Art contre/against Apartheid at Lunds Konsthall: an Entangled History of Art and Solidarity from Paris to Pretoria

This article concerns the international touring exhibition Art contre/against Apartheid originating in France and which reached Lunds konsthall, Sweden in 1984 and was to tour the world for ten years. The aim with this exhibition was to raise awareness of the apartheid regime, cause international protest and ultimately remove the repressive political system. Using histoire croisée as a method this article investigates the different interests and stake-holders in the exhibition at Lunds konsthall, including the critique of the exhibition as resting on white supremacy. The purpose of the article is to locate the different intersections regarding international art, international politics and local history manifested through this exhibition

Lena Cronqvist: Reflections of Girls

The starting point for this PhD, is the large number of girls that opposed the common trend in which girls are represented as innocent, romantic and sexual. The aim of this study has been to provide the first piece of research ever on this body of work by the Swedish artist Lena Cronqvist (b. 1938) and to cast new light on representations of girls in art in general. Cronqvist is one of Sweden's major living artists and between 1990 and 2006 images of girls have been her main theme. In both paintings and sculptures she has explored the theme of girls, offering a challenging viewing experience. The method employed in the thesis can best be described as a visual analysis, in which images are closely studied. Throughout the thesis references are made to literature, photography and film, placing Cronqvist's girl figures in a cultural context stretching beyond visual art. This approach allows for making comparisons with art from the present as well as from the past. The thesis is divided into five different thematic aspects of Lena Cronqvist's work: bathing girls and women, sexually ambiguous bodies, narrative structures, visualisation of memories and aggression. This eclectic reading has led the research in various theoretical directions. However, the theoretical starting point has been gender studies, in which the feminine subject is renegotiated. In art this involves an understanding of the complexities for the woman artist as both the maker of the image and as a subject for the image. This analytical approach casts light on representations of girls in art in general but also highlights how Cronqvist's art stands out by communicating in a language of its own

Kommunicera regionalt- En studie av den regionala planeringsprocessen i Östergötland

Som en följd av omvärldsförändringar och nya resemönster har regionernas roll i samhällsutvecklingen hamnat på agendan de senaste decennierna. Denna uppsats handlar om den regionala planeringsprocessen som idag, till mångt och mycket, går ut på att förankra det regionala perspektivet hos kommuner och andra aktörer i regionen. Detta eftersom Sveriges regionala planeringsorgan saknar både resurser och beslutsfattande. Uppsatsen är baserad på en fallstudie där det valda fallet är regionen Östergötland. Det empiriska materialet består av kvalitativa intervjuer med tjänstemän på Regionförbundet Östsam och ett antal östgötska kommuner. Den empiriska granskningen berör de planeringsprocesser som hittills skett i regionen, men också önskemål och tankar kring kommande processer. Som utgångspunkt för uppsatsens analys ligger huvudsakligen den kommunikativa planeringsteorin. Studien visar att både Regionförbundet och kommunerna efterfrågar en regional planeringsprocess präglad av de kommunikativa planeringsidealen. I uppsatsen klargörs dessutom att de kommunikativa metoderna skulle kunna fungera som lämpliga verktyg för det regionala utvecklingsarbetet. Idag finns dock ett antal faktorer som förhindrar en sådan utveckling. Författaren konstaterar avslutningsvis att det inte räcker med att göra förändringar i den mjuka infrastrukturen (själva processen) för att regionala strategier ska bli implementerade i den kommunala fysiska planeringen. Det måste även ske förändringar i den hårda infrastrukturen (lagar, institutionellt ramverk m.m.) för att detta ska kunna möjliggöras

Exhibiting Art in a European Periphery? International Art in Sweden during the Cold War

The project Exhibiting Art in a European Periphery? International Art in Sweden during the Cold War aimed to investigate international exhibitions in Sweden during the postwar period from circa 1945 to the end of the 1980s. The main objective was to find information beyond preconceived ideas of what is important, interesting, or simply good art. In this article, we present our method for searching through the archives and some of the findings and insights generated

Superlund: Lunds konsthall och det centrala i det perifera

Superlund: Lunds konsthall och det centrala i det perifer

表紙、裏表紙

Bakgrund: Kunskap har på senare år kommit att betraktas som en primär källa till konkurrensfördelar, något som har lett till en ambition bland företag att styra kunskap på ett sätt så att den skapar ekonomiskt och konkurrensmässigt värde för företaget. Detta kräver att företagen skapar förutsättningar för kunskapsdelning, en process som omvandlar individers kunskap till en form som kan förstås, absorberas och användas av andra individer i företaget. Kunskapsdelning anses vara speciellt viktigt i professionella tjänsteföretag såsom revisions- och konsultverksamhet vars verksamhet bygger på just den kunskap som individerna besitter. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera eventuella skillnader mellan revisions- och konsultföretag med avseende på kunskapsdelningssystem, samt utreda vilka anledningar som kan finnas till dessa eventuella skillnader. Vidare syftar studien till att utifrån teoretiska modeller inom kunskapsdelningsområdet presentera förslag på eventuella förbättringar och kompletteringar för kunskapsdelningsystem Genomförande: Uppsatsens innehåll baseras på empiriska data insamlade genom personliga intervjuer genomförda på revisions- och konsultföretag. Det empiriska materialet analyseras sedan med våra teoretiska utgångspunkter som grund, vilka utgörs av teorier på området kunskapsdelning och dess sammanhang. Resultat: I vår analys konstateras vissa skillnader mellan kunskapsdelningssystem i revisions- och konsultverksamhet. Vi konstaterar också att skillnaderna beror på att förutsättningarna för kunskapsdelning ser olika ut mellan yrkesgrupperna med avseende på vilken typ av kunskap som tillämpas, vilka möjligheter som finns att dela kunskap, deras motivation att deras kunskap och den arbetskultur som råder i respektive kategori. Dessa olikheter bidrar till att kunskapsdelningssystemen kan förbättras på olika sätt

