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Online course: FROM IMAGE TO TEXT
Starts March 23 — maximum 8 participants
To note: this course in in Swedish.
Writing about photographic projects is an art in itself. Different contexts call for different kinds of texts — for websites, exhibitions, artist statements, applications, or project descriptions. Even though images often speak for themselves, writing can open new perspectives, give language to what is not yet articulated, and deepen the understanding of your work.
In this course, we explore how text and image can meet. You will work with your own material, try out different text formats, and receive feedback from both the group and me as the course leader. We also look at photobook texts and examples of how words and images can interact in creative ways.
Writing becomes a deeper form of thinking and listening within the artistic process—one that often leads to a clearer, more grounded artistic vision.
Please visit FROM IMAGE TO TEXT for more information and registration.
Atelier Chroma – A New Educational Platform
At Atelier Chroma, photography, art, and psychology meet in a reflective and process-oriented approach to learning. This is a space for photographers and artists who wish to deepen their expression, find direction, and work with greater artistic awareness — beyond technical solutions and toward a more personal creative process. Through workshops and creative consultations, I offer support for both the artistic process and the human experiences that shape it.
I share reflections on photography, creative practice, and the psychology of creativity through the Atelier Chroma newsletter. It is sent two to three times per month and includes invitations to courses, workshops, and ongoing reflections on the artistic process. You are warmly welcome to subscribe and stay connected.
Creative Consultation
Sometimes we need to do more than just plan and create — we need to understand our process more deeply. Creative consultation offers a space to pause, listen inward, and reflect on what truly matters in your own creative process.
It may concern your artistic practice or any other field where creativity and innovation are central. Together, we explore what is moving within your work and projects, and how your creative expression connects with the different roles and relationships in your life.
Creative consultation is not traditional therapy or coaching, but a reflective and in-depth dialogue about your artistic practice and vision. With a background in psychology and research on creativity, emotion, and learning, I bring both psychological insight and artistic resonance to the conversation.
Visit Atelier Chroma — the homepage is currently in Swedish — for more information and registration.
A preliminary study of grief (lighten my heart) at Centrum för fotografi in Stockholm
For the work A preliminary study of grief (lighten my heart), Maria Sandgren has conducted an archaeological excavation of the emotion of grief. She explores how grief can be perceived by someone who has lost a loved one. The loss occurs at a specific moment, and the feelings become intensely felt and last for a long time. The inspiration for the excavation comes from Mourning diary (2009/2018) by Roland Barthes, in which he describes the strong, unpredictable, and painful emotions of grief after a loss.
Maria Sandgren will show this preliminary study of grief in pictures and text at a group exhibition on June, 10-15th at the Centre for Photography in Stockholm.
Circles of Care at Hasselblad Fotosalong 2025
At Hasselblad Fotosalong 2025, five pictures from my photobook An Unfolded Collection will be exhibited. The selection of images is called Circles of Care and is about the eternal and silent gestures of care that women show others. The series shows a woman making a bed for someone else to sleep in. The next day, the women will make the bed again.
The Hasselblad Fotosalong opens on May 23rd and is running to September 28th.
Untitled #1 at Exposition The Exposed Eye at Alingsås konsthall
At Alingsås konsthall, Helga Härenstam and Anna Strand are showcasing another exhibition of The Exposed Eye. They invited others contribute with the prompt to ”Do something about The End.” My response was the picture Untitled #1 on creative spaces. Creative spaces can be seen as passages in our lives more or less accessible, yet always temporary.
If you have the chance, do visit Alingsås konsthall on April 9th.
The photobook An Unfolded Collection is published
The photobook An Unfolded Collection is about the eternal and silent gestures of care that women show others. I have portrayed these gestures in a series of pictures and poems. The series shows a woman making a bed where someone else will lie down, sleep, dream, and wake up. The next day, the woman will make the bed again.
During a visit to the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, Zanele Muholi's works were on display. A series of self-portraits, Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail The Dark Lioness), made a strong impression. One of the self-portraits was about her mother and the mother's strenuous life as a parent and provider for her children. I was inspired to portray women's constant responsibility for children and home, and I chose to illustrate the ritual of making a bed for someone else.
A Blog on Psychology and Photography
To engage in photography is an intriguing activity and to write about photography is also very meaningful. When I write text, I discover even more about photography. I distance myself from my photographic practice and connect with other contexts where psychology can tell me something that my practice does not show. For this joyful and intellectual reason, I created the blog Maria Sandgren Studio.
My texts will be about photography, creativity and psychology – about what makes the photographic practice expland, flow, enrich, satisfy and much more for us photographers. No solutions are promised, but more perspectives to feel and think more about photography.