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Beckmans School of Design

Are We There Yet? – Beckmans in collaboration with the Beijer Institute and Svenskt Tenn – 18 April 2023

April 13, 2023
Black spherical sculpture made of tightly clustered baby faces, on a white plinth.
Translucent yellowish panel with faint print and dark burn marks, hanging from chains against a white wall.
Three stacked oval discs in green, white and pink, shaped like a painter's palette, on a white plinth with the text "use with caution".
Three rounded vases in green, yellow and pink holding tulips, parrot tulips, hydrangeas and baby's breath, on a white plinth.
Facing Our Future by Gabriel Ankar and Rebecca Lagerstedt. Photo: Jonas Hemlin and Greta Gustafsson

The annual interdisciplinary collaboration between Visual Communication students at Beckmans College of Design, researchers at the Beijer Institute and Svenskt Tenn was launched in 2017.

The collaboration “Are We There Yet” aims to create new ways for research and visual communication to meet and interact, giving form to knowledge and communicating it on both intellectual and emotional levels.

In this year’s collaboration, the students interpret the Beijer Institute’s timely research into antimicrobial resistance—one of the greatest threats to global health and food security. Resistance occurs naturally, but the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals accelerates the process. The students aim to challenge common misconceptions and encourage dialogue, emphasising that action at every level of society can reduce the impact and limit the spread of resistance.

“This collaboration between Beckmans College of Design, the Beijer Institute and Svenskt Tenn opens the door wide between research and visual communication. Giving students the opportunity to engage with current research and explore ways of communicating antimicrobial resistance inspires experimentation grounded in the seriousness of the issue. That is valuable to us all,” says Sophia Wood, Senior Lecturer and Course Director at Beckmans College of Design.

Research shows that antibiotic resistance has already reached a critical point worldwide. What will it take for the rest of us to understand?

“This year’s collaboration with Beckmans students on antimicrobial resistance has been a truly inspiring experience. At our first meeting, it was clear that the subject was unfamiliar to them, but also that there was a strong desire to learn more and understand it. The process challenged us as researchers to make our work more concrete and accessible, which has been valuable. As always, it is remarkable to see how the students have approached the subject and transformed its messages into different art forms—each highly original and far beyond our own ideas of what was possible,” says Max Troell, a researcher at the Beijer Institute.

Participating students: Andreas Rehnberg, Caroline Hallersjö, Ernst Lilja, Gabriel Ankar, Greta Gustafsson, Jonas Hemlin, Justus Skördeman, Klara Viridén, Linnéa Arminda Birkelund, Ludvig Wänelöf, Mauritz Larsson, Oscar Hagberg, Rebecca Lagerstedt, Salmah Jumbe, Ted Söderberg.

Course leader: Sophia Wood

External mentor: Helena Hammarskiöld

Visual identity: Andreas Rehnberg, Caroline Hallersjö, Ernst Lilja, Klara Viridén, Ludvig Wänelöf, Mauritz Larsson.

Participating researchers: Max Troell, Patrik Henriksson (Beijer Institute), Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Tiscar Graells (GEDB), Andrea Caputo Svensson (ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance)

Svenskt Tenn: Thommy Bindefeld (Senior Advisor), Karin Södergren (Lead Curator), Åsa Brenner Toris (Curator), Klara Hjärtsjö (Project Coordinator).

Exhibitions and dates: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, 18 April–8 May
University Main Building, Uppsala, 9–10 May
Svenskt Tenn, Stockholm, 8–17 June

About Svenskt Tenn and the Beijer Institute: Svenskt Tenn is owned by the Beijer Foundation, and the company’s profits support research primarily in ecological economics, environmental conservation and medicine, as well as the advancement of Swedish interiors and design. Sustainability, quality and commitment have been the company’s core values since it was founded in 1924.