From playful weaving to Olympic efforts – here are this year's scholarship recipients in culture and sports
In a solemn ceremony in the regional council, Region Norrbotten's scholarships in culture and sports were awarded today. Four cultural creators received the Rubus Arcticus scholarship, one of Sweden's largest cultural scholarships, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary. In different ways, the scholarship recipients bring Norrbotten experiences, cultural heritage and language into their creations.
Textile artist Stina Edin receives the scholarship for visual and design arts.
– It feels really fun, like an honor and a boost of energy into the work, she says.
Textile crafts have been close to my family while I was growing up.
– I have had many role models in those techniques. It felt makes a safe place, something I can do too.
Stina Edin highlights that the scholarship creates space for play in creation, to dare to give space to that which you don't really know what it will become. The inspiration for the art comes from growing up and the nature around the village of Yrttivaara in Gällivare municipality.
– I feel like I'm playing and that I want to use my body in some way. It feels natural. Recruitment is about using the body, I pedal and shuttle. I grew up so close to nature, the river and the forest. I feel like I'm drawn to that theme.
Although there is a basis in a craft tradition, Stina Edin experiments with mixing in recycled materials that are not textiles. Toys, wooden hooks and broken ceramics are given new life and new meaning in art. Next year, an exhibition awaits in Orsa – and perhaps the Råneå Biennale.
Stina Edin, Rubus Arcticus fellow for visual and design arts. Photo: Simon Eliasson
“More time to write and play”
Viktor Krutrök from Vittangi receives the Rubus Arcticus for the art field of music.
– It feels absolutely incredible, it is the greatest honor you can receive as a cultural worker in Norrbotten, says Viktor Krutrök.
For him, it is not just recognition, but an opportunity to create on new terms.
– I've been working more than double for a very long time – full-time and creative on the side. Now I can go part-time and have more time to write and play.
Viktor is part of the Autumn Orchestra, a music collective with roots in prog, folk music and ballads.
– We play music that we hope can contribute to a broader view of society. It's about the reality of northern Sweden – everyday life, culture, and increasing knowledge about the Tornedalen.
The group has also worked with Meänkieli in their songs, something that has become personal for Viktor. He himself was never allowed to learn the language and is now trying to regain it.
– It has been healing work, understanding more about oneself and one's culture.
Ahead are gigs in the spring and an album recording next summer – projects that are now getting the time and energy they deserve.
– I haven't really understood it yet. It feels quite surreal, he says.
Viktor Krutrök receives the Rubus Arcticus for the art field of music. Photo: Simon Eliasson
“The theater became life-changing”
Actor, director and playwright Harleen Kalkat receives the Rubus Arcticus for the art field of theater.
– It feels very honorable. As a cultural worker in the hinterland, you work a lot in the shadows, so this is a nice attention to what I do, says Harleen Kalkat.
For her, artistry is about giving voice to stories that otherwise risk going unheard.
– I think there are so many great stories. It's a bit like a gold mine around me – both historical stories and new ones, about everything that happens in Norrbotten.
Based in Moskosel, Harleen creates meeting places and explores new expressions.
– I have always enjoyed telling stories. Imagination has always been close to me, playing and entering different worlds. The theater became crucial to my life – a place where I dared to be seen and heard.
The scholarship is intended to promote artistic development. Harleen Kalkat checks out courses.
– I am keen to further my education, including studying a clown technique called Bouffon Clown.
At the same time, new projects await next year: a play about midwives in a pathless land, and a drama project that will give voice to young people in Norrbotten.
–Now I have better opportunities to do research and listen.
Harleen Kalkat receives the Rubus Arcticus for the art field of theater. Photo: Simon Eliasson
“Free up time to dare to invest in writing”
Luleå author Linda Jones receives the Rubus Arcticus for literature.
– It feels really fun and very honorable. It's one of Sweden's finest scholarships, and it's from Norrbotten for Norrbotten residents. It means a lot to come from a county like that, to live in a county that wants to help cultural practitioners, says Linda Jones.
When the news came, the reaction was strong.
– Finally! I've been looking for it for a few years and hoping. I started to cry, because right then I was just so happy that I also got to take part in it. There is so much honor in it, not just the money but a stamp that shows that you are a cultural figure in Norrbotten.
Linda Jones is a strong voice in Swedish children's and young adult literature, with stories that always have Norrbotten as a backdrop. Her fourth book is in draft form, but right now she works full-time at Swedish Radio and has a "writing break". The upcoming book will be a young adult novel with a more fluid location, but still in Norrbotten.
– The scholarship frees up time for me. So that I can dare to take time off, focus on writing, finish this fourth script and publish it, says Linda Jones.
Linda Jones receives the Rubus Arcticus for the art field of literature. Photo: Simon Eliasson
“You will see and hear more from me”
Photographer and musician Ulf B Jonsson receives the Honorary and Merit Scholarship for an artistic achievement that spans more than five decades and is still ongoing.
– It was dizzying and shocking. I didn't expect it now. I'm still busy with photography and acting, says Ulf B Jonsson.
The scholarship will give new impetus to the work, he believes.
– I will have more momentum, simply because now I can afford to produce more. You will see and hear more from me. This was very, very welcome.
Ulf B Jonsson is currently working on a new series of images for an upcoming exhibition. Next year there will be performances with both Kapellet, who makes music inspired by many parts of the world, and the folk music group JP Nyströms.
– I have so many ideas that I would have to live to be 120 to do everything, says Ulf B Jonsson.
