THE ARTS ACADEMY IN BRIEF
- Manages around 100 funds and foundations and annually awards scholarships, prizes and grants to artists and architects.
- Program activities linked to these, all with free entry.
- Manages own property.
- Cares for archives and collections that date back to the 1700th century.
- Gives out 4–5 exhibition grants per year that include an exhibition and catalogue.
- Awards two scholarships within the Bernadotte program which includes a year's studio stay, opportunity for collaboration with other academies and an exhibition.
- Organizes a drawing competition for young cartoonists in collaboration with the Royal The court states where three scholars receive SEK 100 each.
- Distributes funds for publication support.
- Rents premises to actors in a wide cultural field and there are approx. 150 program activities per year in the building.
- Conducts collaborative projects with sister academies.
Manages and enables artists and architects to work in our time.
The Academy of Arts, independent since 1735, is governed by the statutes from 1773.
The academy has no assets of its own, but manages over 100 funds and foundations with special purposes. Members are organized in around 30 working committees.
In 2023, the Academy of Arts distributed over SEK 11 million in scholarships, prizes and support to artists and architects. Below follows a summary of the statutes and how the Academy of Arts today works to fulfill them.
The purpose of the Academy for the Free Arts is to promote the development of painting, sculpture and construction as well as other forms of art belonging to the visual arts. In order to fulfill this purpose, the academy has in particular:
- To monitor matters of importance in the visual arts and the architectural arts and to provide the necessary information about them,
The Academy of Arts annually supports over 20 book and catalog productions in art and architecture.
- To prosecute these art forms with state powers and authorities,
The Academy of Arts for dialogues outside the media. The Academy has two representatives in the Beauty Council and has, for example, been involved in issues such as the rebuilding of Slussen, the academisation of artistic higher studies, opposed the merger of the State Council of Culture and the Artists' Board and supports organizations and businesses threatened with closure through letters to the parties concerned.
- To manage the academy's property with collections of art and archives acquired over time and make these available to researchers and the public,
The Academy of Arts digitizes its archives and collections for increased accessibility and answers daily questions from the public and researchers. The academy manages its own property, which is partly financed by renting premises to around 20 different tenants in various cultural areas, such as art, design, fashion, food and publishing.
- To promote artistic education, including taking care of art schools and their students, as well as, when the academy deems it necessary, to conduct continuing education in the visual arts and the architectural arts.
The Academy of Arts annually distributes around SEK 2 million to students at art schools and promotes interdisciplinary research through the Bernadotte program.
- To organize public exhibitions
The Art Academy annually presents around 20 exhibitions, always with free admission. The exhibition program is a mix of exhibitions curated by the Academy of Arts, exhibition grantees and artists who are given the opportunity to organize exhibitions themselves. This gives artists a platform to reach a wider audience and the possibility of sales without commission. Overall, the Art Academy's exhibition activities contribute to a diversity of artistic expression across generations and beyond trends. All exhibitions are approved by an exhibition board consisting of members of the Academy of Arts, and all exhibitors receive compensation according to the MU agreement.
- To promote research and development in visual arts and architecture through international contacts
Since the 1700th century, the Academy of Arts has promoted international contacts through travel and residence grants. The academy's book collection in art and architecture is registered in LIBRIS and is accessed and used by researchers even outside Sweden's borders.
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts is the oldest of Sweden’s royal national academies. Founded in 1735, it has long been known as Konstakademien, and this name was incorporated into its logotype in the 2000s.
Please note that you must live and work in Sweden to be eligible to apply for our scholarships. All forms are in English. The Royal Academy is a diverse and independent institution with the mission to promote art and architecture, giving them the dignity and support needed to ensure that they survive and enrich society at large.
The key words are knowledge, independence and longevity.
> The Art Academy's statutes 2019-04-29
Knowledge
The Academy of Arts manages donations of approximately SEK 700 million. With these funds, the academy supports research and development by annually awarding a large number of scholarships and prizes from the funds to young, students and already established artists and architects.
The Royal Academy preserves and makes available its collections and archives of material that shed light on art history, art and architecture studies, architecture and the works of individual artists over nearly three centuries.
Several research projects are pursued by the Academy and funding is given to various publications on art and architecture.
Through exhibitions, events and collaborative projects, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts contributes to the development of knowledge and society.
Independence
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts is a legal entity, an autonomous forum for art and architecture, but also for a wider range of arts.
Longevity
The activities of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts build on traditions dating back to its founding in 1735. The royal academies were created to assume overall national responsibility in their respective fields. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts manages its cultural heritage, including the building on Fredsgatan 12, with the objective that art and architecture should continue to enrich both society as a whole and its individuals.
The Royal Academy is affiliated to the Association of Swedish Museums and ICOM, and is represented in numerous councils and boards, including Skönhetsrådet, the Nordic Art Association, the Swedish Institute in Rome, the C. M. Lerici Foundation, the Gerlesborg School of Fine Art and the Swedish-Danish Arts Fund.
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts receives funding from the Swedish Arts Council.
