Skaftfell’s thematic residencies aim to create platforms for exchange, discussion, and collaboration amongst fellow artists from various disciplines, who share a professional interest in the residency’s topic, both on a practical and a conceptual level, and who wish to deepen their knowledge and expertise. In 2019, we offer two different thematic residencies: Printing Matter and Wanderlust.
Printing Matter
Printing Matter is a three-week intensive program for 6-8 artists, focusing on printmaking and artist book making. In 2019 it will be taking place for the fourth time. The program is developed and guided by the Danish artist and graphic designer Åse Eg Jørgensen. It includes group workshops, independent research and practice, and an informal final presentation. Working facilities and printmaking equipment are made available through the collaboration between Skaftfell and the Technical Museum of East Iceland in Seyðisfjörður. The printing presses are museum pieces: three hand-driven presses that were donated to the museum by Swiss/German artist Dieter Roth. There is a letterpress proofing press (width max 48cm) and a selection of type (lead), a small intaglio press (width max 30cm) and an old lithographic press (35x45cm) with a small selection of stones.
The main focus of Printing Matter is the exploration of various “old-school” printing and bookbinding techniques, experimenting with ink, paper, type, binding, folding, and sewing. The workshop sessions are hands-on and experimental, as well as discursive. Selected texts act as foundation for discussions on printed matter and printed multiples in their art historical context, and the artists present their practices to the group in short artist talks. At the end of the program, the results will be presented to the public in an informal exhibition.
Dates: March 6–26, 2019.
Accommodation and working spaces: Artists-in-residence for Printing Matter stay in various apartments throughout the town, all within short walking distance to Skaftfell and to each other. The houses are set up as shared self-catering accommodation, each including private bedrooms, shared livingroom, bathroom and kitchen, working tables, washing machine, and WiFi. Shared working spaces with individual working desks for all participants will be set up in the Skaftfell studio and at the Technical Museum.
Costs for the artist: Residency fee, travel costs, and meals will be paid by the artist. The residency fee is 180,000 ISK. It includes full tuition, shared self-catering accommodation, access to shared working spaces and equipment, basic printmaking materials, access to WiFi, and general and PR support from Skaftfell staff.
[button link=”https://old.skaftfell.is/residency-program/application-process/?lang=en”]How to apply[/button]
Wanderlust
Referring to Rebecca Solnit’s book Wanderlust, this residency will bring together artists who wish to consider the notion of wandering as an aesthetic practice. Linking the activities of walking, thinking and art-making,the aim of the workshop will be to explore how art can convey one’s experience of place. The roads, paths, and valleys of Seydisfjördur will provide participants with the arena to move and think about notions of space, time, memory and the subjectivity of human perception. With each passing day, the artists will reflect upon their own engagement with this foreign and remote environment as it becomes more familiar, and consider the nature of their interactions as artists-in-residence within the Icelandic landscape.
Through a number of group walks and hikes around the mountains and valleys of Seyðisfjörður, conversations, workshops, and fieldwork, the participants will develop their sensitivities to place, and share their responses through artistic expression. Artists will need to bring a good pair of hiking boots, waterproof clothing, a backpack for day hikes, and basic art materials and equipment relevant to their own practices. Please note that a good level of physical fitness, and a certain resilience to wind and rain are essential for participating in the “Wanderlust” residency.
The residency will be guided by Jessica Auer, visual artist and photography professor from Montreal, Canada. Following two residencies with Skaftfell Center for Visual Art, she relocated to Seydisfjördur to co-direct Ströndin Studio, an educational and experimental centre for photography. Her work is broadly concerned with the study of landscapes as cultural sites, focusing on themes that connect history, place, journey and cultural experience.
Dates: June 4–25, 2019.
Accommodation and working spaces: Artists-in-residence for “Wanderlust” stay in four historical houses throughout the town, all within short walking distance to Skaftfell and to each other. The houses are set up as shared self-catering accommodation, each including private bedrooms, a combined living and working space, shared bathroom and kitchen, working tables, washing machine, and WiFi. Shared working spaces with individual working desks for all participants will be set up at Ströndin Studio, which is located at the edge of town and can be reached in a 10-15 min walk.
Costs for the artist: Residency fee, travel costs, and meals will be paid by the artist. The residency fee is 160,000 ISK. It includes full tuition, shared self-catering accommodation, access to shared working spaces and basic equipment, access to WiFi, and general and PR support from Skaftfell staff.
[button link=”https://old.skaftfell.is/residency-program/application-process/?lang=en”]How to apply[/button]
[box]Travel
Residency artists are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to Seyðisfjörður. Travel information can be found here. Skaftfell encourages slow travel and has teamed up with Smyril Line, the international ferry from Denmark via Faroe Islands to Seyðisfjörður. We can arrange a special discount for artists-in-residence travelling by ferry in the off-season. More information on the ferry at www.smyrilline.com. [/box]