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Anna Berndtson (born 1972) in Malmö, Sweden, is a performance artist.

Biography
Anna Berndtson studied performance at Dartington College of Arts in England 1996-1999, where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Theatre.

2001-2005 she studied performance in the Abramovic Klass at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Braunschweig, here she graduated with a Diplom in Visual Arts.

Anna Berndtson has taught Performance Art, among others at Fachhochschule Ottersberg and in the Sverigefinska folkhögskolan, Haparanda.

Anna Berndtson began her artistic career in the late 1990s. She works mainly with Long Duration Live Performance, whereby her own body is of central importance. Since the mid 2000s she also produces photography and video work.

2003 Anna Berndtson co-funded the Swedish/German performance duo (TBL) TallBlondLadies, together with her collaborative partner Irina Runge. The duo works with challenging and inverting gender thought patterns and female clichés in their own independent artistic practice.

Anna Berndtson has performed and exhibited work, amongst others, at; Bergmancenter, Fårö, Liljevalchs, Stockholm, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, The LAB Gallery, Dublin, Artists Space, New York, Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, MoMA PS1 i New York, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and VV2 at the Venice Biennale.

In 2006 she was awarded the Künstlerhäuser Worpswede Artist-in-Residence grant as well as the grant from Aase och Richard Björklunds fond. In 2007 and 2010 – 2011 she got the work grant from Konstnärsnämnden in Sweden and in 2010 she received the Fire Station Artists' Studios and Arts & Disability Ireland Studio Award. In 2012 she spent 3 months at the Artist-in-Residency Program, vid Nordic Artists' Centre Dalsåsen, Norway. During 2013 she accepted the invitation of a residency at the Bergman Estate on Fårö in Sweden.

She is a member of Abramovic Foundation founded by Marina Abramovic in 2008.

Work (selection)
(2002) Not Scared

(2002) Borg

(2004) Private

(2004) Untitled

(2006) Gudrun

(2006) Anna Berndtsons underbara resa genom…

(2007) Self Stress Relief

(2009) Shielded

(2010) Monto

(2010) Working Lactance

(2012) Churned

(2013) Rauka Painting

In Not Scared the artist stands on a bathroom scale. On a table is a kitchen scale and large quantities of food, labelled with information about the calorie content. The public participates by selecting food, weighing it, calculating the number of calories it contains, and then feeding it to her. Finally, the public fills out a form, hanging on the wall. The form has five columns that the public are expected to fill out. Food, Weight – Food, Calories, Time, Weight - Anna.

In Gudrun the artist stands wearing an evening dress, swaying from side to side, with a chainsaw in one hand. She rhythmically presses the gas so that the chain is spinning and the engine is roaring.

In Churned the artist stands, sits and lies in a large tub, dressed in a blue evening dress. The tub is filled with cream, which by her movements is churned into butter.

Education

 * 1994 - 1996, BTEC in Performing Art at the City of Bath College, Bath, UK. Here she in 1996 received the “Student of the year award”.
 * 1996 - 1999, BA (Honours) Degree in Theater at Dartington College of Arts, Dartington, UK
 * 1998 - 1999, acting at Hochschule der Künste, Berlin, Germany as well as scenography at Kunsthochschule für Gestaltung, Weissensee, Berlin, Germany
 * 2001 - 2005, Performance, Diplom in Fine Arts by Professor Marina Abramovic at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste i Braunschweig, Germnay.