or value standards."
Christina Zetterlund is a craft and design historian, active as associate professor at Linnaeus University and independent curator. She formulates histories from the perspective of local practices and class. Among her most recent projects are (Re-)learning the Archive (2021-23), Luleå Biennial 2022 – Craft & Art (in collaboration with Onkar Kular), and During the Lunchbreak (2019) alongside the books Småland & Sápmi. Sápmi & Småland. Design histories from different geographies (2023, in collaboration with Anna Westman Kuhmunen) and Nordic Design Cultures in Transformation, 1960–1980 Revolt and Resilience (2022, in collaboration with Kjetil Fallan & Anders V. Munch). She is currently curator in residence with Norwegian Crafts.
*The lecture will be held in English.