Artist in Residence The Bag Factory, Johannesburg, October–December 2024

Maja Bakken  is a material based artist with a background in the field of Art Jewelry. Through a starting point in jewelry and traditional crafting techniques, she creates sculptural objects with a connection to the human body. With an interest in themes such as identity, value and personal belongings, she uses craft as a method to explore and understand. Currently based in Alby, Botkyrka, Maja has been working with several public art installations and is exhibiting her works both nationally and internationally. She is a member of the female collaborative craft platform “Parts and Pieces” and engaged in an interdisciplinary exchange of craft perspectives. Currently Maja is working on a tactile public art installation for Botkyrka kommun.

Photo: Bengt Rahm

Maja Bakken

For her project at Bagfactory, Johannesburg, Maja will research contemporary as well as traditional South African Beadwork. Through material based making and analytical research the project looks into the importance of jewellery as a mark of identity.