Marta Edling

Marta Edling is a Professor of Art History at Södertörn University's School of Culture and Education, where she has been employed since 2012. She has also held academic positions at Uppsala University (2002-2015), Royal Institute of Art, and Valand Academy of Fine Arts.

• Current role: Professor of Art History (since 2012)
• University: Södertörn University
• School: School of Culture and Education
• Department: Department of Culture and Learning

Her research focuses on Nordic visual arts networks and historical patterns in artist education systems. A key thread connects gender studies, discourse theory, and sociology to analyze power structures within art institutions. Notably, she has studied skewed social recruitment in Swedish art colleges and the development of artistic research in Sweden since 1977.

Recent projects include Exhibiting Art in a European Periphery? International Art in Sweden During the Cold War (2017-2021), which examines Sweden's role in Cold War cultural diplomacy. Her 2019 article From Margin to Margin? The Stockholm Paris Axis 1944–1953 demonstrates how transnational artistic contacts were shaped by local competition rather than center-periphery diffusion.

Scientific awards include:

• Karin Westman Berg Award, Uppsala University (2011)
• Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation Post-doc scholarship (1999)

Edling has served on multiple academic bodies, including the Faculty Board of Education and Research at Stockholm University of the Arts (2016-2022) and the Swedish Research Council Review Panel. She has supervised several PhD students and contributed to reforms in Nordic higher art education.