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In pictures: Five top design exhibitions in Stockholm

Are you spending what's left of the summer in the capital? Houzz.se's Antonia Wiklund guides you to the five hottest design exhibitions right now.

Published: 12 August 2016 11:06 CEST
In pictures: Five top design exhibitions in Stockholm
Andy Warhol at Artipelag. Photo: Houzz Sverige Stockholm

1. Arvet efter Andy Warhol (The legacy of Andy Warhol) 

Where: Artipelag, Värmdö 

Open: Until September 25th

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar
 
About the exhibition: Thirty years after his death, Andy Warhol is back in the spotlight. At Artipelag they have been putting the spotlight on the pop artist at this exhibition this summer. As a visitor you can, among other things, see 40 drawings from the 1950s, work that has never before been shown in Sweden, but the focus is mainly on broadening the image of Warhol's influence and legacy and how he still affects not only art but also the modern lifestyle and commercialization.

About Artipelag: Surrounded by the archipelago, the Artipelag is beautifully built on Hålludden, Värmdö. The 10,000 square metre centre contains a large art gallery and a shop with their own design products. There is also the opportunity to have a picnic and enjoy some food while looking out over the lovely sea.

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar

2. Rejält retro

Where: Nordic Museum, Djurgården

Open: Until September 4th

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar
Photo: Houzz Sverige Stockholm – Se fler inredningsfoton

About the exhibition: Colours are once again in vogue in our Nordic homes, which is something the Nordic Museum has taken on in this exhibition. And, you can’t talk about strong, chromatic colours in the Nordic home from a historical perspective without mentioning the art of rustic furniture that flourished during the 18th and 19th century. The rustic craft represented craftsmanship and durability, values that are becoming more and more important for the modern consumer society and which govern the Swedes' approach to buying furniture and decorations. In this exhibition you will get a better understanding of why the coffin, casket or Swedish 'Moraklocka' (grandfather clock) was a response to our, back then, expensive design icons.

About The Nordic Museum: The museum's own slogan sums up, in very good way, what it offers: 'Swedish trends and traditions.' The magnificent building on Djurgården island was built when the museum was founded in the late 19th century and is now an important part of the cityscape, whether you arrive by boat from Nybroviken or cross the bridge, Djurgårdsbron, by foot. You can have food or a coffee at the museum or at any of the other nearby cafes in the cluster of museums along the water.

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar
Photo: Houzz Sverige Stockholm – Se fler inredningsfoton

 
3. Josef Frank: Mönster, möbler & måleri (Patterns, furniture & painting)
 
Where: Millesgården, Lidingö
 
Open: Until October 2nd
 

About the exhibition: What many may not know is that the pattern designer Josef Frank also painted watercolours and only began to explore his artistic side at the age of 68. That is something Millesgården has chosen to highlight in its summer exhibition this year, where visitors get an insight into Josef Frank's work in an art historical context. The exhibition consists of four parts, showing off both the previously unknown watercolours, interiors and furniture created by students from the Carl Malmsten School and a flowerbed by landscape architect Ulf Nordfjell – all with Frank's design and artistry as inspiration.

About Millesgården: Sometimes you get the feeling that it is mainy tourists who cross the bridge Lidingöbron with their eyes set on Millesgården – many Stockholmers seem to have forgotten that this pearl is just a stone's throw from Stockholm city and offers magnificent views and interesting exhibits. The building was designed by architect Carl M Bengtsson and was built in 1908, originally as a residence and studio for the sculptor and artist Carl Milles and his wife Olga. If you go here, take the opportunity to eat a good lunch cooked by the Millesgården Farmer shop at one of the many terraces in the sculpture park. 

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar
Photo: Svenskt Tenn Stockholm – Se fler inredningsfoton

4. Ingegerd Råman

Where: National Museum of Design/House of Culture City Theatre, Sergels Torg

Open: Until August 14th

Formgivare i Sommar
Photo: Houzz Sverige Stockholm – Se fler inredningsfoton

About the exhibition: Ingegerd Råman is one of Sweden's most influential designers and this summer her work is put on show at the National Museum of Design. The exhibition presents a personal selection of missions and assignments, through more than 200 objects including glass, ceramics, wood and natural fibre. In sketches, films and texts she comments on the challenges and her projects for both national and international productions.

About the House of Culture City Theatre: The exhibition takes place on the fourth floor of the Kulturhuset, a building that is in itself worth a visit, next to the iconic square at Sergels torg. The building offers an extensive cultural range – you wouldn’t have to leave the building for a whole day if you didn't want to. Eat or snack in one of the restaurants, visit the library on the ground floor, take an elevator journey up to 'Rum för barn' ('Room for kids') with younger visitors or finish off the day with a show at the City Theatre.

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar
Photo: Houzz Sverige Stockholm – Se fler inredningsfoton

 

5. Yayoi Kusama – infinity

Where: Moderna Museet, Skeppsholmen

Open: Until September 11th

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar
Photo: Houzz Sverige Stockholm – Se fler inredningsfoton

About the exhibition: The last tip is this eye-catching exhibition at the Moderna Museet. It's a retrospective exhibition of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama focusing on her life's work, from the early nature studies to installations where space and time are repealed. The recurrent dots and original patterns come from Kusama's recurring hallucinations, which she has suffered from since childhood. In her hallucinations the world appeared as a grid of dots and repetitive forms. The art has become a way for Kusama to create a form to these inner landscapes.

