Gull-Mari Rosén

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Konst- och konsthantverkscirklar under 1970- talet

EVERY YEAR, HUNDREDS of thousands of people participate in art and handicrafts study circles organized by educational associations, and thus receive an increased esthetic education. The degree of this increase in knowledge is dependent on the quality of the particular study circle, the extent to which they live up to the aims and conditions required for the receipt of state grants. There are some indications that educational associations sometimes close their eyes to these aims and conditions and neglect to provide information about them. An educational association is able to control the quality of art and handicrafts study circles—for example, through the selection of course leaders, and by providing course leaders with better information and in-house training. Educational associations also receive state grants for this type of activity. The grants are not specifically ear-marked for this purpose, and it is the educational association itself that decides how to use the grants received. Certain areas of activity can be given priority over others. It is therefore of interest to examine the official attitudes of the various aducational associations towards their activities within the area of arts and handicrafts. This study, which concentrates on the four major educational associations in Sweden- the Workers' Educational Association (ABF), the Adult Educational Association (Vuxenskolan), the Educational Association of the Citizens' School (Medborgarskolan), and the Salaried Employees' Educational Association (TBV)-is based on the following: - a direct method, involving an analysis of official publications, e.g. charter, programme, publications and journals - a questionnaire directed to the Directors of Studies at the various educational associations - an indirect method involving the analysis of the educational associations' reactions to the cultural policy introduced in the 1970s. The results of the study show that none of the educational associations give esthetic activities the highest priority, despite the fact that in the eases of Medborgarskolan and Vuxenskolan these activities are clearly dominant, and also constitute the major activity for TBV. There are many signs that instead indicate that the interest in esthetic activities is rather luke-warm. The associations also question the aims and conditions that the state has drawn up in order to maintain a certain standard in the content of study circles. TBV and Medborgarskolan consider these aims and conditions to be too demanding. Vuxenskolan does not appear to have any unified policy concerning these aims and conditions, and ABF appears to deny the very existence of fixed aims for study circle acitivites.