Exhibition: Make it Grow – Textile expressions as public art 

Velvety lianas in a concrete house, a wild horse at the Police, a pillowcase for dreams at a workplace for socio-economic analyses and a figure rolled up in a mattress at the Employment Agency. The exhibition Det ska växa – textila uttryck som offentlig konst (Make it Grow – textile expressions as public art), which opens at the Public Art Agency this autumn, highlights textile works from the Public Art Agency’s collection and production.

The inspiration for the exhibition is Agneta Flock’s large-scale textile sculpture Det skall växa – Sammetsdjungel (Make it Grow – Velvet jungle) from 1975. The work was commissioned by the Public Art Agency for the then newly built parts of the Garnisonen quarter, which emerged on Östermalm in Stockholm.

In the exhibition, Sammetsdjungel is in dialogue with around forty textile works from the Public Art Agency’s collection. The works express moods and temperament through the handicraft, materials and motifs, created by artists who sensitively and with great knowledge pursue and develop traditions, or eagerly move outside of conventions to explore new forms of production. The artworks in the exhibition have either been purchased for the Public Art Agency’s collection or been produced for specific locations to be shown at workplaces, universities and in various public environments.

The large-scale work Sammetsdjungel (Velvet Jungle) was developed in collaboration between the artist and experts at Handarbetets Vänner (Friends of Handicraft), with whom the Public Art Agency has collaborated for nearly 90 years. The exhibition period coincides with their 150th anniversary.

Opening hours and programme

Here you can find the exhibition’s opening hours and when we have guided tours and workshops. The programme is continuously updated.

October

• 1 October, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 1 October, 17.30 Guided tour 45-minute tour (in Swedish)
• 2 October, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open and workshop by Sarai Alvarez Riveros
• 3 October, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open during Stockholm Craft Week
• 4 October, 11.00–16.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open during Stockholm Craft Week
• 5 October, 13.00–16.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open during Stockholm Craft Week
• 8 October, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 15 October, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 22 October, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 22 October, 17.30 Guided tour 45-minute tour (in Swedish)

November

• 5 November, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 5 November, 17.30 Guided tour 45-minute tour (in Swedish)
• 12 November, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 19 November, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open

December – Closed 

January

• 21 January, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 28 January, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 28 January, 17.30 Guided tour 45-minute tour (in Swedish)

February

• 4 February, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 11 February, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 11 February, 17.30 Guided tour 45-minute tour (in Swedish)
• 18 February, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open
• 25 February, 16.00–19.00 Exhibition Det ska växa is open

Works by the following artists are shown in the exhibition:

Maria Adlercreutz, Sarai Alvarez Riveros, Gert Aspelin, Rut Beskow, Eva Björkström, [krig] – Karin Bäckström and Jon Perman, Moki Cherry, Birgitta Dahlström, Vera Danielsson, Maj-Britt Engström, Erik Thulén, Elisabet Eriksson, Agneta Flock, Margareta Gelin, Anita Graffman, Sigrid Hansson, Petter Hellsing, Göran Hägg, Ingela Ihrman, Sandra Ikse, Moa Israelsson, Sten Kauppi, Karin Keisu and Josse Thuresson, Lisskulla Brenner, José Luis Martinat, Esse McChesney, Kaisa Melanton, Elsa Montell-Saanio, Valeria Montti Colque, Gunwor Nordström, Anna Persson, Majlis Persson, Marga Persson, Kajsa af Petersens, Tuula Savolainen, Anita Ullerstam, Karin Widbom, Ludvig Ödman

Curators: Annika Enqvist, program manager and Niki Kralli Anell, producer
Exhibition team: Nilo Amlashi, Vera Halla, Paul Kokamägi, Linda Nykopp and Therese Segerstedt, Anna Wallgren, Eva Malm Öhrström.