About Moderna Museet: At the Museum of Modern Art, you can, in addition to the current exhibition of Yayoi Kusama, visit the permanent collections consisting of key works by Robert Rauschenberg, Pablo Picasso, Lyubov Popova, Salvador Dali, Meret Oppenheim and Irving Penn and works of artists active today. Even here, the surroundings are a great attraction in the hot summer days. Skeppsholmen has views towards Djurgården, Strandvägen, Stadsgårdskajen and Skeppsbron and you can either have coffee or eat at the museum's restaurant, or sit down on a picnic blanket in the greenery.

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar
Photo: Houzz Sverige Stockholm – Se fler inredningsfoton

Turista i Stockholm: Fem designutställningar du inte får missa i sommar

Get more inspiration in The Local's Homes section

Come see more Nordic lifestyle, design and architecture over at houzz.dk and houzz.se.

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PROPERTY

INTERVIEW: ‘Most foreigners in Sweden don’t know they can get back excess rent’

In Sweden, people subletting apartments are not allowed to charge more in rent than they themselves pay. But foreign subtenants don't always know this. We asked Roland Sjölin, lawyer at the Swedish Tenants' Association, about how to get back excess rent.

Published: 18 April 2024 15:19 CEST
Updated: 21 April 2024 08:12 CEST
INTERVIEW: 'Most foreigners in Sweden don't know they can get back excess rent'

More and more of the people asking the Swedish Tenants’ Association, Hyresgästföreningen in Swedish, for help with excess rent are foreigners, Sjölin told The Local in an interview.

“The problem is that if you’re coming from another country, and you’re subletting an apartment, you’re probably not familiar with the rules in Sweden, because in other countries, it might be okay to overcharge your tenants.” 

He said that clients from India in particular seeking help from the association were now “very common”. 

“Many people come here to work as engineers in the IT sector and then have to rent somewhere,” he said, adding that as a group Indians appeared to be “very aware of their rights.”

Sweden’s rental sector is heavily regulated, with first hand contracts negotiated between landlords and the Tenants’ Association, and the rent that can be charged for second-hand contracts limited to only a small fraction above what the first-hand renter pays. 

“You’re not allowed to make any profit subletting an apartment in Sweden,” Sjölin explains. “You can only charge the subletting tenant the same rent as you [the first-hand tenant] are paying to your landlord, and then you can add the costs for internet and electricity, and perhaps a parking lot, if that is included.” 

Tenants’ Association lawyer Roland Sjölin. Photo: supplied.

You can also add a påslag or “markup”, if you are renting out the apartment fully furnished, but this cannot exceed more than 15 percent of the rent. 

That doesn’t mean that most landlords follow the law. The competition for rental apartments, especially in Stockholm, is so intense, that unscrupulous sublet landlords often try to get away with charging well over the legal amount, charging what is known in Sweden as ockerhyra, or “excess rent” and hoping that their tenants are too desperate to complain.  

What many foreigners do not realise is that even after the rental period is over, they can still get back any excess rent they have paid by applying to the Rental Board or Hyresnämnden, which functions like a court judging rental disputes. 

“If you have the evidence then it’s fairly easy,” Sjölin said. “I get a new case every second week on repayment of unfair rent, and I think that I win most of them.” 

“Nowadays, you can get paid back excess rent up to 24 months back in time, so people tend to get more money,” he added. “In some cases, they can get 200,000 kronor. In other cases, perhaps it’s only 30,000 kronor or 60,000 kronor. It depends on how long you have rented the apartment, and how excessive the rent you’ve been paying has been.”

The first step is to establish what would have been a fair rent, either by asking your landlord what they themselves pay directly or by checking with the Tenants’ Association.

“Because we negotiate most rents in Sweden, we normally know what the firsthand rent is,” Sjölin explained.

Then you need to collect together your evidence.

“It’s a good thing to have a written contract and also papers from your bank showing that you paid rent every month, and perhaps photographs of the apartment, so the rental board can get an idea of the apartment you were renting and what would be a fair rent, and also the termination for the contract so you can show the court how long you’ve been living in the apartment.” 

But Sjölin underlined that since Sweden has free burden of evidence, none of this is essential. 

“Even if you’ve been paying in cash, if you have witnesses who can testify what you were paying each month, you still have a chance of getting your money back. It’s a bit more tricky, but I’ve won two cases like that this year.” 

People in Sweden, he explained, tend to wait until the rental period is over before seeking to get paid back excess rent rather than challenging their landlord while they are still living in the apartment. 

“You don’t have any legal protection for your home for the first two years, so if you bring the matter up with the person you’re renting the apartment from you risk losing your contract and having to move out, so most people wait until they’re supposed to move anyway,” he said.

If you apply to the rental board for a refund close to the day you move out, you can then make your landlord pay back all excess rent paid in the 24 months leading up to the date you contacted the rental board.

If you are a member of the Tenants’ Association, you can contact them and ask for help with your application, but there are also specialist companies, like Orimlig Hyra AB who will buy your case off you and give you a refund within 48 hours, saving you a long wait in exchange for a cut of the money reclaimed. 

Sjölin said that the rental board normally took about 8 months to come to a judgement, but that if the person with the first hand contract appeals, that could extend the waiting time by between six months and a year.

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