Samir Alj Fält
Samir Alj Fält (b.1973) completed his studies in Interior Architecture and Furniture Design at Konstfack - University of Arts, Crafts and Design in 2000, Stockholm – with one year at L’École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle, Paris. Of Finnish and Moroccan descent, Alj Fält was born in Paris and later grew up in the immigrant dense suburb of Skärholmen in Stockholm – this has remained central to his work throughout his career. The breakthrough came with The Lost Son (2004) a project which highlighted the lack of cultural diversity in Swedish design industry. It was followed by the celebrated solo show Ultra Violence Design (2006) at Tensta Konsthall which explored the relation between destructiveness and creativity. With the founding of Design Lab S (2013–2018), a design school for the young, Alj Fält wrote a new chapter in modern Swedish design history. His work has, and continues to be, essential for the development of the social design discourse in Sweden. (Photo by Jens Andersson)