North Escaping - The Nordic-Baltic residency call

Bioart Society is glad to announce fully funded residencies for Nordic and Baltic artists under the theme of ‘North Escaping’ for the years 2022-2023.

The current climate crisis is transforming our world rapidly, with the most rapid transformations seen in the northern latitude. As the climate changes, it does not only alter habitats and livelihoods, but it affects entities in a much deeper way. The North Escaping captures this mental state which not only includes fear and anticipation of change, but also the loss of a certain world and the birth of a completely new one.

Under the umbrella of North Espacing, the Bioart Society will organize a series of activities during the next years. This includes six trans-disciplinary research residencies at the Ars Bioarctica residency program, accommodated with a public outreach program in Helsinki, and the production of artworks, workshops, and events stemming from the residencies. For this open call, we are looking for applications from Nordic and Baltic professional artists.

The aim of the residencies is to explore the current and approaching transformations in the North, to investigate the possible consequences of these developments, and how we can build cultural capacities to deal with them. The residencies call for the arts to work with design, architecture, natural sciences, humanities, engineering, indigenous stakeholders, the public at large – and others who feel they have a say in this – in transdisciplinary collaborations to develop new skills and knowledge.

The residencies take place in the facilities of the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station of the University of Helsinki. The Biological Station offers the residents the same possibilities and infrastructure as its scientists and staff: a combined living and working environment, an internet connection, sauna, access to scientific equipment, laboratory facilities, the library, and a seminar room as well as the usage of field equipment. A dedicated mentor in Kilpisjärvi will familiarise residents with the local environment and customs.

The application deadline is the 17th of June 2022

We are happy to announce an open call for 4 fully funded one month-long residencies for the time period of October 2022 - December 2023  at the Kilpisjärvi biological station. The purpose of this month-long work period is to deeply engage with the complexity of the North Escaping. After the residency, the resident artist can share their project with the Finnish art scene and audiences in our SOLU Space in Helsinki. Each artist will be professionally accompanied and supported by the production and curatorial team of the Bioart Society. We invite applications from artists and artist groups based in the Nordic and Baltic countries, excluding Finland. The residencies are funded by Kulturkontakt Nord.

The travels, accommodation, daily allowances, and a 3-day-long stay in Helsinki – to develop and present the work done at the station in a form of, for example, an exhibition, talk, or a workshop – are all covered. The material costs for the residency are paid up to 800 euros, and the production of the event or exhibition in Helsinki up to 1500 euros. The artist fee for the residency is 2100 euros and for the event or exhibition 500 euros.

Applications must include:

• a completed application form (below)

• CV (if a working group, please add all the members' CVs, pdf)

• Work plan (max 3 pages, pdf)

• Budget (materials, equipment rentals, fees for others, and travels, pdf)

In the evaluation of the applications, the quality of the proposal and its relationship to the thematics of Escaping North, the interaction between art and science, artistic and scientific significance, relation to the local environment, and the project's feasibility of being carried out in the proposed time in the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station are emphasized. More info on the Kilpisjärvi biological station is here.

The selected artists / artist groups are announced by the end of June 2022.

Any inquiries can be made by contacting Piritta Puhto at piritta.puhto@bioartsociety.fi

(Image Björn Kröger)