Residency
11–15.06.2024: Greifswald and Berlin, DE
As part of the WaterLANDS project, six Artistic Engagement Residencies have been established where artists are engaging with the project and the local communities at each of the restoration “Action Sites” in Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The aim of these four-year part-time residencies is to frame restoration in different ways, helping us to see the project, and wetland restoration, in a new light.
Since the residencies started in 2023, the WaterLANDS artists have been working at their respective Action Sites across Europe. The aim of the three-day trip to Germany was to allow the artists to get to know one another, to share learnings and explore avenues for collaboration as well as possibilities to further integrate art into the wider project.
Present on the trip are Claudio Beorchia (Venice Lagoon, Italy), Maria Nalbantova (Dragoman Marsh, Bulgaria), Marjolijn Dijkman (Ems-Dollard Estuary, Netherlands), Fiona McDonald and Laura Harrington (Great North Bog, United Kingdom), and Christine Mackey (Cuilcagh-Anierin Uplands, Ireland). Also present are Caitriona Devery (Artistic Engagement Coordinator at University College Dublin), Laoise Dillon (Communications and Dissemination at ERINN Innovation), and Alexandra Ross (Contemporary Art and Curation at the University of Glasgow).
The artist trip was hosted in Greifswald by the Greifswald Mire Centre and Michael Succow Foundation, a WaterLANDS Knowledge Site partner that is deeply embedded in peatland policy and research across Europe and beyond.
After a fascinating two days in Greifswald, the team travelled back to Berlin for the final day of the trip. On Friday, the group visited the Spore Initiative, a non-profit organisation in Neukolln that facilitates cultural projects at the intersection of climate justice, ecological regeneration and education.
At the end of the trip, the artists came together to discuss options for the culmination of their work, which will be displayed in Venice in 2026, as well as potential opportunities to collaborate and continue this environmentally-engaged and community-focused work beyond the lifetime of the project.
