This Way. MFA in Craft HDK-Valand Gothenburg. Graduate Show 2026

This Way is a convergence of voices.

Knowing that togetherness is key for things to exist, this exhibition gathers voices that speak from the material, using their hands to understand the world. Voices that, from textiles, speak of memory, tell stories with threads, magnify the almost invisible by questioning the imposed, and express their affection for the land and its roots. Through jewellery, they give shape to words with illusions, draw emotions, and honour the agency of the body. And through ceramics, they question the confines of the earth, connect living worlds, invent machines, and bring to light what would otherwise go unnoticed.

This Way is the catalyst that shows that plurality is powerful and the languages of material are infinite. This space brings together fifteen voices that, following the paths of life, found themselves in the same place for two years and will soon disperse like arrows, each following its course, continuing its trajectory.
/ Juliana Gómez Garzón - MFA graduate in ceramics.


This year’s graduating class shows how artistic explorations in the field of craft manages to span from large-scale societal topics and complex ethical perspectives on issues such as migration to deeply personal, yet universal themes like grief or self-perception.

Several of the graduates have chosen in their creative work and the thematic framings of their theses to challenge craft processes, and have done so by hacking traditional tools, materials, methods and techniques in both conceptual and material ways. Explorations of identity, culture and belonging have been prevalent focus points for this year’s graduating class, and since the group has brought together students of many different nationalities and cultural backgrounds, these explorations range from Colombian culture and the healing properties of plants to craft traditions in a Bulgarian village, and from experiences in the Swedish landscape to the – figuratively as much as literally – deeper realms of myths or natural resources. Connected to this all are these graduates’ refined explorations of the subtleties of language and storytelling.

My meetings with this year’s graduating class have always been characterized by their curiosity and consideration, luckily not absolute compliment, but never with dismissal. I have been thrilled to follow the development of their individual artistic processes and practices. Having spent time in their studios and in the corridors of HDK, I am left with the impression that this year’s graduating class does not only move with curiosity and motivation through their respective fields of creation, but clearly also managed to create an open and encouraging study environment in which they move positively among each other, seeking informal advice, feedback, input and support from their peers. I believe this skill and attitude will, in addition to their artistic competences, show itself to be very important in their next steps.

It has been a pleasure following their processes, and I wish them all the best. See you on the other side
/ Dr. Rosa Tolnov Clausen, supervisor for our degree reports.


Programme: 
9th May: Vernissage
13:00 Poem reading  – Samira Khoshbakht Bahremany
13:30 Opening speeches

10th May
13-14:00  Performance – Louise Olsson
14-14:30  Performance – Juliana Gómez Garzón

16th May
15-16:00  Performance – Louise Olsson

17th May: Finissage
12:00 Fika/mingle
14:00 Ritual/Performance


Participating artists:
Maria Bencivenni: Inner Landscape
Axel Danhard: Finis Terrae Kullaberg
Juliana Gómez Garzón: To Whisper an Omen
Linnea Haaning Troelstrup: From metaphor to matter
Karin Johansdotter: Tova, Tufta, Tveta – A landscape within and without
Adam Kajander: Procedural Architecture
Anna Karlsson: Somewhere Far Away
Samira Khoshbakht Bahremany: Wake Stitch
Karin Lengstrand: Sacrificial surface
Louise Olsson: Tracing Body
Myrto Partamani: Always Coming Home
Cesilia Pern: Residual Weave – Dissolving the Image
Carina Petersson: Domestic scenery
Nadine Wilde: An Ever Changing View
Cornelia Öberg: Myths in nature, voices from a landscape


Opening hours:
Tuesday - Thursday: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday: 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.