Anders Holmer, from Utflykt, 2024 © Courtesy of the artist
Are we there now?
We are HERE, but we haven’t made it all the way THERE yet.
So we’re still on an excursion?
Yes.
Two friends – one with a tail and one with a trunk – make their way through mysterious imaginative landscapes. They travel over deep precipices and flaming volcanoes, across stormy seas and through prickly rose hip thickets. Their journey may look perilous, but nothing is threatening – only exciting. “What do we do if we get lost? Then we’ll try to find our way.”
Bildmuseet presents all the original paintings for the Swedish Picture Book of the Year, Utflykt [The Excursion], winner of the national award Snöbollen [The Snowball]. Anders Holmer, who created both images and text, accepted the prize in spring 2025 at Littfest, Umeå International Literature Festival. In the exhibition you can listen to Anders Holmer describing how the book came about.
In Utflykt the two children try out different identities and assume different guises. You and I and the world merge together. They take on a concept that they do not fully understand: the excursion. The story – which can be read on multiple levels – depicts their progression, their meandering through the world. It pays tribute to children’s unique ability to create hopeful playfulness, and to make sense of their existence.
Anders Holmer (b. 1977) is a Gothenburg-based artist, author and architect. He made his picture book debut with Allting händer! in 2017, and has since produced five more: Regn (2018), Inget händer! (2019), Farväl (2021), Utflykt (2024) and Karavan (2025).
His books have been met with critical acclaim, both in Sweden and internationally. Regn was nominated in the children’s and young people’s books category of the August Prize and for the Elsa Beskow Plaque. The book was also selected for the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Exhibit, as well as the German Internationale Jugendbibliothek’s White Ravens catalogue. Regn and Utflykt were also included in the dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picturebooks selection.
Swedish Picture Book of the Year / The Excursion is produced by Bildmuseet. Museum curator Brita Täljedal, who is also a member of the Snowball Award jury, has curated the exhibition. It includes activities and educational programmes in the creative workshop for visitors of all ages. Swedish
