Four Residencies at Kin: Autumn 2024

Following-up from a pilot residency at Kin with the artist Bernd Krauss in February and March 2024, the museum has organized two further artist residencies. The first with Nina Svensson in Överkalix and Haparanda and the second with Apolonija Šušteršič in Kiruna. This autumn, both two longer and two shorter residencies are taking place. The residencies give artists and curators a chance to know and learn about Kiruna and Norrbotten by working in situ.
First in line is Köken Ergun, who is spending two weeks in Kiruna at the end of September. The residency takes place in conjunction with his and Sasha Azanova’s exhibition at Kin, “The Polar Silk Road,” which is on from October 3 to January 12, 2025. During this period, he is working together with the arts course and the “art week” at the Hjalmar Lundbohm School, among other things. The exhibition opens Thursday, October 3, from 16:00–18:00. On Saturday, October 5, Ergun and Azanova will introduce their project as part of their exhibition.

The artist Aqui Thami is a Thangmi and Kiratima woman from the Himalayas. Her residency, taking place between September 1st and December 20th, 2024, is part of Britta Marakatt-Labba’s retrospective at Kin. During this period, she will get the chance to meet with Sámi and other minority women, while continuing her work that centers around feminism, indigenous peoples’ stories, and how art can strengthen marginalized groups. Thami will be speaking about her work at Kin on Sunday, November 17, at 13:00.

Lleah Smith’s work lies at the intersection of pedagogy, art and curation. Her unique methods have been inspired by fermentation and its many forms. In Kiruna, she will be working closely with the team at Kin on questions of art mediation. Her residency takes place from October 19 to December 16. She will be presenting a workshop at the museum on Saturday, December 14, at 13:00. Smith grew up in Cabrogal Country, Australia, and is currently based in Ngāmotu, Aotearoa.

The work of Madeleine Collie has an investigative character, often manifesting as seminars and workshops. In 2020, she founded Food Art Research Network, a community of artists and other cultural workers from around the world who are interested in food as a political and aesthetic tool. Based in Melbourne, she is particularly interested in traditional foodstuffs and how to rejuvenate past knowledge. During her residency, from November 11–27, Collie will be preparing to embark on a multi-year project with Kin centered on art and food.

Köken Ergun September 24–October 8

Köken Ergun, born in Istanbul in 1976, is an artist and filmmaker with a background in the performing arts. His films often deal with communities that are not typically well known to the wider public and the importance of ritual in such groups. Ergun typically spends a significant amount of time with his subjects before beginning to shoot, and he engages in an extended period of research for his projects. An extension of his practice is also to collaborate with ethnographers, historians, and sociologists. His works have been exhibited internationally at institutions including Documenta 14, Paris Triennale, Jakarta Biennial (2015 and 2021), Kathmandu Triennale, Sydney Biennial, Martin-Gropius Bau, SALT, Garage Moscow, Para-Site Hong Kong, KIASMA, Casino Luxembourg, and Kunsthalle Winterthur. His films have received several awards at film festivals including the Tiger Award for Best Short Film at the 2007 Rotterdam Film Festival and the Special Mention Prize at the 2013 Berlinale. Ergun’s works are included in public collections of the Centre George Pompidou, the Greek National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Stadtmuseum Berlin, the Australian War Memorial, and the Kadist Foundation.

Aqui Thami September 1–December 20

A Thangmi woman from the Kiratima community, the first peoples of the Himalayas, Aqui Thami is currently based in Maastricht. She navigates the intersection of art and activism, making work rooted in DIY culture and ceremonial practice, transforming spaces and dialogues. As the founder of Sister Library, Sister Radio and Sister Press, she elevates feminist and indigenous narratives, creating vibrant platforms for expression. Her impactful ceremonial interventions, including “töng” and “Breathing with My Baje,” recontextualize art as a medium for communal healing and resilience. Through the Dharavi Art Room and Bombay Underground, she fosters collaborative empowerment, crafting narratives that challenge, inspire, and resonate globally.

Lleah Smith October 21–December 16

Lleah Smith was born in Cabrogal Country, Australia, and is currently based in Ngāmotu, Aotearoa. Her practice is in the intersection of pedagogy, art, and the curatorial and is active in the Asia Pacific region. Her PhD research at Monash University and the University of Illinois in Chicago aims to position fermentation as a “teacher,” a speculative metaphor, and a guiding force for change. Notably, Smith has realized the Radical Care Kit, Sydney Children’s Hospital (2023–2024), The Waterhouse, 23rd Biennale of Sydney, rīvus (2021–2022), Kaldor Studio, Kaldor Public Art Projects × Art Gallery of NSW (2019), do it (homework), Kaldor Public Art Projects (2018). She has led socially engaged art projects including, Hidden Lessons, Powerhouse (2021–2022), FUTURE SCHOOL, Cementa22 (2022). In September 2024, Smith began working as the “Cultural Experiences, Public Programs and Learning Lead” at Govett-Brewster / Len Lye Centre and Puke Ariki in Ngāmotu, Aotearoa. Previous roles include Curator: Programs and Learning at the Biennale of Sydney and she is a member of the Arts.Creativity.Education Research Group, Monash University.

Madeleine Collie November 11–27

Madeleine Collie’s curatorial practice is investigative, often manifesting as seminars and workshops and sometimes as exhibitions. Lately, she has been studying how social contexts arise in relation to plants, as a form of resistance against large-scale cultivation in the form of plantations. She founded the Food Art Research network in 2020 with support from Arts Council England, a network that brings together artists and cultural workers from around the world who are interested in food as politics and aesthetics. Collie is continually building platforms to support projects in which artists trace connections between changes in the ecosystem and broader social, political and historical forces. Based in Melbourne and Folkestone, she is particularly interested in traditional foodstuffs and how past knowledge can be applied in a contemporary context. During her residency, from the 11th to 27th of November, Collie will be preparing a long-term project with Kin on art and food resilience.

Picture: Aqui Thami, Boju, still from Ceremony for the Shrine in Basel, 2024.