I am a design researcher, an artist, and a senior lecturer at the Department of Design. My work combines participatory design, speculations and feminist technoscience – often from the perspective of environmental posthumanism.
Collaborations and public engagement is a major part of my work at Linnaeus University. This work has been formed by my PhD in Media and Communication Studies from Malmö University, MA in Radio from Goldsmiths and BA in Political Science, Ethnology and Comparative Literature from Lund University.
Teaching
At the Department of Design I mainly teach on BA-level, for example focusing on design methods of collaboration and public engagement, demonstration of critical reflections through writing as well as supervision of design projects and degree projects. I have planned, developed, research-anchored and coordinated modules and courses on all three years of the two BA:s Design + Change and Visual Communication + Change. My role has to a large extent meant to combine theory and practice and also includes coordination across programmes in the department as well as with the support functions at the university. I have predominantly taught the modules Economic and Ecological change, Social and Cultural change, +Change design projects in the course +Change. The course theme of Fair share of domestic surplus was a development into a/synchronous teaching with international colleagues. In the course Design + Futures, I have developed, taught and supervised the modules State of the Art and Independent Project. Across the semesters and programmes I have also worked with alumni and external collaborators to develop the BA-students’ preparedness for various kinds of careers.
I am a second supervisor to a PhD student in crafts at HDK-Valand, Gothenburg University and I have been a second supervisor to a PhD student in technoscience at Blekinge Institute of Technology who successfully defended their thesis in 2020.
I have developed and taught on PhD-courses in collaboration with design research colleagues from other universities such as Messy Matters at Blekinge Institute of Technology and Design and Care at the Department of Design at Linnaeus University.
Since I first co-developed the course Experimental Radio Production at Malmö university in 2006 I have taught extensively in higher education. Over the years I have taught nationally and internationally in design educations and beyond as well as in informal lifelong learning situations. I speak about performativity in design processes and activities in a recording at Bauhaus Study Rooms 2023.
Research
I work in trans- and postdisciplinary collaborations on prefigurative design practices, artefacts, aesthetics and imaginaries that concern socio-ecological challenges and just transformations.
As the principal investigator in the artistic research environment Design after Progress: Reimagining Design Histories and Futures I coordinate research colleagues at four different universities whilst also developing shared feminist leadership with my colleagues Li Jönsson and Kristina Lindström. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
In the artistic research project Holding Surplus House I, as a principal investigator, coordinate research colleagues at two different universities. Funded by Formas, Public Art Agency Sweden, ArkDes, the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, and the Swedish National Heritage Board.
Me and my long-term collaborator and colleague Kristina Lindström started the Un/Making Studio as part of the artistic research project Un/Making Matters - maintenance, repair and composting and other ways of caring for that which has already been made. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
I have conducted externally funded artistic research together with Kristina Lindström since 2006 when I was a junior researcher at the IT-research institute Interactive Institute. The first project was called [ordlekar]. The two of us later went on to do an awarded, joint collaborative thesis across two disciplines at Malmö university.
Commissions
I am a member of the research board at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Linnaeus University, a board member of the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment: Sustainable Health and I have been a member of the Leadership group at the Department of Design.
I am part of the advisory board of the Politics of Patents ERC project 2019-2024.
I do academic household work for example by reviewing papers, chapters, book proposals and applications for journals, conferences, funding bodies and committees.
My ongoing research projects
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Project: Holding Surplus House The aim of this project is to explore built environment through giving form to a household that takes what is at hand – and strives to share a surplus.
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Project: Troll perceptions in the Heartlands – artistic research to widen our imagination capacity A transdisciplinary design project emerging out of southern rural Sweden, expanding the formal field…
My completed research projects
Publications
Article in journal (Refereed)
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Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2023). Un/Making the Plastic Straw : Designerly Inquiries into Disposability. Design and Culture. 15 (3). 393-415.
Status: Published -
Jönsson, L., Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2021). The thickening of futures. Futures : The journal of policy, planning and futures studies. 134 (December).
Status: Published -
Latva-Somppi, R., Mäkelä, M., Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2021). Entangled Materialities : Caring for soil communities at glass industry sites. FORMakademisk. 14 (2). 1-14.
Status: Published -
Ståhl, Å., Lindström, K. (2017). Las políticas de invitar : Coarticulación de temas en torno a la participación pública en diseño : Politics of inviting : co-articulations of issues in designerly public engagement. Diseña. (11). 110-121.
Status: Published -
Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2017). Plastic Imaginaries. continent.. 6.1. 62-67.
Status: Published -
Ståhl, Å., Lindström, K., Snodgrass, E. (2014). Staying with, working through and performing obsolescence. Acoustic Space Journal. 12. 243-253.
