About CAPIm

The Centre for Art and the Political Imaginary is committed to interdisciplinary practice and research in the meeting between contemporary art and the future of politics. Based at two institutions of higher education in art: HDK-Valand and Kungl. Konsthögskolan, the Centre’s aim is to facilitate connections between research and education through an engagement with experimental approaches. It is the first Swedish Centre of Excellence in the field of Artistic Research.    

The activities of the Centre are organised around four conceptual strands guiding the construction of innovative educational and research frameworks. Climate Imaginaries engage with radical ecological change and environmental futures. Historical Imaginaries addresses decolonial approaches to collective memory and nationalist representations, as well as non-aligned movements and intensifying globalisation. Democratic Imaginaries takes its point of departure from the polarisation of the public sphere and emerging forms of illiberalism. Technological Imaginaries is focused on the interactions between art and technological developments and their resulting projections of possible futures. 

The Centre is co-chaired by Prof. Mick Wilson and Prof. Natasha Marie Llorens, who together with Prof. Jyoti Mistry and Dr. Axel Andersson form its steering committee.

The Centre for Art and the Political Imaginary (CAPIm), is dedicated to studies of art, education and artistic research invested in the political imaginary. Our mission is to foster an environment where pedagogy and artistic research practices meet to challenge and articulate instances of the political imaginary. CAPIm is committed to building long-term institutional collaborations between HDK-Valand and Kungl. Konsthögskolan, developing the interplay between education in fine arts and artistic research. Through interdisciplinary and critical approaches, CAPIm aims to engage with the critical issues of our time, positioning art as a site for relating to past and ongoing transformations.

The Royal Institute of Art has been educating artists and architects since 1735. It is Sweden’s largest institution of higher education in Fine Art and Architecture. The faculty of artists, theoreticians, and architects at the Royal Institute of Art is highly acclaimed, both at the national level and internationally. Students are trained to enter the field of artistic and architectural practice at the highest level. 

The Royal Institute of Art offers a five-year program in Fine Art and a two-year master’s degree in Fine Art. The postgraduate program offers professional development in Fine Art and Architecture with a focus on research methodology and project-based artistic research. Around 230 students are currently enrolled, and the school is supported by 70 employees. As of 2021 the institute is organised into two departments, each with a board and a prefect. The Institute is located on Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm alongside other key arts and cultural institutions. The main building will be renovated in 2024-2025 in order to consolidate teaching and research activities. 

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

The Artistic Faculty consists of the two departments HDK-Valand Academy of Art and Design and the Academy of Music and Drama.