Art in Lov Residence is an artist’s recidency in Loviisa, Finland. The residency welcomes professional practitioners of all artforms from visual arts to music and dance, including curators. The majority of visiting artists are international but residence artists can also be from areas of Finland other than Loviisa. The residency activity began in autumn 2021 and is arranged by the association Loviisan taiteen tukiyhdistys – Stödföreningen för Lovisa konst.
The distinctive thing about the residency is our focus on collaboration with local partners, opportunity for participation, local activities and art in public spaces. We want all residence artists to have a local collaborator, which can be a professional culture practitioner or an institution or an association. We expect that the residence artists are active locally: every visiting artist must participate in at least one event where the public has an opportunity to meet the artist, and the results of the residency should be shown in Loviisa.
We can offer housing and working space to several artists at the same time, and it is also possible for artists to come with family. We strive to be flexible with timetables, so that artists can come when it makes sense for their project. The residency is located in an old stone house in the city center with a view of the town square. The residency has a large shared workspace, and accommodation is organised communally with a shared kitchen and bathroom. There is one larger and two smaller rooms, which can be used either as bedrooms or private work spaces. The residency is not accessible to physically disabled people. In case a residence artists needs a more accessible space, we will rent such as needed.
The scope of the residency is dependent on external funding. Our goal is to finance at least 12 residency months – with 6 artists staying for 2 months each – but with room for flexibility regarding both timing and length of the residency periods, so that one residency visit can even be divided into a number of shorter periods or that several artists can be in the residency at the same time. In the choice of residence artists and projects we consider artistic quality, local connection and diversity of both target audiences and artforms. We strive to also make sure that different minorities are represented in the choice of artists.
Artists are invited both through open calls and as curated invitations. Local actors also have opportunities to invite artists they want to work with. The association works with professional artists and it is important to us that the residence artists will be paid for their work and reimbursed for any costs. We will not charge rent for the housing and the artists will be paid an honorarium as well as funding for travel and material costs.