Status: Published
Chapter in book (Other academic)
- Laurien, T., Jönsson, L., Lilja, P., Lindström, K., Sandelin, E., et al. (2022). An Emerging Posthumanist Design Landscape. Palgrave Handbook of Critical Posthumanism. Palgrave Macmillan. 469-491.
- Ståhl, Å., Lindström, K. (2020). Living with. Transmissions : Critical tactics for making and communicating research. Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT Press. 131-151.
- Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2020). Un/making. Glossary : Collaborative Future-Making (Version 1.0). Malmö University. 33-33.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). From dirt-Sweden to kitchen island to luxury hotel. Oikology – Home Ecologics : A book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 61-72.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). Recipe for plus-community. Oikology – Home Ecologics : A book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 122-122.
- Ståhl, Å. (2019). Building and home making for permaculture. Oikology - Home ecologics : a book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 78-111.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). Recipe for contract for careful sharing. Oikology – Home Ecologics : A book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 89-94.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). Recipe for needs, dreams and housing workshop. Oikology – Home Ecologics : A book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 76-77.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). Recipe for secret housing. Oikology – Home Ecologics : A book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 118-119.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å. (2019). Trans-port and contributions. Oikology – Home Ecologics : A book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 123-137.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). Recipe for scenario salad. Oikology - Home Ecologics : A book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Eart. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 59-59.
Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
- Ståhl, Å., Steppan, H. (2018). Smile, you're on 24 h CCTV!. MirrorMe You. Malmö, Helga Steppan.
Conference paper (Refereed)
- Sabie, S., Song, K., Parikh, T., Jackson, S.J., Paulos, E., et al. (2022). Unmaking@CHI : Concretizing the Material and Epistemological Practices of Unmaking in HCI. CHI EA '22 : Extended Abstracts of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 1-6.
- Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2020). Un/Making in the Aftermath of Design. PDC '20 : Proceedings of the 16th Participatory Design Conference 2020 - Participation(s) Otherwise. 12-21.
- Jönsson, L., Light, A., Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å., Tham, M. (2019). How Can We Come to Care in and Through Design?. Nordes 2019: Who Cares? : Proceedings of the 8th Bi-Annual Nordic Design Research Society Conference - Who Cares? 2-4th of June 2019 Finland. 1-8.
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). Making resilient research dissemination : The case of BOOST metadesign performing housing scenarios. Cumulus Conference Proceedings Rovaniemi 2019, Around the Campfire – Resilience and Intelligence : 27th May – 1st June 2019, Rovaniemi, Finland. 170-181.
- Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2019). Caring Design Experiments in the Aftermath. Nordes 2019: Who Cares? : Proceedings of the 8th Bi-Annual Nordic Design Research Society Conference - Who Cares? 2-4th of June 2019 Finland. 1-9.
- Ståhl, Å., Tham, M., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2017). How can we critically & creatively engage with power relations in collaborative design research?. Nordes 2017 : Design + Power.
- Ståhl, Å., Tham, M., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2017). How can we critically & creatively engage with power in relations in collaborative design research?. design + power : NORDES 2017 : 7th Nordic Design Research Conference, 15-17 June 2017, AHO, Oslo, Norway : Book of Abstracts. 17-17.
- Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2016). Plastic Imaginaries : Becoming Response-able Stakeholders?. PDC 2016, Participatory Design in an Era of Participation : Proceedings of the 14th Participatory Design Conference, Volume II: Short Papers, Interactive Exhibitions, Workshops. 72-73.
- Lindström, K., Ståhl, Å. (2016). Becoming Response-able Stakeholders : Participatory Design in Times of Uncertainties. PDC '16: Proceedings of the 14th Participatory Design Conference : Short Papers, Interactive Exhibitions, Workshops - Volume II. 41-44.
Conference paper (Other academic)
- Lindström, K., Mazé, R., Forlano, L., Jönsson, L., Ståhl, Å. (2018). Editorial: Design, Research and Feminism(s). Proceedings of DRS 2018 : Catalyst. 455-457.
Conference paper (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
- Forlano, L., Ståhl, Å., Lindström, K., Jönsson, L., Mazé, R. (2016). Mending and Growing in Feminist Speculative Fabulations : Design’s Unfaithful Daughters. DRS2016 Conversations : Emergent Design Research.
Collection (editor) (Other academic)
- Tham, M., Ståhl, Å., Hyltén-Cavallius, S. (2019). Oikology - Home Ecologics : a book about building and home making for permaculture and for making our home together on Earth. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 151.
Artistic output (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
- Ståhl, Å., Lindström, K. (2018). Un/Making the Plastic Straw. Ystad, The Un/Making Studio.