Market Art Fair

Bonniers Konsthall: 20 Years of Believing in What’s Not Yet Formulated

Collaborations, Editorial

Joanna Nordin and Ellen Wettmark. Photo Weronika Bela.

Since its opening in 2006, Bonniers Konsthall has positioned itself within the Nordic art scene while maintaining an outward-looking perspective, bringing international practices into dialogue with a local context.

Marking its 20th anniversary, the Konsthall continues to work along the lines set out by its founder, Jeanette Bonnier, acting as a springboard for Swedish artists while engaging with wider artistic dialogues. At the core is an approach that has remained consistent since the beginning – a way of working that prioritises what is not yet fully formed.

“Bonniers Konsthall has always been a place where we challenge the limits of what contemporary art can be, and what an art institution should be,” says Ellen Wettmark, Executive Director.

Together with Artistic Director Joanna Nordin, she co-directs the institution, with a continued focus on how its role evolves over time. Wettmark and Nordin reflect:

“When we were going through our archives we came across an interview that the inaugural director of Bonniers Konsthall, Sara Arrhenius, made with Jeanette Bonnier. When asked what she wanted the institution to be, Jeanette answered: “It should be a place that dares to believe in what’s not yet formulated”. This has been, and continues to be, the core mission of Bonniers Konsthall, and defines how we work – with artists and other collaborators, but also what we hope to offer to our audiences.”

“It should be a place that dares to believe in what’s not yet formulated.”

  • Works by Sara-Vide Ericson and Tilda Lovell in 'Något mörkt ställde sig vid våra sinnens fem trösklar utan att gå över dem' at Bonniers Konsthall 2023. Photo Jean-Baptiste Béranger

This approach continues to shape how the programme is structured today, moving between Swedish and international practices, and between established and emerging artists. They continue:

“Our remit is to present prominent Swedish artists, while also introducing significant international artistic practices to audiences in Sweden. We want to simultaneously act as a springboard for emerging Swedish artists while also convening global dialogues that address the urgent questions of our time.”

Bonniers Konsthall has its roots in the Maria Bonnier Dahlin Foundation, and in many cases this has meant following artists over time.

“To date, 99 artists have received the Maria Bonnier Dahlin Foundation grant, which includes a monetary prize of 100,000 SEK, an exhibition at Bonniers Konsthall, and the acquisition of a work for the Foundation’s collection. This model has established Bonniers Konsthall as a vital incubator for Swedish talent, with a proven track record of promoting artists who have gone on to achieve significant international acclaim. Artists such as Lap-See Lam, Klara Kristalova (grantee 1994), Tilda Lovell and Ann Böttcher (both awarded in 2003) have since had large-scale exhibitions at Bonniers Konsthall. Others have been included in group shows, in our programmes, or as jurors of the grant.”

 

  • Militza Monteverde Burrau och Elis Monteverde Burrau, 'En stalkers formativa år / A stalker’s formative years', (2025). Hilde Retzlaff, 'Nicole Kidman och Nicole Kidman,' (2024). Hedda Hultman, 'Kvinna med tankar', (2024). Photo Jean-Baptiste Béranger
  • Works by Alfred Boman, Benedikte Bjerre and coyote in Playa! at Bonniers Konsthall 2025. Photo Jean-Baptiste Béranger

For Wettmark and Nordin, remaining relevant means staying close to the artistic field and to practicing artists.

“To be part of the artistic field means to be part of imagining what society could look like and to experiment with what it means to be human. As an institution, you become a bridge between practices and audiences – we want to make sure it is a compelling experience for both. Daring to take risks, working with new types of collaborations and experimenting with formats will be central to the coming years at Bonniers Konsthall as part of this journey.”

“We have quite a unique opportunity to become a laboratory for large-scale artistic experiments. We tend to continuously challenge the boundaries of our own institution – whether it is by installing an artist-run bar within an exhibition, complete with its own parallel programme, as in last year’s Playa!, or by inviting a theatre company to perform inside the exhibition, as with Hjärter Fem in our current show by Ingela Ihrman.

  • Ingela Ihrman, 'Nattens drottning', (2009/2018). Photo Weronika Bela
  • Ingela Ihrman. Photo Märta Thisner

The exhibitions presented during the anniversary year follow this direction, reflecting how Bonniers Konsthall sees its role today and where Wettmark and Nordin want to take it.

“The year is anchored by two major exhibitions, reflecting both continuity and expansion. A solo presentation by Swedish artist Ingela Ihrman – epitomising the Konsthall’s commitment to artistic experimentation – is presented alongside the international group exhibition The Defeated: The Aesthetics of Resistance 2026, curated in response to Peter Weiss’ monumental three-volume novel. And then it  concludes with the 40th anniversary of the Maria Bonnier Dahlin Foundation, a cornerstone of support for the next generation of Swedish artists. This milestone will be marked in December 2026 with the presentation of its 100th and 101st grant recipients at Bonniers Konsthall.”

As part of its anniversary, Bonniers Konsthall is also introducing a new visual identity, signalling a shift in how the institution positions itself moving forward.

“With our new visual identity, we want to signal stepping forward – positioning ourselves not only as a platform, but also as a clear voice and an actor. We see the relationship between the konsthall, the artists, and the audience as a dynamic triangulation: a space of exchange in which each part actively shapes the others. Within this constellation, we are not a mere neutral backdrop, but a present and engaged participant.”

“We see the relationship between the konsthall, the artists, and the audience as a dynamic triangulation: a space of exchange in which each part actively shapes the others.”

  • Ingela Ihrman, 'Ett fikon', (2020). Photo Jean-Baptiste Béranger

“We are here too – with our own perspective, our own voice, and a responsibility to contribute to the conversations we host and the contexts we create. We hope that the new visual identity will reflect this. In this anniversary year, we are reinforcing our position as a dynamic, international voice for contemporary art from the Nordic region. The future of art is to dare champion what has not yet been formulated.”

 

Discover Bonniers Konsthall

Ingela Ihrman’s Nattens Lekar is on view until 14 June 2026.
On 26 August, the konsthall opens the group exhibition The Defeated: The Aesthetics of Resistance 2026.