narva art residency

The international artist-in-residence program in the North-Eastern border of Estonia is open for artists and creatives operating across all arts – visual arts, music, performance, architecture, design, film, literature, and curatorial practices etc. The program aims to generate creative exchange between practitioners as well as strengthen ties with the local context. Artists are invited to make interactive, socially engaged, and/or community-based work that is relevant also to the locals of Narva. It is best if the engagement is already intertwined into the process of artmaking itself.

Focus for 2026: In past years, artists-in-residence have often organised public activities such as workshops or walks. In the coming year, however, the emphasis will shift toward working with more specific communities. We encourage applicants to include in their proposals a plan to collaborate with a clearly defined group or collective in Narva or the surrounding region. For example, in 2022, German artist and designer Leah Schultze created games for people with dementia and carried out her fieldwork with clients of a Narva care home. In 2023, Maksym Kozlov developed a floating installation of a Viking ship in collaboration with the local youth sailing club. Finnish sound artist Jaakko Autio worked with three local choirs, while Portuguese artist Filippa Pontes interviewed and sketched local residents as they shared their personal migration stories.

NART aspires to be an open institution in various ways and also opens up the residents’ work. Some residents are invited to give a lecture and a seminar for students of the Estonian Academy of Arts. We encourage the residents to leave a version of their work at the Narva Art Residency building or surroundings. The building is an open space and a vibrant community where one can pop into exhibitions guests, groups that come for house tours, seminars that use the halls, art academy students who come for workshops, participants of our public events etc.

The expectation is that the artist works with enthusiasm on their project during the majority of their residency. We hope that this supportive environment will foster creativity, experimentation and the development of ideas.