Blandaren is the world's oldest humor magazine, founded in 1863 by students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. [1] [2] [3] The aesthetics of Blandaren has been described as having dadaistic, absurdist, satirical and surrealist qualities. [4] [5] [6]
Throughout its long history spanning over a century, Blandaren has undergone significant transformations. [7] Initially, it published two annual issues: Vårblandaren [8] and Gåsblandaren. [9] [10] The latter being released around St. Martin's Day. In its contemporary form, releases an annual issue in December. [11] [12] In 2016, Blandaren released a historical work to commemorate the 153 year long history. [13] Blandaren has also released several similar historical editions to celebrate the 80, 100 and 126 year long history. [13] [14] [15]
Throughout its history, Blandaren has had a diverse array of editors, including individuals like Bengt Lindroos (architect), Pontus Hutlén (art collector and museum director), [16] [17] Gunnar Asplund (architect), [18] Ferdinand Boberg (architect), [19] and Maja Säfström (illustrator). [20]
Blandaren was still a part of the Student Union at the Royal Institute of Technology towards the end of the 1960's. Blandaren accounted for a large share of the student unions income, and had their facilities at the KTH campus. [21] Due to the spirit of 1968, Blandaren came to be viewed as socially unacceptable. [21] Blandaren subsequently left the student union and is since 1969 a voluntary association. [22] [23]
During the late 50's Jean Tinguely stayed in Blandaren's facilities during the recording of the avant-garde movie En Dag I Staden (English:A Day in the City). [10]
Blandaren stands out in the magazine world due to its unusually large size. It is sold by teknologer [24] most commonly in central Stockholm during December. [1] [25] The teknologer have a rather unusual approach to selling Blandaren, they don boilersuits adorned with bells and whistles and simply shout 'Blandaren!' to capture the attention of presumptive readers." [26]
Blandaren operates a stipend fund dedicated to Edward Sminks bad memory. [27] [28] Although there are no strict application criteria, there exists a list of twelve demands that recipients should ideally meet. [29] [30] The final application date is the first of March every year. [29] Over the years, recipients of Blandaren's stipend fund dedicated to the bad memory of Edward Sminks" have received support for a diverse range of creative endeavors.
These recipients represent a wide array of creative endeavors, ranging from literature and visual arts to comedy, space exploration, and more. The fund has been instrumental in supporting individuals and groups in their pursuit of unique projects, ensuring that the legacy of Edvard Sminks lives on through their creative contributions. [29]
| Year | Recipient |
| 2006 | Monica Lehn Domnick [31] |
| 2007 | Per-Arne Sträng [31] [32] |
| 2008 | Jan och Maria Berglin [33] [31] |
| 2009 | Leo Marco Englund [31] |
| 2012 | Maja K Zetterberg [31] |
| 2013 | Anna Larsson(space-student) [34] [35] [31] |
| 2016 | Mimi Fürst [36] [31] |
| 2017 | Moa Lundqvist [31] |
| 2018 | Saga Berlin [31] |
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Blandaren, tidningen med det opraktiska formatet som brukar säljas av unga män och kvinnor i knasiga overaller, fyller alltså 150 år.