Futuristic folklore, heavy soap bubbles and multifaceted modules with flexible forms. Young Swedish Design 2024 encompasses everything from childbirth instructions to zero waste with maximum design. Sustainability and circularity are central themes in the exhibition, which is stopping in Älmhult as part of its annual tour.
With craftsmanship, creativity and a sense for materials, this year’s young designers show the latest and most innovative in Swedish design, with a clear commitment to solving some of the challenges of our age. The works also show innovative problem-solving and climate-smart thinking around circularity. One example is a piece of furniture that the user can assemble and adapt themselves, building a personal relationship over time.
– “We see Young Swedish Design as an important platform for young talent, people who help make every day a little more beautiful with fresh, innovative design. At IKEA Museum, we’re proud to showcase Young Swedish Design for our guests and help promote knowledge about innovative Swedish design,” says Wanda Blom Backlund, Exhibition Manager at IKEA Museum.
IKEA offers one of the Young Swedish Design nominees a five-month working scholarship, including pay and accommodation in Älmhult. This year’s scholarship winner, Mia Lehtonen Madsen, will be in attendance when the exhibition opens at IKEA Museum in Älmhult.
Opening
The exhibition officially opens at IKEA Museum on 12 September 2024 at 11:45 local time. Attending will be Eva Lilja Löwenhielm, Design Manager IKEA of Sweden, Björn Nordin, CEO Svensk Form, Mia Lehtonen Madsen, winner of the IKEA scholarship 2024, and Therese Ståhl, Project Coordinator IKEA Museum. Amanda Wisselgren, one of the Young Swedish Design 2024 winners, will also present the dance costumes she has designed.
MIA LEHTONEN MADSEN – THE SKY IS THE MIRROR
“My graduation project, The Sky Is The Mirror, is a contemporary reworking of astrology based on three textile techniques: jacquard weaving, rope braiding and hand weaving. The wearable textiles are designed around a zero waste approach, with individualisation through astrology.”
Tour 2024
Young Swedish Design is a touring exhibition stopping at a selection of Sweden’s leading museums and cultural centres.
6–10 February: Launch in the Greenhouse during the Stockholm Furniture Fair
29 February – 7 April: Dunkers Culture House, Helsingborg
23–26 May – Form/Design Center Malmö: ‘Lokstallarna’, the old railway workshops during Southern Sweden Design Days
15 June – 18 August: Sara Kulturhus, Skellefteå
12 September – 20 October: IKEA Museum, Älmhult
16 November – 19 January (2025): Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg
About Young Swedish Design:
Since Young Swedish Design began in 1998, the jury-appointed award and touring exhibition have become the most important forum in Sweden for designers at the outset of their career. Today, the exhibition brings together designers, the commercial sector, the public and the media to consider the important issues of our time, and how design can be part of the solution.
The Young Swedish Design exhibition 2024 is a co-production between Svensk Form and Dunkers Culture House. The project is presented in association with IKEA of Sweden, IKEA Museum, the City of Malmö, Stockholm Furniture Fair, Swedish Wood, and a raft of scholarship providers and exhibition organisers.
Svensk Form – The Swedish Society of Crafts and Design – is an independent, not-for-profit member association for individuals, businesses and professionals in design and architecture. Originally Svenska Slöjdföreningen, Svensk Form was founded in 1845 and has since always promoted and advocated for design both in Sweden and internationally. Svensk Form has published the magazine Form since 1905.