About the residency

Skaftfell Art Center offers an international self-directed artist-in-residence program in Seyðisfjörður, a small fishing village located in the East Fjords of Iceland. The residency’s remote setting provides artists the opportunity to work in relative seclusion in a place that is also home to an international community of working artists. The residency offers space for contemplation, productivity, and collaboration and is ideal for artistic research and experimentation.
The residency is characterised by its community and context within Iceland’s subarctic climate. The dark winters, even though cold and quiet, are a time of significant artistic activity, with local initiatives such as the LungA School, Flat Earth Film Festival and List í ljósi light festival operating alongside Skaftfell’s activities. In the spring you find initiatives such as Photography days at Ströndin Studio and in autumn you find the Queer residency at Heima. During the summer months, when the weather is mild, the town deviates into a tourist destination and the cultural activities are less saturated. Seyðisfjörður is at once secluded and connected; it harbours the only ferry connection to mainland Europe, but the town’s only connection to the nearest town and the ring road is a mountain pass that is often inaccessible in winter.

The Skaftfell residency allows artists to take time to consider and fall into their work, giving them time to consider all aspects of their everyday life as part of their practice. Artists are not required to produce a specific outcome during their residency, they are, however, invited to share their work with the community in a way they see fitting for their process. This could take shape in an artist talk, a workshop, a performance, a pop-up exhibition or an open studio.

For whom

Artists working in all media. Solo residencies, duo residency and group residencies up to 3 people.

Accommodation and work space

Living arrangements can work as single residency facilities for living and working or for artists working in pairs or groups whether they are working on a collaborative project or parallel projects.

Artists stay in two buildings in town within walking distance from the Skaftfell Art Center. Each house offers private rooms and accommodations for cooking and shared living and working spaces. Each house can accommodate 1-3 artists at a time. One of the apartments is situated above the recently established collaborative fine art print workshop Prentverk Seyðisfjörður, which Skaftfell is a part of. The workshop offers professional printmaking facilities with space and equipment for silkscreen, intaglio (linocut, woodcut, etching), letterpress and various hand printing techniques. The other apartment is on the third floor of the Skaftfell building, above the gallery.

Community involvement

Artists have an opportunity to present their work in an open studio, artist talk or host a workshop. We encourage and assist artists to participate and present their work to the community.

Duration

6 or 12 weeks

Current Open Call period

January – June 2026

Cost

• 6 week solo residency with shared living- and workspace accommodation with private bedroom 130.000 ISK
• 6 week group residency up to 3 artists applying together with a collaborative project sharing a living and working space with private bedrooms 180.000 ISK
• 6 week solo residency with private accommodation, ideal for families f.ex 180.000 ISK
• 12 week solo residency with shared living- and workspace accommodation with private bedroom 240.000 ISK
• 12 week group residency up to 3 artists applying together with a collaborative project sharing a living and working space with private bedrooms 320.000 ISK
• 12 week solo residency with private accommodation, ideal for families f.ex 320.000 ISK

The fee includes accommodation, studio space, access to the print workshop and support from Skaftfell staff.
The artist will pay for travel, project expenses, art supplies, and meals.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your application with the required attachments, using our online application form (click on the link below). The application deadline is 31st of May, 2025.

Required attachments to the online form:

• Artist CV  and Bio
• Project proposal (max 1 page)
• Examples of work

Selection: The applications will be reviewed by a panel of two independent art professionals as well as Skaftfell’s director and residency manager.

Criteria: The artistic quality of the applicant’s proposal; local relevance and potential synergy; the practical feasibility of the working proposal; evidence of the applicant’s ability to work independently on a professional level. To ensure non-discrimination and equality in our residency selections, we emphasise inclusion based on race, gender, and identity.
Selected applicants will be notified in July 2025.

For any questions, please contact residency@skaftfell.is