A Role for Ethanol-Induced Oxidative Stress in Controlling Lineage Commitment of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Through Inhibition of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

The mechanisms by which chronic ethanol intake induces bone loss remain unclear. In females, the skeletal response to ethanol varies depending on physiologic status (e.g., cycling, pregnancy, or lactation). Ethanol-induced oxidative stress appears to be a key event leading to skeletal toxicity. In this study, ethanol-containing liquid diets were fed to postlactational female Sprague-Dawley rats intragastrically for 4 weeks beginning at weaning. Ethanol consumption decreased bone mineral density (BMD) compared with control animals during this period of bone rebuilding following the end of lactation. Coadministration of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was able to block bone loss and downregulation of the bone-formation markers alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin in serum and gene expression in bone. Real-time array analysis of total RNA isolated from bone tissue revealed that the majority of Wnt signaling components were downregulated by chronic ethanol infusion. Real-time PCR confirmed downregulated gene expression in a subset of the Wnt signaling components by ethanol. However, the Wnt antagonist DKK1 was upregulated by ethanol. The key canonical Wnt signaling molecule β-catenin protein expression was inhibited, while glycogen synthase kinase-3-β was dephosphorylated by ethanol in bone and preosteoblastic cells. These actions of ethanol were blocked by NAC. Ethanol treatment inactivated TCF/LEF gene transcription, eliminated β-catenin nuclear translocation in osteoblasts, and reciprocally suppressed osteoblastogenesis and enhanced adipogenesis. These effects of ethanol on lineage commitment of mesenchymal stem cells were eliminated by NAC pretreatment. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that ethanol inhibits bone formation through stimulation of oxidative stress to suppress Wnt signaling. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

Regional planning from a rural perspective : A discourse analysis of how countryside is perceived in relation to the city in the planning practice of Västerbotten

Sweden is one of the countries of Europe that has the fastest rate of urbanization and The Swedish National Audit Office recognizes a risk of an increased polarization between urban and rural areas. This study examines what perceptions of city and country that are dominating the Swedish planning landscape. The study is based on a discourse analysis of the Regional development strategy of Västerbotten, interviews with officials at rural municipalities and a theoretical framework concerning the relationship between city and country. The results suggest that a market liberal discourse is dominating the Swedish planning practice, but it is also argued that a Keynesian discourse is traceable among the informants. A part from a market liberal discourse the regional development strategy of Västerbotten is also reproducing an unequal balance of power where the city is superior to the countryside. The officials at the municipality are not reproducing this power relation to the same extent, but are associating sustainability with the preconditions of the city. The thesis is concluded with some suggestion on how the regional planning can be developed to promote good living conditions in the rural municipalities and in long term a reduced polarization between urban and rural areas

LET'S GROW : The future of cultivation is in the city

LET’S GROWThe future of cultivation is in the city  Our urban world is growing rapidly - but are we keeping up with the pace?  The fast growth has led us to an unsustainable and ignorant relation to food and in the closest future this needs to change. If we gather local producers, knowledge, cultivation and public space under the same roof we can make the process visible in the city and change our unsustainable patterns. Re-introducing food production into the urban context is one step in the direction of a better and more sustainable future.The purpose of the project is to expose, inspire and educate our citizens by proposing a hub with intertwined public and productive spaces at the infrastructural site of Umeå Östra station.  A productive greenhouse managed by local experts and cultivators gives the visitor the opportunity to follow the whole process from sowing, cultivation, harvesting, processing, cooking, eating, recycling and composting. It’s a cyclic process that needs to be visible and easily accessible in our everyday life for us to take part in and feel a close connection to. The public greenhouse provides space for curiosity, creativity and relaxation. LET’S GROW provides the expertise, the inspiration and the tools needed for cultivation to spread in the city and to take place in the homes of the citizens. The aim of the hub is to expose the process of food production and re-establish the connection between the producers and the consumers. The hub aims to educate and raise awareness by providing space for social interaction; uniting children and grown ups, experts and beginners, with food production and urban cultivation as the common denominator. By providing space for creative learning and creative ways of urban cultivation the hub empowers the people to be more independent, involved, knowledgeable and aware.  So LET’S GROW