Maryam Fanni
Design & Research
Stockholm, Sweden
hej @ maryamfanni ● se
+46—(0)73 55 66 214


Photo: Anna Drvnik

MF is a designer and artistic researcher. Her research interests include public space, spatial justice, politics of design, publishing strategies, archival interventions, memory studies, women's and worker's histories, artistic/research methods and more.

She is a PhD student in Design at HDK-Valand Academy of Art & Design (University of Gothenburg) with the research project Reading the Signs – distinction-making nostalgia in Swedish post-war suburbs (planned defense 2025). In 2023–2024, she was initiator and artistic leader of an archival project re-activating the citizen-driven local history archive Hökarängsarkivet. In fall 2023 she was a visiting researcher at Center for Urban Research at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia.

She has designed and/or edited publications and publishing platforms for clients in arts and academia since 2011. She was awarded Most Beautiful Books Sweden for the design of artist Eric Magassa's photo book 313 (Gothenburg: BlackBook Publications 2023). She co-edited Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography (London: Occasional Papers 2020) which has been translated to Portuguese and Finnish (book reviews collected here). More publications can be found in Library (under construction).

She is a co-founder and member of research-based transdisciplinary right-to-the-city collectives SIFAV Söderorts Institut För Andra Visioner/South Districts Institute For Other Visions (2012–2017) and Mapping the Unjust City (2015–). She is also a co-founder and member of feminist graphic design research collective MMS (2012–). In 2021 she joined the Swedish-Danish research group Aktion Arkiv.

Her writings have been published in research journals and cultural magazines such as Parse Journal of Artistic Research, Visual Communication, AIGA Eye of Design, Radical Housing Journal, PLAN, Futuress, NON, Tecknaren, Konstnären, Fronesis, Tydningen, Paletten, Arkitektur and in books published by Princeton Architectural Press, Stockholmia förlag, Statens konstråd and Konstfack Collection. Between 2015–2022 she was a regular contributor and art and design critic at Swedish National Radio (nation-wide pre-recordings and live broadcasting) and konsten.net (online art magazine).

Her works have been shown at Museum of Swedish History, ArkDes National Museum of Architecture and Design, Konsthall C, Röhsska museum of Design and Craft, Brno International Biennial of Graphic Design, Index Foundation, Grafikens hus c/o Royal Art Academy, Gallery Myymälä2, Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus, EKA Gallery and Västerås konstmuseum.

She has done jury work for Swedish Arts Grants Committee's Visual Arts Fund, Hasselblad Foundation, Kolla!, Region Västra Götaland and SFF Swedish Association of Professional Photographers.

Clients and collaborators include: KIN Museum of Contemporary ArtZHdK Zürich University of the ArtsGöteborgs konsthallHasselblad FoundationGrafikens husNorstedtsNatur & Kultur Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and DesignKulturakademinKKH Royal Institute of ArtStatens konstråd/Public Art Agency SwedenArwidssonstiftelsenKonsthall Cartist Elena Mazziartist Kasra Alikhaniartist Eric MagassaVästerås konstmuseumSAQMI Swedish Archive of Queer Moving ImagesSFF Swedish Association of Professional PhotographersRegion Västra Götaland Museum Anna NordlanderUniversity of GothenburgIndex FoundationKTH Royal Institute of Technologyresearcher Frida Hållanderartist Paula Urbanoartist Katarina NitschBokförlaget ETCBotkyrka KonsthallSwedish Arts Grants Committee/KonstnärsnämndenRiksutställningarArtLab GnestaSwedish Association of Graphic designers and Illustrators/Svenska Tecknare

Please get in touch for full CV.

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