Photography

For two centuries, man has been trying to understand the world with the help of photography. At the same time, photographs construct new worlds for us to relate to. Through courses in theory, artistic expression, practice and technique, we examine various aspects and perspectives in the field.

Photography is a technique that generates images using reflected light, but it is also so much more than that: information, politics, history, communications, art, journalism, documentation, control, evidence and science.

Photography can be used both to depict and to construct reality, and it is important that we problematise this double effect of photography. The purpose of university studies in photography is to learn to create, interpret and distribute photography in order to contribute to increased awareness and understanding of its function in society and in the arts.

The academic programmes in photography at HDK-Valand incorporate critical dialogue among students and faculty. Phenomena such as identity, memory, representation and archive are commonly recurring concepts. Students work with artistic expression in parallel with photo-historical study and theoretical writing. An important aspect of the programme is learning to communicate one’s work to others and to put it into relevant cultural, historical and artistic contexts.

Photography at HDK-Valand is a complete academic environment, meaning that we offer teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as conducting research in the field.

These teachers work with photography at HDK-Valand: Eva-Teréz Gölin, Kerstin Hamilton, Stefan Jensen, Pelle Kronestedt, Klara Källström, Lasse Lindkvist, Nina Mangalanayagam, Tyrone Martinsson, Res Res, Anna Strand, Julia Tedroff, Annika von Hausswolff, Hendrik Zeitler and Niclas Östlind. For more information about each teacher, see link below.