IKEA turns 80 with artist residency program featuring Annie Leibovitz

IKEA celebrates its 80th anniversary, founded on July 28, 1943, by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad in Älmhult, Sweden. CEO Jon Abrahamsson Ring of Inter IKEA Group expressed the company's ongoing commitment to being part of people's lives. To mark the occasion, IKEA launched the Nytillverkad collection, reissuing iconic customer-favorite products at Milan Design Week. The company also unveiled the IKEA Artist in Residence program in collaboration with world-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. The initiative selected a small group of aspiring photographers from a global call that closed on June 30. Participants will work with Leibovitz and an IKEA team to produce the annual IKEA Life at Home report, which documents the evolving concept of home through customer testimonies. A global survey revealed that 48% of people feel their home lifestyle is not represented in media. The residency challenges Leibovitz and her students to visit Italy, India, the United States, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Japan to capture authentic home lives. A preview video of the work has been released.