In 2026, Birthe Jørgensen is welcomed to an artist residency at the Department of Thematic Studies. The initiative is made possible through funding from LiU’s profile area Societal Transformations and aligns closely with the area’s focus on environmental and climate change, democracy, as well as environmental technology and production systems.
The residency was initiated by researchers Eva Lövbrand and Fredrik Envall at Environmental Change, together with Karin Edberg at Tema Technology and Social Change. Their aim is to connect Birthe’s artistic methods with LiU’s ongoing research on sustainability and just transitions.
Slite as a centre for her research
Birthe Jørgensen is based in Slite on Gotland, where she leads Konstfrämjandet Gotland, an organisation founded on her initiative.
“It is grounded in the belief that artists can bring a sense of care and complexity to the polarised debates surrounding Sweden’s green industrial transition,” she says.
Slite, a small community home to Sweden’s largest cement factory, has become central to her artistic research. It is a place where questions of industry, climate, water, security policy, and social change intersect.
Now, researchers and artist want to explore how artistic methods can support inclusive conversations about transition, both in Slite and within LiU’s research.
“It gives us the opportunity to experiment with new forms of collaboration between art, science, and society in Slite, as well as to bring Birthe’s art-based approach to LiU,” says Fredrik Envall, Associate Professor at Environmental Change.
Thinking together
The residency builds on an earlier meeting between Konstfrämjandet Gotland and researchers from Tema, where shared points of interest were quickly identified. Tema’s interdisciplinary orientation suits Birthe Jørgensen well.
“Here there is a willingness to cross boundaries and think together. That is the foundation of both my own work and Konstfrämjandet’s,” the artist says.
The goal is to create new points of contact between research, art, and society and to contribute to a deeper understanding of Slite’s complex role in the green transition.
”The profile area Societal Transformations will serve as a good platform to reach researchers from different parts of the university who are interested in transitions. Through this exchange, we aim to deepen and broaden our understanding of the complexities that reside in this small community.”, says Birthe Jørgensen.
Exhibition and workshops
A couple of events with Birthe Jørgensen are already planned for April on Campus Valla in Linköping:
- The exhibition Invocations designed as a "treasure hunt”, with artworks placed throughout the Tema Building and Studenthuset. Reflections from researchers will be integrated into the exhibition materials. The opening will be on 21 April and it that will evolve during the span the residency.
- Two workshops for students and staff: Follow the Material and The Rules of the Room, developed to explore materiality and spatiality in relation to human experiences.
