Formstark Norrbotten – creating new collaborations

The Formstark Norrbotten project creates new and better conditions for collaboration between two industry areas - the tourism industry and professional practitioners in arts and crafts, handicrafts, crafts and design, as well as public actors and organizations operating in these areas.

In the autumn of 2018, the Art Resource Centre, together with the Swedish Lapland Visitors Board, the Norrbotten Handicraft Consultants and Svensk Form Norrbotten, held the seminar day Formstark Norrbotten in Luleå. Participants from the tourism industry and practitioners in arts and crafts, handicrafts, crafts and design gathered during the day, where the aim was to create networks and inspire new types of collaboration between the industries.

– Our evaluation of the day showed that there was a great interest in continued exchange between the industries. Based on this, the idea for the Formstark Norrbotten project was born. The project started in January 2020 and during the completed project period we have created a platform for skills development, meetings and networks between practitioners and the tourism industry, which in turn has rendered new services and products. We see that this can strengthen the tourism industry and promote Norrbotten as an attractive tourist destination and also provide more assignments to the aforementioned practitioners, says Hanna Isaksson, operations manager at the Resource Center for Art and project owner.

Most of Formstark Norrbotten has been implemented during the current pandemic, which has forced the project to adapt to new rules of the game.

– Digital meetings have enabled us to reach many more people, both regionally and nationally, which has contributed to new and strengthened networks within and between industries, she says.

The project has implemented digital lectures, seminar days, networking meetings and a mentorship program. A product catalog with selected design and crafts from form practitioners in the county was launched in October 2021, says Sofia Öberg, project manager for Formstark Norrbotten. The project is currently in its final phase with an exhibition at Norrbotten Museum.

– The exhibition "A Shapely Norrbotten" shows the results from the project's product development track.
7 teams and 19 participants, with form practitioners and representatives from the hospitality industry, have worked together for a year in a challenging time to say the least. What started with ideas and inspiration from visits to our actors in the hospitality industry in the fall of 2020 has today been shaped into new products and continued collaborations. We see a need and great opportunities for a continuation of the project, Formstark Norrbotten 2.0, and hope that we can find a long-term solution for our continued work, concludes Sofia Öberg.

A little about the project

Project owner: Resource Center for Art

Collaborators: Konsthantverkscentrum, Hemslöjdskonsulenterna i Norrbotten, Svensk Form Norrbotten, Sami Crafts Foundation and Swedish Lapland Visitors Board.

The project has been financed by: Region Norrbotten, the Swedish Arts Council, Längmanska företagarfonden and Sparbanken Nord – Framtidsbanken.

Here you can read more about the project. Strong Norrbotten