(The Gävleborg County Museum)

Museum activities and cultural environment

Länsmuseet Gävleborg is a foundation that has its premises in Gävle but operates throughout the county. The museum also has employees stationed in Ljusdal and Hudiksvall. With the vision Cultural Heritage in Gävleborg County shall be of importance to more people, Länsmuseet Gävleborg offers a historical perspective on contemporary issues, where people in change are a fundamental theme. The museum is based on meetings with people where stories, culture environments, objects and creative processes contribute to reflect on society and the individual. Through art, culture heritage and culture environment education, the museum develops new ways of conducting dialogue based on contemporary issues. The focus is on children, young people and the elderly.

Länsmuseet Gävleborg’s profile areas are Swedish art, industrial arts, textiles, printed wallpaper, shipping, photography, archaeology and building preservation. The museum has one of the country’s most representative collections of Swedish art from the 17th century to the present and continuously presents contemporary artistic work through temporary exhibitions and programme activities. The county’s history from the Stone Age to the present is presented in permanent exhibitions on archaeology and cultural history. The museum is also a referral body for municipalities and authorities in cultural environment matters and conducts advisory and commissioning activities with a focus on building preservation and archaeology.

Fine art, design and handicraft

Visual art and design have been prominent areas in Länsmuseet Gävleborg’s activities since the museum was founded in 1940. The museum’s permanent exhibitions provide a broad picture of the development in Swedish Fine art from the 17th century to the present. The museum continuously updates its permanent exhibitions with newly acquired contemporary art. In temporary exhibitions, the museum presents contemporary Swedish artistry. Fine art is an important educational tool for conversations with children and young people about current social issues. The museum conducts creative art education activities, often as a tool in the work with culture and health. Form and design are other important activity areas, where designers working with textile, glass, silver and ceramic are showcased in permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Länsmuseet Gävleborg has extensive collections of crafts and handicrafts, mainly in the textile area. Hedvig Ulfsparre’s textile collection has previously belonged to Nordiska Museet (the Nordic Museum) and is of national importance. In a permanent exhibition, the museum presents the Ulfsparre’s collection, introduced in a historical context. In addition, parts of the collection are available as research material and a source of inspiration in an educationally arranged open study room. The museum also organises workshops and craft cafés where visitors develop their own creations. Global craft, queer craft, minority craft, sustainable craft and guerrilla craft are examples of contemporary movements that interact with and enrich the textile cultural heritage.