Arts, crafts and design

At the end of the 18th century, Visby’s wall and ruined buildings were put up for sale at auction, since in the view of the authorities they were nothing but a nuisance. Nobody put in a bid. Instead, Romantic artists and poets flocked to the city, recognised its beauty and lauded it in their works. As their paintings and stories spread, a new destination was born. Furthermore, the newly awakened interest in the city prompted the Government to declare the wall and ruins a national monument, so it doesn’t look as if we’re going to see another auction.
Formguide Gotland is an excellent guide to the artists, designers and craftsmen of Gotland

Today, artists, designers and poets still gather on Gotland. Here they can find that special light that so many people talk about, the peace that inspires creation.

Art and design continue to find their way far beyond Gotland’s borders. At the new Swedish embassy – House of Sweden – inaugurated in Washington in 2006, there is even a special Room for Gotland. TV’s home furnishing programmes often show stylish furniture in materials such as solid wood, sheepskin and concrete. They’re from Gotland, of course.

Gotland design is rather like Gotland itself. Stark and simple, dressed in the colours and materials of nature.

Wood, wool, lambskin or stone? Or glass, concrete, textiles, metals and ceramics? Or all of them at once? Gotland’s craftsmen have mastered most materials – even barbed wire! Many craftsmen exhibit and sell their products out of their own workshops; others you’ll find at galleries and handcrafts shows.