SWEA NY 2014 Scholarship Recipients

Two projects were awarded the SWEA New York Mona Johnsson Scholarship, both in the amount of $1,500. 

  • Elda Garcia Posadas and Emma Harling.

  • A SWEA New York Mona Johnsson Scholarship 2014 was awarded to Emma Harling for researching and studying the Swedish women's textile movement, creating handmade repeated patterns on fabric in this tradition, and presenting the results through an exhibition in New York 2015.
    Emma is a designer for printed textiles, currently living in New York as an ”alien with extraordinary ability.” She has made prints for Michael Kors, Gwen Stefani, Clinique, H&M and Anthropologie. Although she creates digital files of her patterns, which is becoming the industry standard, she feels it is important to study and continue practicing the traditional handicraft of textile printing. In Sweden, there’s a very long tradition of creating textiles — a skill which is historically practiced by women. There are many great female textile designers who have received international recognition and made it to the history books. Emma will use the SWEA New York Mona Johnsson Scholarship 2014 to:
    a) study the history and work of Swedish textile designers, with focus on women;
    b) study traditional Swedish practices and methods of producing yardage printed by hand;
    c) produce a small collection of hand printed textiles and present them along with her research through an exhibition in a gallery in Brooklyn or New York for approximately 100-200 guests. SWEA will be acknowledged with a thank you and logotype on the invitations and press releases.

  • Another SWEA New York Mona Johnsson Scholarship 2014 was awarded to Elda Garcia Posadas for arranging dramatized readings of Hjalmar Bergman's “Clownen Jac” in English and in Spanish in New York 2015.
    Elda has translated books by authors such as Strindberg, Sjöwall and Wahlöö, Selma Lagerlof and Astrid Lindgren from Swedish to Spanish, and is currently on leave from her position as a legal adviser at Madrid's regional government, EU Chamber, while translating “Clownen Jac” in New York on behalf of publisher ”Mishkin Ediciones” and with support from the Swedish Art Council.
    She is also a trained actress with experience from theater and staged readings, and has a preference for Nordic culture and especially Hjalmar Bergman. Elda aims to perform the Spanish version at Theater Repertorio Español and the English version at the Deutsches Haus at Columbia University.
    Elda will use the SWEA New York Mona Johnsson Scholarship 2014 to cover location rent and marketing and print material for the performances while the translation and actors' fees (approximately $2000) are funded by other sources.

  • SWEA New York feels that both projects will promote Swedish culture in New York, and that the projects complement each other well and will reach different target groups. In addition, both projects offer SWEA display on invites, programs and press releases and marketing material.
    The SWEA New York Chapter also made a donation in the amount of $500 to The Swedish Seamen’s Church Inc. in New York.

  • By Annika Andersson