This open call to Scotland-based photographers or artists working with lens-based media is for a 30-day residency which will take place in Art Centre KulttuuriKauppila, Ii, Northern Finland and the surrounding areas in June 2025.
Oulu is the European Capital of Culture 2026, together with 39 municipalities. Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s cultural capital project Adaptation examines how ecological, societal, cultural, and technological changes emerge in the sub-Arctic North. Through artistic, social, scientific, human and other-than-human practices the project asks how adaptation and resilience towards the inevitable change our points of views and strategies. The project focuses on major global changes and their local impacts by finding relevant questions and seeking concrete and speculative future solutions through a dialogue between art, science, and tacit local knowledge.
The themes are explored by building, sharing and testing knowledge in collaborations between artists, scientists and local communities. Adaptation will be presented through different activities, such as development workshop/laboratory in spring 2025, five residencies around Northern Finland in spring – autumn 2025, as well as open studios and presentations in residency locations. The main exhibition will be on view in Oulu Art Museum from October 2026 to January 2027.
Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre in collaboration with KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre and Street Level Photoworks are inviting artists or an artist group to react to the urgent global climate situation and engage the sub-Arctic environment in a responsible way. We look for artists who develop, question and offer new perspectives. The artist is expected to work in collaboration with the local community and to be interested in solastagia, ie. emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change. The residency is open to all forms of art but places an emphasis on community-based artistic practices that employ lens-based techniques. The residency will take place in June 2025.
The artist or a group will be paid a total of 11,000 EUR (incl. Finnish VAT if applicable) for a one-month period of residency following independent work resulting in a new artwork. The residency fee includes the artist fee, production costs of the artwork, and travel expenses to and from the residency location. The detailed breakdown of the sums (fee, production, travel) will be made in connection to the residency contract.
Residency location
KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre, located in the municipality of Ii in Northern Finland (approx. 30 min drive from Oulu), offers three residency programmes that allow artists to explore and develop their artistic practice, collaborate with locals and get inspired by the surrounding environment. As part of the program, an environmental curator will be at the disposal of the artist, to help research and access the local landscape.
The residency is located in an idyllic cultural heritage site by the river Iijoki and we are surrounded by an active village community. The fully furnished residency space includes two private rooms with a shared studio space and a kitchen, making it comfortable for individual artists as well as artist groups. The location is far enough from traffic for peace and quiet, yet near enough to public transportation, so that the cultural events in Oulu may be reached conveniently.
During the residency, the artist will start to develop their new body of work for the Adaptation exhibition at Oulu Art Museum October 2026. The artwork must be finalized during the working period following the residency prior to the exhibition. In addition, the artist chosen for the residency will take part in an introductory workshop in spring 2025 aimed at all residency artists, critical thinkers and people involved with the project. The workshop costs will be covered by Photo North and are not part of the residency fee.
Selection criteria
The resident artist is selected by a jury: Malcolm Dickson, director (Street Level Photoworks), Jetta Huttunen, executive manager (KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre), Taija Jyrkäs producer (Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre), Antti Tenetz, researcher, curator (Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre), and Darja Zaitsev, executive director, curator (Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre).
How to apply
In addition to the previous works described in bio and external links of the applicant or the group, the selection will be based on evaluation of the concept of the work, its artistic quality, the feasibility of the plan and its relation to the themes of the residencies of the Adaptation project. We welcome mind-blowing, novel ways of thinking and provocative perspectives. The jury may contact the applicants for further information prior to the selection. The implementation and the content of the works will be developed in collaboration with the project participants. Deadline: 18.8.2024 (23:59 UTC)
The residency is supported by Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre, Oulu Culture Foundation, Kone Foundation, KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre, and Street Level Photoworks.
Oulu is the European Capital of Culture for the year 2026. Oulu and the entire northern Finland will be filled with culture, art, and events in the coming years. Northern Finland will rise to the world map in an unprecedented way as Finnish and international cultural experts create something new in cities, countryside, and nature. It is a journey spanning several years, culminating in the year 2026.
Oulu is the European Capital of Culture for the year 2026. Adaptation is part of the Oulu2026 cultural program and cultural climate change.
