In this year’s summer show at Spritmuseum, all the pieces from Absolut Vodka’s 1992–93 Absolut Statehood project are being exhibited together for the first time. The show takes you on a road trip through the lively and colourful art scenes of rural America, far from the establishment and the international star system. There – above picturesque motifs and rolling rural landscapes – hovers the iconic vodka bottle.

Absolut Statehood was one of Absolut Vodka’s biggest, most ambitious art projects. From throughout the US, 51 artists, one from each state plus Washington, D.C., were commissioned to create “state portraits” representing their home states. The artworks were published once a fortnight in the national daily newspaper USA Today during 1992 and 1993. In conjunction with the campaign, lithographs of every piece were sold, numbered and signed by the artist. All proceeds, totalling some 4 million dollars, were donated to the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) to support medical research.

At a time when HIV and AIDS were still a death sentence, the Statehood campaign helped disseminate a more empathic understanding of the illness.

And sell vodka.

Guided tour

During a 30-minutes tour you will learn about the Absolut Art Collection and the marketing history of one of the biggest vodka companies in the world.
The guided tours take place every Thursday at 2 pm, and every Saturday at 1 pm. A drink is included in the price of 345 SEK. Buy your tickets on site at Spritmuseum before the tour starts.