Musician and photographer Ulf B Jonsson receives the Honorary and Merit Scholarship. Photo: Simon Eliasson.
“Really enables my investment”
Johan Myrberg, Luleå Kayak Club, receives this year's sports scholarship.
– It feels great, a real surprise. I've heard a little about it before, but it's never been something I thought I could get, says Johan Myrberg.
He is aiming for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and his everyday life is intense, with 2-3 training sessions per day. He combines his elite efforts with studies for a master's degree in engineering in Linköping, where the national team is based. Johan Myrberg is part of the Swedish K4 500 m crew and the European Championships, World Championships and Olympic qualifications await him.
– It's hard to explain how much the scholarship means. I'll buy my own materials and pay for many of my own trips. It really makes my venture possible. I don't have a salary, and sponsors are hard to come by.
At club level, he still competes for Luleå Kayak Club.
– It means a lot to me, to have this personal development and to come from Luleå, the world's northernmost kayak club. It's really cool. I think of all the young people who are up there training in Luleå, how damn well everyone is fighting. It's a dream to be able to say that I did it from this ice city, says Johan Myrberg.
The canoeist Johan Myrberg is this year's sports scholarship recipient. Photo: Simon Eliasson
“Gives an enormous amount of joy”
This year's sports leadership scholarship recipient is Ida Sjögren, chairwoman of the Luleå Public Figure Skating Association.
– The scholarship is confirmation that you are making a difference, and inspires you to continue making a difference, she says.
Ida is passionate about creating opportunities for all children and young people to exercise.
– For me, it goes without saying that we must ensure that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has the opportunity to play sports. What keeps me going is the joy of the children and young people.
When the club was exposed to extensive embezzlement in 2022, there was never any question of giving up.
– We stood there with over 80 figure skaters and over 100 children in the skating school. We gathered all our strength and fought. Now we are stronger than ever.
After the crisis, the club has made a commitment to children and young people with disabilities. A para group trains once a week, and the club has a partnership with an adapted school.
– It brings a lot of joy. You can really see the difference and the progress they make. I think it is important for society to activate these children who have had more difficulty finding sports. The children who ride in the para group are members like everyone else in our association, on the same terms.
Ida Sjögren is this year's sports leadership scholarship recipient. Photo: Simon Eliasson.
The sports scholarship and sports leadership scholarship are awarded in collaboration with RF-Sisu Norrbotten.
Motivations for the 2025 scholarships
Rubus Arcticus, 100,000 SEK
Stina Edin, Visual and Design Arts
A woven reality of multiple materials emerges at Stina Edin's loom. The textile work is the foundation, but the art is spiced up with unorthodox materials and components. Ingredients such as wood, timber hooks, keys and dolls are included in the creation and mixed into the artistic expression. This year's Rubus Arcticus fellow in the field of image and form creates playful installations that take up space and break new ground.
Harleen Kalkat, Theatre
The actress, director and playwright Harleen Kalkat is a strong force in Norrbotten culture. With her artistry, she highlights the fate of life from the north, often with women's stories at the center. She moves exploratively between the directness of theater and the condensed intensity of film. From her base in Moskosel, she creates meeting places and allows Norrbotten's stories to reach and touch far beyond the county's borders.
Viktor Krutrök, Music
Through his diverse and innovative artistry, Viktor Krutrök is a significant voice in Norrbotten cultural life. As a musician, songwriter and artistic director, he has developed an expression where music, literature and theatre interact in the depiction of life, language and identity in Norrbotten. By combining tradition and renewal, local storytelling and universal themes, he has deepened and broadened the understanding of the Norrbotten experience.
Linda Jones, Literature
Linda Jones is one of the strongest voices in Swedish children's and young adult literature. With perfect pitch, she depicts what it's like to be young in Sweden today. With Norrbotten as a constant setting, she is unwaveringly loyal to the young people she places at the center of her stories. Linda Jones never shys away from the heavy topics - but at the same time there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and a path that leads forward.
Honorary and merit scholarship, SEK 50
Ulf B Jonsson, Music and photography
The musician and photographer Ulf B Jonsson has worked in the Norrbotten soil for a long time, observing and creating. He has created images, both with the camera as a tool, and with the accordion or bass in his arms in orchestras such as Anton Svedberg's Swängjäng, Norrbottens järn and JP Nyström's. He has collaborated widely and had many adepts in his vicinity, and in this way has carried on his legacy. The consistently high artistic quality is an important contribution to Norrbotten's cultural life.
Sports scholarship, SEK 50
Johan Myrberg, Luleå Kayak Club
With determination, strength and an indomitable will, Johan Myrberg has secured his place in the Swedish national canoe team as a central part of the K4 500 m crew. His goal is clear: to bring Swedish K4 back to the Olympic arena after several decades of absence. The goal is set for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Internationally, the team has taken important steps towards its goal, and Johan has shown a fighting spirit that few possess.
Sports Leadership Scholarship, SEK 30
Ida Sjögren, Luleå General Figure Skating Association
With a burning commitment to everyone's right to participate in safe, inclusive and joyful sport, Ida Sjögren has shown that conviction can become action. When the association's operations were threatened, she refused to give up. With courage, determination and a tireless will, she took the initiative to save it and rebuild it. Now Ida has opened the door to figure skating for children and young people with disabilities. With warmth, care and inspiration, Ida is a confident adult who makes a real difference.
Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa
Photos: Simon Eliasson
