Founded in 1621 to promote Swedish trade and Sweden’s dominance over south-western Scandinavia, Gothenburg soon became a hub for international trade, finance and industry. In the 19th century, this city was a centre for free-trade activism, the liberal press, the freedom of expression, ‘Scandinavianism’ and anti-academism in the arts.

These movements were determining factors in the founding of the Gothenburg School of Design and Crafts in 1848 and the Valand School of Fine Art in 1865. To some extent, they also played a role in the founding of the Music Conservatory (today’s Academy of Music and Drama) by Wilhelm Stenhammar (a Swedish composer and follower of Wagner and Bruckner) in 1916.

Similarly, the ideas of the Danish theologian and pedagogue N.F.S. Grundtvig on popular higher education and the arts contributed significantly to the founding principles of what would become the University of Gothenburg in 1896.

From a historical perspective, then, there was already a sound basis for the decision of eight different art schools — music, opera, theatre, film, photography, fine art, design and crafts — to become incorporated within the University of Gothenburg creating the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts in 2000. The strong emphasis on research and the endeavour to open up interdisciplinary perspectives that characterise Gothenburg’s art schools today have been encouraged not only by tradition but also by the liberal academic setting and the unlimited possibilities that a large university can provide.

Today, Gothenburg is a prosperous city with an excellent infrastructure and well-functioning communication systems. It finds its post-industrial identity in close partnerships with regional and global initiatives, universities, high-tech industries, cultural producers and art schools.

Gothenburg’s ability to create partnerships is reflected in the municipal administration’s generous support for both the ELIA Biennial Conference and the two important exhibitions on artistic research to be held at the Museum of Art and the Centre for Contemporary Art ('Konsthallen’).

These collaborative skills serve to underpin the city’s ambition to become the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2014.

For more information on the University of Gothenburg, click here
More information on the City of Gothenburg can be found here