Apply for the Ars Bioarctica residency 2020-21 

EXTENDED DEADLINE!

Application deadline September the 30th 2019

Since 2010 the Bioart Society is organizing the ARS BIOARCTICA RESIDENCY PROGRAM together with the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station of the University of Helsinki in the sub-Arctic Lapland in the traditional Sami lands. The residency has an emphasis on the Arctic environment and art and science collaboration. It is is open for professional artists, scientists and art&science research teams at all stages of their careers.

Read the residency blog by previous guests: http://www.bioartsociety.fi/residency/ 

The residency takes place in the facilities of the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station. The Station provides the residents with a combined living and working environment, kitchen, bathroom, sauna and internet connection. The residents have access to scientific equipment, a basic fiel laboratory facilities, the library and seminar room as well as the usage of field equipment. A dedicated mentor in Kilpisjärvi will familiarize residents with the local environment and customs upon arrival.

The open call to the residency program opens the in July 2019. Ars Bioarctica residency programme is devided into 4 seasons and each residency period is either 2 first weeks or 2 last weeks of the month or the whole month. The residency periods available in this open call are June and October 2020 and January and March 2021. The desired period should be stated in the application.

All applicants will be notified about the selection by the beginning of the month of October 2019.

COSTS

Bioart Society is currently not able to support travel and accommodation. The costs for the resident will include:

• travel to Helsinki and back to your own country

• travel from Helsinki to Kilpisjärvi and back, which is approx 350 €

• daily accommodation, costs are currently as follows (prices are adjusted yearly):

(The first price is for the members of the Bioart Society and researchers with an affiliation with a Finnish University, the second price is for all the others due to Helsinki Univeristy's pricing policies. Single room prices apply only if the station is fully booked.)

Accommodation 2 bed room/person/day 13,80 € / 32,20 €

Accommodation 1 bed room/person/day 20,70 € / 44,40 €

Bed linen and towels 9,50 € visit

Breakfast 7,05 € / 7,65 €

Lunch 7,65 € / 8,05 €

Dinner 9,60 € / 12,25 €

Take away snack 6,15 € / 6,65 €

Evening snack 6,30 € / 6,45 €

Electric sauna, shared 4,05 € / 4,30 € /person/time

Beach sauna, shared 6,65 € / 6,95 € /person/time

Residents are expected to work independently. The station has researchers doing field work over the year but there are no permanent researchers and scientists at the station. Any collaboration possibilities must be organised beforehand by the applicant.

The closest doctor is 300 km away, we warmly recommned to check with your doctor in case you have a medical condition requiring regular attention!

THE LOCATION

Kilpisjärvi is situated in an area where Sámi culture has it roots. The Sámi are the only indigenous people in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, as well as the whole of the European Union. They inhabited the area long before any state borders were drawn. The area is called Lapland, but the Sámis themselves use the name Sápmi.
Approximately 10,000 Sámi people live in Finland, and they speak three languages: North Sámi, Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi. The traditional Sámi livelihood is reindeer herding which is still practiced there. 

Inari is nowdays a officional center of Sámi culture. There is the Sámi Parliament, SámiRadio, the Siida SámiMuseum and the Northern Lapland Nature Centre, as well as the Cultural Centre Sajos. Inari is 326 km from Rovaniemi to North.

Kilpisjärvi has a distinctly oceanic climate affected by its northern location and altitude: the area is located over 400 metres above sea level and less than 50 kilometres from the Arctic Ocean. The climate is very arctic with one of the lowest mean annual temperatures on the European continent at only 2.3 °C. On average, the temperature does not rise above +10.9 °C in July. The ground is usually covered in snow from September or October to early June. Patches of snow may be found on the slopes of Malla all year round. More spesific info you can find here: http://www.helsinki.fi/kilpis/english/Climate/records.htm

For observing the northern lights Kilpisjärvi is the best location in Finland with its daily 70 percentage chance to see the northern lights if the sky is clear.

Malla’s nature reserve which is just next to the station is Finland’s oldest protected nature reserve. The Malla fells were first protected in 1916 when Finland was still under Russian rule.  Thanks to its calcareous soils, the highlands of the Little Malla and Great Malla fells are home to some rare species of alpine plants and butterflies. Some of these plants are not found anywhere else in Finland.

Application procedure:

Applications have to include:

• a completed application form (see below)


• a cv


• a work plan


•  

Evaluation:

The evaluation of the applications emphasizes the quality of the proposal, its interaction of art&science, its artistic and scientific significance, the projects relation to the thematics of Ars Bioarctica and its feasibility to be carried out at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station in the given time.

Send questions to Piritta Puhto: piritta[dot]puhto[at]bioartsociety[dot]fi