Website: www.high-north.org

HIGH- NORTH is an ambitious three-year artists’ residency initiative linking the cities of Tromsø (Norway), Gateshead/Newcastle (England) and Glasgow (Scotland). The project is coordinated by NABROAD (Norwegian Artists Abroad), and supported by Arts Council Norway, and The Royal Norwegian Embassy London. Working with a range of high profile partners, each of whom brings a unique understanding of their local context, HIGH- NORTH represents a rare opportunity to substantially strengthen both cross-border dialogue and trans-national artistic practice. 
  
Initiated by the prominent international artist A K Dolven (herself based between the UK and Norway), HIGH- NORTH has the potential to generate new proximities between these three destinations, the impact of which will far outlast the three-year duration of this project. Contributing to this legacy are the tangible practical and professional opportunities available to artists who are selected to undertake HIGH- NORTH residencies. The artwork and research produced as a result of the residency structure will be visible as a flourishing series of exhibitions, talks, workshops, and seminars taking place across these culturally distinct and artistically celebrated Northern cities. Together this broad-ranging programme contributes to enriching the cultural lives of communities in North Norway, North East England, and Central Scotland. By doing so HIGH NORTH champions the shared aspirations of Tromsø, Gateshead/Newcastle, and Glasgow for cultural investment: improving quality of life through a commitment to nurture creative talent, creative opportunity and international creative connections. 

HIGH- NORTH provides artists based in Britain and Norway with up to 5 months of support to research and produce new works and explore the artistic, social and cultural context offered by their host city. During each residency, HIGH- NORTH’s local partners will make it possible for visiting artists to devise new projects, conduct their own research, experiment with new ideas or methodologies, and engage with other artists in the creative network. Artists may choose to produce new work in response to their experience of the new city, or may simply use the opportunity to explore and exploit the unique resources offered by Tromsø, Gateshead/Newcastle and Glasgow. For all HIGH- NORTH artists, becoming part of a distinct network of cultural establishments, conversations, and communities will enhance the experience of making work in a new city, supported by a valued partnership organisation.

Artists will be selected by project founder A K Dolven, together with a panel of experienced and established curators drawn from HIGH- NORTH’s exceptional team of partnership organisations. Independent curator David Thorp will additionally broaden the project’s capacity by inviting and selecting participation from artists whose work is of particular interest to the HIGH- NORTH programme. Selected artists will be practitioners who are established in their field, with track records of producing work of quality, integrity, and ambition. Their presence and expertise will continue to enrich HIGH- NORTH’s networks between individuals, organisations, and institutions. Supporting the potential for communication and co-operation around a host of models - from building grass-roots connections to establishing long term institutional collaborations – HIGH- NORTH continually invests in a diverse, and ever-expanding, shared artistic economy.

HIGH- NORTH is a landmark project, uniquely placed to change the way we think about trans-national networks, practice, and collaboration.