Room 138 by Mark Dion
During the first weeks of April 2026, American artist Mark Dion transformed Room 138 in the SSE main building into an installation that turns the classroom itself into a subject of inquiry. The space seats 40 students and is the School’s ninth art classroom, forming part of the SSE Permanent Collection.
Mark Dion in the classroom, April 2026.
Photos: Mikael Olsson
Throughout his artistic practice, Dion has explored how dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world. His work examines how institutions such as natural history museums, universities, and economic systems construct and legitimize knowledge.
A classroom within an academic institution such as SSE provides a fitting context for this exploration, while also creating a space for students to reflect on and develop their own understanding in a time often described as a post-truth society.
Drawing on methods associated with archaeology, field ecology, and museum practices, Dion collects, classifies, and displays objects in ways that challenge assumptions about objectivity and authority in scientific and institutional systems. His installations reveal how ideology, social agendas, and pseudoscience can influence public discourse and shape the production of knowledge.
Mark Dion (born 1961) is an American artist based in Copake, New York. He is represented by Saskia Neuman Gallery.
All art classrooms at the Stockholm School of Economics are conceived as permanent installations that function both as artworks and as active learning environments. Dion’s classroom is the School’s ninth such space.
The room was made possible through a generous donation from Helene Broms and Håkan Roos.
