Katharina Metsis, Flavia Dinca and Alana von Beinke

Four students from Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet have been selected to participate in this year’s ”Ung Vårsalong” exhibition at Stockholm’s Liljevalch’s Konsthall.

Un Vårsalong annually displays a selection of work from gymnasium students in the region. The exhibition runs parallel with the well-known Vårsalong that attracts between 60 000 – 80 000 visitors every year.

Ung Vårsalong will open with a “vernissage” on February 22 at Liljevalch’s Konsthall. The exhibition is open to the public on the lower floor from February 23.

by Shannon Peters

“It’s exciting for us,” says Head of Art, Mr Kühn. “This is the second year that Katharina Metsis and Alana von Beinke have been selected in a row.”

The other two students whose work will be on display are Flavia Dinca and Shannon Peters.

The students’ work was chosen by a panel of experts looking for students who they identify as having future artistic potential.

The exhibition is always worth a visit so do make sure you go along.

Rebecca and Fatima - the driving force behind the new café

“There’s going to be live music and poetry readings and a talk on street art,” explain Rebecca and Fatima from the school Art Club, who are behind the new venture.

“We’re really excited by the new venture,” the girls confess, standing proudly in front of the new mural the Art Club have painted on one of the café walls.

Speaking earlier in the term Mr Kühn, who runs the Art Club, said: “The idea (for the café) came about from two second years: Rebecca and Fatima. They wanted to do this as part of the leadership initiative they’re doing. The Art Club have helped too and myself and Ms O’Connell have been on hand to help facilitate their ideas, support them, and generally oversee the project. Rebecca and Fatima and all the students involved have really shown great initiative and dedication.”

Come along and see for yourself and enjoy the official opening!

earth art by Leon Kühn

IEG art teacher Mr Leon Kühn is holding an exhibition at Gallery Adesso, Åsögatan 136, on Södermalm this week.

The exhibition entitled earth art opened last week with over 100 people attending the vernissage.

Over 100 attended the opening of earth art

As well as visiting the exhibition you can find out more about earth art by visiting Mr Kühn’s new website: earthart.info

Gallery Adesso is open from 12:00 until 18:00 each day and runs until December 2.

The mural waiting to be painted and new sofas ready to be unpacked

IEG: So what’s this cultural space all about?

Mr Kuhn: It’s a meeting place that we’re going to open outside the Aula. The idea is that it will be a place for students to share cultural activities as well as relax and and spend time together. There’s going to be a café, a creative wall where students can exhibit writing and art, an exhibition wall for the Art Club and a podium so people can give readings and performances.

IEG: Is this a teacher led initiative?

'We hope this will help nurture the creativity that exists at IEG'

IEG: Why a cultural meeting place?

Mr Kühn: We all felt that there’s a need for a space in the school where students can express their creativity – and not just hang out. The idea of this is that it’s not a common room or anything but a way of coming together through cultural activity. There’s so many creative people we hope this will help nurture the creativity that exists within the Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet community.

Working to get it finished

IEG: What else can you tell us about the cultural space?
Mr Kühn: Well, we haven’t decided what to call it yet. That’s something we’re discussing. There’s going to be a great coffee machine there for students to access. There will also be a café that some of the other school clubs can use to run bake-sales and stuff to raise money for various causes like Amnesty.

IEG Latest News wishes everyone involved in the project the best of luck in bringing to fruition. We hope to report on the official opening very soon.

Images: Jon Buscall / Svenskt Skolfoto / Leon Kühn

Strindberg's theatre in 1907

First year IEGS drama students will be visiting Strindberg’s Intima Teater for a workshop with professional actors on October 12.

The aim of the workshop is to give students an insight into the complex process that underscores every dramatic production with directors and actors breathing life into a written text.

Students will be shown extracts from a live rehearsal of Mats Wahl’s ‘Processen mot Strindberg and encouraged to share their ideas about the performance as it develops.

This is an exciting opportunity for drama students from the school to see professional actors and directors at work close at hand.

“The students are currently working with the script in class,” says drama teacher Ms Muchardt Smith. “They’re going to be performing their own interpretations in Monday’s lesson.”

Processen mot Strindberg can be downloaded from Wahl’s website.

Image: Intima Teater

by Alana Von Beinke

The exhibition showcases work by first and second year senior high school (gymnasium) students.

The exhibition runs parallel to the well known Vårsalong that is visited by 60,000 – 80, 000 people every year.

by Emil Olors

The project started as a pedagogic project run in conjunction with the museum and culminated in nine Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet students being selected to show their work.

by Sonny Kaushik

“We’re really pleased,” says Mr Leon Kuhn, who teaches Art at IEG. “This was by far the largest represented gymnasium group out of the 8 gymnasiums participating.”

The work is chosen by a panel of experts looking for students who they identify as having future artistic potential.

So keep your eyes peeled for these young talents: Axel Wickbom, Alana von Beinke, Hamna Begum, Sonny Kaushik, Emil Olors, Jenny Phung, Johanna Eliasson, Cornelia –, and Katharina Metsisna.

Student art on the streets of Stockholm

During May 2009 art students from Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet Södermalm exhibited their work on the streets and other public places in Stockholm.

“This wasn’t graffiti, nor the random act of vandalism,” says Leon Kuhn, head of the Arts Department. “It was a group street art project.”

The aim of the project was to build an art object(s) that could fit or enhance the urban environment.

“The students also wanted to do some good by sending a strong message and personal message to people who discovered object in the urban setting,” explains Mr Kuhn.

Students worked closely together with professional artist Anna Hesselgren, who is perhaps best know for her “Still Alive” street-art project in Stockholm, Växsjö and Berlin.

Each group had to plan, build and place their art object in the public environment, communicate a message and follow up on feedback from the found objects.

“One of these was a decorated box, with a balloon connected to it (to attract attention), filled with a hand made half bitten spoon and information about ‘världens barn’,”says Mr Kuhn. “It also included an explanation on the concept.”

Another exhibit that was seen by many people was the arch in between the school and the T-bana decorated as a beach, which attracted many positive comments.

“We wanted to show the creative positive face of street art,” says Mr Kuhn, “and of course not miss the opportunity to make a positive impact on society.”

A group of IEGS Art students – Sharmila, Wesam and Sassan – have been involved with a workshop at Moderna Museet on Skepsholmen. This is all related to the big photo exhibition about  Andreas Gursky.
 
The result from the students is a fantastic collage of over a thousand photos that will be on display at Moderna Museet now and over the summer. Please go and visit the exhibition.