Southnord Launches Its Art Residency Programme

6 Jan

Southnord is proud to announce the launching of the Southnord Residency Programme, a transformative opportunity designed to connect Afro-diasporic artists and curators situated in the Nordics with vibrant art communities across the African continent.

We are excited to collaborate with the Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre(LuCAC), in Zambia, as our first residency partner. LuCAC is a private non-profit facility dedicated to artistic research, exhibition and resource sharing. As a hub for decolonisation, LuCAC encourages formal and informal artistic research and experimentation to challenge dominant narratives and interrogate common stories and histories. Through immersive engagement with LuCAC and other local art spaces, artists and curators will have timeto focus on their practiceswhile gaining insights into the rich artistic heritage of the region. This residency serves as a bridge, offering participants the chance to engage in cultural exchange, artistic exploration and self-discovery.Each residency place offers a Southnord-funded experience, including air tickets, accommodation, studio space and a monthly stipend.

Marcia Harvey Isaksson, founder of Southnord, reflects on the programme’s significance: "Launching the SouthnordResidency Programme is a milestone that embodies Southnord’s commitment to making space for the growth of artistic ideas. Beyond that, this initiative nurturesconnections between Afro-Nordicand Africanartpractitioners, encouraginga deeper explorationof identity, heritage and creative collaboration in spaces that truly inspire."

As acomplement to the residencyprogramme, Southnord will host a series of webinars during 2025, highlighting some of the amazing independent art and residency spaces on the African continent. The first two webinars will be held on 13 January and 20 January 2025, featuring representatives from leading artspaces across Africa including Kin Art Studio(Democratic Republic of Congo), Raw Material Company(Senegal), the Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre (Zambia), the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Arts(Ghana), 32 Degrees East(Uganda) and nhereraHUB (Zimbabwe). These sessions will provide insight into the unique environments and artistic opportunities available to art practitioners.

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