Nida Art Colony > Neringa Forest Architecture (Lithuania)

Nida Art Colony is organising a new research/residency programme called Neringa Forest Architecture.

Following on from a programme dedicated to Lithuanian artists, NAC is seeking applications from researchers, designers, architects and artists from Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, including the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, the Åland Islands and Greenland, for the period December 2020 – March 2021.

The Neringa Forest Architecture programme is focused on the features of both the human-made and natural forest: its ecological rhythms, organic and industrial material cycles, timber-based material development, socio-political discourses, history, forestry and policy-making; art, design and architecture.

NAC is located on the Curonian Spit, a 98km-long sand dune shared by Lithuania and Russia, separating the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, forests planted over the span of 200 years formed an environment dedicated to managing natural geomorphological processes. In this human-made space, actions were and continue to be planned, executed and represented by a range of state and civic agencies that translate natural processes into data, tables, systems, and regulations.

NAC is encouraging designers, architects, artists, historians, new materials’ scientists and forest researchers, in particular women and underrepresented minorities, to propose projects featuring intersecting, interdisciplinary practices, which have the potential to rearticulate society’s relationship to this particular woodland environment. The programme is also open to curators, as well as those working with performing arts, sound, material research/craft, and film. In addition, interdisciplinary proposals from professionals in other fields are welcome.

Each NAC live/work studio is 65m2 and equipped with basic kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and workspace facilities. Additionally, full access is given to the common spaces such as the library and the professional workshop (with weaving looms, ceramic kiln, laser cutting, wood and metalworking tools, plus photo, video and sound equipment). Residents will also have access to naturally seasoned, Neringa sourced, timber boards, (10m3) cut during the 2019/2020 logging season and stored on-site at NAC (subject to availability).

Each selected resident will receive a monthly grant of 1000 EUR and additional travel costs.