SwedishShorts

Warhol – Sweden’s most expensive art sell? Another Pisa fiasco. More money for health care. 

  • The poor result from the Pisa survey, showing Swedish education to be below OECD average, will now be analyzed and delivered to Swedish Minister for Education Jan Björklund, with advice on how to proceed.

  • Warhol – Sweden’s most expensive art sell?
    A work by American artist Andy Warhol, ”The Last Supper” may become the most expensive piece of art ever sold in Sweden, according to Sweden's ”Kulturnyheterna” (a cultural news program). When it is auctioned off by Bukowski’s in May, the starting price is SEK 60 million (or a little over $9 million), which is record high. ”It is pretty much five times the starting prices we’ve had earlier on a work of art in Sweden,” says Anna-Karin Pusic, director for Fine Arts at Bukowskis, in the interview. Warhol’s piece is part of a series on the theme Jesus’ last supper, and is a mix of silkscreen and acrylic on a canvas. Warhol created the series in 1986, and when it was exhibited in Milan in 1987, it was a huge success. Four weeks after that exhibit, Andy Warhol passed away, he was born in 1928. For more information: www.bukowskis.com
    For Andy Warhol’s take on Norwegian Edward Munch: http://www.nordstjernan.com/news/arts/5474/

  • According to the latest PISA report, Swedish students are falling behind. Swedish pupils have previously been better than the international average in reading comprehension. Now the result is on an average level.

  • Another Pisa fiasco
    Sweden falls below the OECD average in yet another Pisa report. This time it is the students’ problem solving abilities that have been measured – and, in Sweden's case, found wanted. Nearly one in four students is ”underperforming” and Sweden is the worst among the Nordic countries. This result is likely to add more fuel in the upcoming election campaign. 2,500 Swedish 15-year olds did a digital test, which assesses their ability to solve problems that aren’t directly connected to school subjects. Sweden scored 491 points, compare that to the OECD average which is 500. Singapore tops with 562 points, followed by South Korea (561), and Japan (552). ”It is worrying that Swedish students perform below average even in this field,” says Helén Ängmo, Director General at Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education). This subtest, which is new in the Pisa context, was made in connection to the rest of the survey when reading comprehension, mathematics, and natural sciences were tested. When the three subjects were reported in December of last year, it was a wake-up call for Sweden, as the Swedish results had deteriorated and Sweden fell below the OECD average in all three subjects. This has triggered the government and Jan Björklund, Minister for Education, to put forward several education reform proposals in recent months.

  • Andy Warhol’s ”The Last Supper” may end up becoming the most expensive artwork ever sold in Sweden. It will be auctioned off by famous auction house Bukowskis next month, and the asking price isa little over $9 million.

  • More money for health care
    The choice of health care has led to greater pressure on primary care and lack of equalities in regards to quality, according to a new report from Läkarförbundet (the Swedish Medical Association). The union is now demanding increased resources. The report shows that the number of doctor’s visits has increased with 10% in the years 2001 to 2012. Meanwhile, the primary care’s costs have remained at the same level.

  • More money needed for Swedish health care. A fresh report shows the number of doctor’s visits has increased greatly since 2001.