Narva Art Residency has announced the artists selected for its 2025 residency program. The participants will create diverse and immersive projects that engage with local communities and environments. For example, highlights include bronze-casting workshops, a performance on women’s health, and site-specific installations in Narva-Jõesuu. Artists will also research bread as a cultural symbol, explore the life along the two sides of the Narva River, map the region’s industrial landscapes, and challenge Estonian and Zimbabwean perceptions of beauty and household roles.
The artists were selected by a jury of experts, including Masha Pryven, an artist-in-residence at NART in early 2024; Riina Õun, an Estonian designer who has led workshops at the Kreenholm community garden; Irina Ivanova who is part of Pikene på Broen curators collective in Kirkenes, Norway; artist Eero Alev, a faculty member at the Estonian Academy of Arts; and Johanna Rannula, head of Narva Art Residency.
In addition to the main program, several artists will participate through collaborative projects. These include two duos supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and an postponed residency from last year. The Kreenholm Garden and Narva Venice Embassy residencies will also continue, with separate open calls for additional participants. The 2025 program features 13 residencies in the main program, and approximately 25 in total.
Norway-based artist and comedian Symin Adive, originally from Bangladesh, blends humor and vulnerability to craft tragi-comic, interactive art experiences.At NART, Symin will develop Adult Fun (No, Not Like That), a playful exploration of joy in adulthood.
Berlin-based trio of artists and curators, Tina Haber, Birgit Schlieps, and Thomas Ravens, explores bread as a cultural symbol through art. Their Bread Laboratory invites locals to participate in storytelling, baking, and artistic exchanges.
David Snoo Wilson is a sculptor and educator, one of the few active bell-casters in the UK. Combining traditional metal casting with live performance, his work reimagines bells beyond their ecclesiastical origins. Wilson plans to hold bronze-casting workshops and to explore Estonian bell culture.
Based in Harare, Zimbabwe, Miriro Mwandiambira transforms sewing, fashion, and hair design into contemporary art forms. During her residency, she will create interactive sculptures and performances that challenge perceptions of beauty and household roles, blending Estonian and Zimbabwean traditions.
Lithuanian architect and researcher Ieva Butkute examines the life cycles of industrial materials and waste. In Narva, her project will document and map the relationship between the city’s industrial and urban landscapes through video narratives and community-based storytelling.
Violeta Ortega-Navarrete is a textile artist and designer from Mexico City, now based in Athens. She plans to create a site-specific textile installation, using locally sourced materials and traditional methods like tapestry weaving, embroidery, and natural dyeing.
Ukrainian artists Eva Fomitski and Antuum, based in Austria, merge photography and sound to create sculptures and kinetic installations. Their residency project, Water Spell, will be a multisensory installation exploring the contrasting realities of life along the Narva River.
A French poet and performer Laurence Ermacova crafts polyphonic texts and is committed to promoting multilingual identities. At NART, she will weave the historical threads of Narva’s textile industry into writing workshops and multilingual poetry.
Brooklyn-based artist John McGarity’s practice blends layered multimedia environments with immersive storytelling. At Narva, McGarity will develop Transfiguration III, a site-specific project inspired by Narva’s industrial history and community narratives.
Vera Pirogova is a film director who studied in Tallinn and is now based in Berlin, and she has a background in biology. Vera plans to create a documentary performance in collaboration with women in Narva. Together, they will explore cultural myths and superstitions surrounding women’s health and femininity.
The Italian artistic team Passepartout Duo (Nicoletta Favari and Christopher Salvito) explores connections to sound by transforming everyday objects from analog electronics to textile into instruments. During their residency, they will develop a musical library, inviting participants to build, play and share.
Berlin-based French architect and artist Claire Laude investigates themes of destruction and reconstruction in architectural spaces. During her residency, she will create photography and site-specific installations inspired by a historic wooden villa in Narva-Jõesuu.”
In 2025, Narva Art Residency also hosts two artists duos together with the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Tuhmat (Susse Seppälä and Joonas Parviainen) is a multidisciplinary art collective that developes kinetic sculptures, living soundscapes, and multisensory spaces. Their residency will culminate in a transformative space inspired by the calming effects of nature.
Anna Jensen and Eliisa Suvanto focus on site-specific exhibitions, commissioning new artworks, and curating a nomadic biennale in diverse locations. At NART, the duo will explore local communities, propose actions for youth, and explore the possibilty of creating a biennale in Narva.
The detailed descriptions of the artists and their residency projects on the NART website: https://www.nart.ee/en/artists/. The next open call for the main programme artists residencies will be held in autumn 2025: https://www.nart.ee/ru/open-call/
Contact information:
Johanna Rannula
director of Narva Art Residency
johanna.rannula@artun.ee
59177795