There are few public artworks in Sweden that depict disability, despite the fact that the proportion of citizens living with a disability is as high as 36% of the population[1].
This is problematic for several reasons: on the one hand, these groups cannot reflect themselves, and on the other hand, able-bodied people are not reminded that there are people with disabilities.
Why are these perspectives missing?
Art is created based on the artist’s own experiences and interests. If these perspectives are missing, it is probably because there are not many ‘disability artists’. If we look at the economically vulnerable situation that both these groups find themselves in, we can find answers. The median salary for full-time artists is 13,000 SEK before tax, many work more than 40-hour weeks.[3]
The majority of people with disabilities cannot work full-time, and they have more expenses for medicines, etc.[4] Being an artist and a disabled person is simply an economic equation that does not add up.
Professor and political scientist Sofia Näsström argues that you can measure how democratic a country is based on people’s participation.[5] If we outline the problem above, we clearly see the limits of Swedish democracy. Art and its practitioners are not prioritised and disabled people do not in practice have the same opportunity to contribute to Swedish artistic life, which leads to less participation and a poorer democracy.
Sources
[1] Funka, ”Statistik kring tillgänglighet”, https://www.funka.com/funka–tillg%C3%A4nglighet/statistik/, (Hämtad 21/3 2024)
[2] Sveriges radio P4 Kronoberg, ”Funktionsvarierade syns inte i konsten- behöver speglas”, Cecilia Ekströmer, https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/funkiskonsten-ekar-tomt-vill-ha-en-rullator-pa-torget, 7/2 2024, (Hämtad 16/3 2024)
[3] Stasinski, Robert, Konstnären. nr: 3 2023, s. 4 & Lago, Anders & Petersson, Markus, Svenska Dagbladet, “Stoppa fattigdomen hos funktionsnedsatta”, 31/7 2021, (Hämtad 20/3 2024)
[4] Myndigheten för delaktighet, ”Statistik om personer med funktionsnedsättning”, https://www.mfd.se/uppfoljning-och-statistik/statistik-om-personer-med-funktionsnedsattning/, 12/9 2022, (Hämtad 16/3 2024) & Funktionsrätt Sverige, ”Remissvar Grundpension-några avslutande frågor (SOU 2020:32)”, https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/44963114180d4b5e8b1420b2baab30cb/funktionsratt-sverige.pdf 16/10 2010, (Hämtad 21/2 2024)
[5] Thomas Östlund, Studiefrämjandet, Cirkeln. Folkbildning och kultur, ”Sofia vrider och vänder på demokratin”, s. 17–19
Further reading
https://www.funkibator.se/rapporter
https://nordicwelfare.org/nyheter/konstnarer-med-funktionsnedsattning-kan-fornya-konsten/
https://data.riksdagen.se/fil/267eb83f-9468-4f1f-8f70-ceb3759621b0
Facts
The post was selected by Formkraft’s editorial board following an open call published in Formkraft and sent out to students at Danish design schools and universities. Suggestions were also submitted by Formkraft’s Nordic and international readers.
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