Åfjord municipality is located on the Fosen Peninsula in the Trøndelag region of central Norway. The nature here is magnificent, with the sea, the mountains, abundant wildlife, and more than a thousand lakes and rivers. Åfjord Art is formed to explore the roles art can take outside the big cities and what roles it can play in local communities. It is established by Åfjord Municipality Arts Council with the aim of presenting young contemporary art where people live, and to explore new formats and new arenas for art exhibitions. What happens when you take art out of the museum? What does it mean for a community when art and artists are present? We want to create more exhibition opportunities for young artists and are happy to take unconventional paths expanding the idea of what art can be and where it can be.
We collaborate with artists who enjoy local investigations to create work where human relationships and local contexts become central to the work. To borrow from Nicolas Bourriaud, we see art as a social interstice. This understanding of art contrasts with a more modernistic approach, where art is understood as an isolated object. Our projects often cross the border between art and real life.
The exhibitions we create generate new knowledge about how art can inhabit new spaces and how it can be part of a broader societal context. We aim for art form new encounters between the artists and the people who live here. The works are primarily made for the inhabitants, their friends and families, and those who visit the municipality.
In this project, we invite artists to work and live in Åfjord exploring the notion of place. The artists selected will be invited on a four weeks fully funded residency in March to research and prepare a piece of work for the arts festival Åfjord Art Month which takes place in November 2025. After the residency there is a 6 month development period back where you live and in November your work will be shown at the Åfjord Art Month.
About the project
In this project we will be working around the idea of PLACE. Places can be full of memories and history and symbolic meanings. A place can be imbued with a special spirit. The significance of places can be widely known, or be a secret spot, which only you and your best friend know of. Places can be altered by local politics or global circumstances. Where we live, where we have lived, and the place where we grew up have shaped us in various ways.
People in all societies pose similar questions about a place: Where are we? What are the defining features of this place? Whose place is this? The ability to navigate a place has been crucial to human survival.
Artists who come to Åfjord from another country or another part of Norway experience a place differently from those who live there. They see the place through their own cultural lense and notice things we often fail to notice in our daily lives. They gain ideas through exploring and observing landscapes and structures, by listening to local knowledge, and by getting acquainted with local materials and traditions.
We invite artists to explore the idea of place together with the people of Åfjord Municipality and create works for Åfjord Art Month. We are open to all approaches and to all media. The application is open to all artists within the first ten years of their career Norwegian as well as artists from other countries.
We will provide:
A payment of 1700 EUR
A material budget of 1300 EUR
A 4-week fully funded research residency in March 2025
Exhibition at The Åfjord Art Month in November 2025
A network of fellow artists
Curatorial support throughout the production period
To apply please send us a pdf at max 5GB containing:
A cover sheet with your full name, contact address, email and phone number.
A portfolio containing 5-8 images of your work. If your documentation involves moving image or sound, please upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and paste links into the application
A brief description of your practice (maximum 500 words)
CV
The selection panel is comprised of a representative from the Åfjord Arts Council, art professionals and local people with an interest in contemporary art.
You will hear back from us no later than 15. January 2025.
