SOFIA HAGSTRÖM MØLLER
MY FUTURE HERITAGE
In January 2020, Swedish textile artist Sofia Hagström Møller traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, USA for a Weaving Lab residency. Excited to work with the digital TC2 loom at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. As inspiration, she brought with her a cloth that her grandmother had woven in the early 1900s in Småland, Sweden.
Sofia was curious to see if she could find similar woven patterns at textile collections in the area, Wisconsin, USA. Sofia’s grandmother Astrid Linnea Äng came from the generation where many emigrated from Sweden to America and the likelihood that they brought both their craft knowledge and finished textiles to the US inspired Sofia.
When she discovered examples of similar woven patterns in the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, she realized the full potential of the project to explore cultural interpretations and overlaps.
This exhibition of Sofia Hagström Møller’s work weaves together stories of inspiration and processing, function and symbolism, as well as past, present and future. Through the selected work, Hagström Møller explores the roots of Scandinavian textile design and celebrates the heritage that American weaving shares with these traditions. By translating her grandmother’s patterns through the digital technology available to her today, Hagström Møller’s work transcends language and travels through time and space.
The work she created during her visit to Madison is shown in dialogue with textile works from Hagström Møller’s ongoing practice. Together with a series of brand new artworks created specifically for `My Future Heritage’ at the Swedish American museum in 2026.
The new weaves take inspiration from the seasonal colors in Småland, as well as memories from her childhood of the traditional crafts, translated into pattern and yarn, and woven together into four pieces representing: spring, summer, autumn, winter.
This project was developed with generous support from the Danish Art Foundation, Nationalbankens Jubilæumsfond, Knud Højgaards Fond, The Danish Art Workshop, Tage Vangaard og Hustrus Fond.
Sofia Hagström Møller har arbejdet på Statens Værksteder i København, med værker til udstillingen Fremtidens Arv, der skal vises på Swedish Museum i Chicago i sommeren 2026. Projektet udspringer af hendes svenske arv og bedstemorens rejse over Atlanten – en fortælling om at høre til flere steder på én gang.
Dec. 2025
Inspireret af årstidernes farver i Småland væver Fremtidens Arv fortid og nutid sammen i et nyt, sanseligt udtryk.
Læs mere fra processen her: https://svfk.dk/project/sofia-hagstrom-moeller-fremtidens-arv
