New Institute aims to deepen understanding of culture’s role in society

“It’s really fantastic that, through the donation we’ve received from the Anders Sandrew Foundation, Uppsala University now has the opportunity to develop research and share knowledge in the fields of culture and creativity,” says Johan Jansson.

He is looking forward to gathering, promoting and developing new research in these fields, but he is also relishing the prospect of many interesting conversations and being able to listen in to what’s happening out in the departments.

“I’ll be working for the Institute to be seen as a relevant hub for research and development and will start by establishing a collaboration with the Institute’s board and the staff at the Department of Art History, where the Institute has its organisational home, and ensuring that this collaboration functions well.”

He also emphasises the importance of understanding that every organisation is fundamentally made up of relationships.

“I believe that building and maintaining these relationships is crucial to the success of the Institute,” says Johan Jansson.

Effective ways to use the donated funds

Based on his previous experience of roles at the Department and within the Faculty, Johan Jansson also emphasises the importance of creating a clear organisational structure that enables interested and engaged individuals to get actively involved with the Institute.

“This is especially important for making the best and most effective use of the funds that the Institute has received through the donation from the Anders Sandrew Foundation,” he says.

One of the Institute’s stated goals is to deepen understanding of the role of culture in people’s lives and its importance for social cohesion. Johan Jansson argues that through open dialogue between different scholarly traditions, theoretical perspectives and methodologies, the conditions should be good for being able to explore these questions in the best way.

“But it’s also important that in my role as Director, I don’t define how we should view questions related to culture and creativity. The researchers and the research that is done within and related to the Institute, and in interaction with society at large, should be the ones defining what the role of culture can be in people’s lives and for social cohesion. Culture as a concept is both fantastic and problematic, as we humans tend to attribute different meanings and importance to it,” says Johan Jansson.

Broad challenges across the entire disciplinary domain

The challenge of establishing more externally funded research projects in the fields of culture and creativity, which is also one of the Institute’s stated goals, is itself related to some of the challenges being experienced across the entire Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences. Johan Jansson's hope is that the Anders Sandrew Institute will help to develop an understanding of and knowledge about research funding.

“An exciting area where I hope the Institute will contribute is understanding digitalisation and culture, particularly in the collaboration with the professor in digital art history who will be affiliated with the Institute,” Johan Jansson says.

Within the Uppsala University Culture and Creativity platform, a collaborative project has also initiated research on culture-driven site development.

“This is a track where I believe that the Institute can contribute significant depth. But the Institute is still in a start-up phase, and more areas will be formulated as we move forward, and in parallel with the structure of the Institute’s work and activities taking shape,” concludes Johan Jansson.