The fourth stage of curated residencies QUESTIONING ARTS begins on the 28th of January 2016 in the Westfjords of Iceland. 3 artists from Lithuania and 3 from Iceland will work under the topic: Weather during a one month stay in an art residency in Thingeyri, Simbahöllin Cultural Venue.
The topics of curated residencies QUESTIONING ARTS are chosen according to current issues of local people. While bringing rain, snow and massive wind gusts, January and February, the stormiest months of the year, invite 6 Lithuanian and Icelandic artists to the remote village of Thingeyri in the Westfjords region of Iceland. Here the weather becomes the main focus, the artists will question its impact on people’s everyday lives, their work and social activities, their sense of isolation and solitude. The phrase “due to weather” is soundful and commonly used in the region. It often appears on the news, at airport schedules, on phone screens as soon as the roads are closed or planes are cancelled as well as when social gathers in the community get cancelled because of the power of the weather. Let’s turn all weather-related stories, sensations and visions into art pieces.
After the fourth stage of curated residencies is completed the creative results will be presented in Simbahöllin Cultural Venue as well as the exhibitions of the three previous stages, which took place in Utena (Lithuania) and explored the topics of ethnoculture, public spaces and classical jewish literature (Tanakh).
After the last artist residency in Iceland all the creative results will be presented in a final exhibition of all work that has been produced by artists from Utena and Westfjords region in Utena, Ignalina and Visaginas.
Participants of IV stage: Björg Sveinbjörnsdóttir (visaul arts, texts), Nina Ivanova (performance, painting), Haukur Sigurdsson (photography, media arts), Aurelija Maknytė (photography, media arts), Mykolas Natalevičius (composition, sound art), Žilvinas Landzbergas (sculpture) / Vaida Bražiūnaitė (curator).
QUESTIONING ARTS curated residencies are initiated by the Utena Art Center (Lithuania) and Simbahöllin Cultural Venue (Iceland). Over 20 different artists come together for a common purpose - interdisciplinary art dispersion in the Utena and Westfjords regions.
We think that questioning stands as a driving force for cultural transformation. Questioning provokes intensiveness of thinking, searching for responses is the way of social and cultural development. That is why participating artists are encouraged to question, analyse and interpret topics, actual for regions.