Following an open call for applications, we are delighted to announce the selection of four artists taking part in our 2026 NAARCA residency exchange:
Cecilia Fiona based in Copenhagen works across sculpture, painting and performance developing an interconnected practice in which each medium extends and informs the other. During her NAARCA Residency at Skaftfell Art Center in Iceland, Cecilia plans to create a new body of work – costumes made from wool and plants to be used in a new performance.
‘By employing organic materials such as paper pulp, shells, branches, rabbit-skin glue, jute, loofah and natural pigments, I explore the symbiotic relationship between the body and the earth. Drawing on quantum physics, microbiology, and alchemy, I create my own mythological world where hybrid beings dissolve into imaginative ecosystems exploring themes of spirituality, transformation and ecology. My practice envisions speculative worlds where boundaries between human, nature and cosmos dissolve into fluid states of transformation and connection.’
Hillside Projects (HP) is an artistic entity formed by Emily Berry Mennerdahl and Jonas Böttern. Based in Stockholm, HP’s main interest is in performance and the role of the performer, with an emphasis on the discursive possibilities of telling tales and resisting single narratives. During their NAARCA Residency at Cove Park in Scotland, HP will establish a temporary Office for Continuing Research on Birds focusing on Gandalf – a Rüppell’s Griffon vulture known for two high-profile escapes from the World of Wings Birds of Prey Centre in Cumbernauld in 2010 and 2014. HP aims to develop a new lecture performance, including relational birding activities and conceptual experiments in Argyll’s ancient woodland.
‘Gandalf’s escape led to extensive news coverage and warnings to local aircraft because of her 10.5-foot wingspan and ability to soar to altitudes of 37,000 ft. On the second escape, Gandalf was found on the island of Islay and has since been returned safely to the bird centre. Our project will explore issues on conservation, political traces, emotional resonances, and migrations shaped by climate shifts and ecological interdependence through the framework of Gandalf’s journey.’
Christina Riley is a Scottish-American artist based in Ayrshire. Founder of The Nature Library and author of Looking Down at the Stars: Life Beneath the Waves (Saraband, 2025) she works across photography, writing and installation to consider the stories told of and by the natural world, as well as the value of, and access to, these stories in times of climate, cost of living and misinformation crises. During her NAARCA Residency at Saari Residence in Finland, Christina will continue developing The Nature Library with the aim to move it toward new, ambitious spaces.
‘As founder of The Nature Library, I’m drawn to Saari’s ecological library and excited about this as a place to explore the role of the library in times of climate crisis. Saari’s focus on slowness, insight and change resonates deeply with The Nature Library’s encouragement of intentional and accessible learning, offering new routes toward knowing which engender the insight and imagination needed in an emergency. My residency will explore questions such as: how do we measure “value”, “progress”, “intelligence’, and how this is reflected in our treatment of and relationship with the natural world?’
This programme builds on NAARCA’s ongoing work since 2021, addressing the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and climate justice through the lens of the four pillars of sustainability: ecological, social, psychological, and cultural. These residencies, made possible with support from the Nordic Culture Fund, support cultural exchange, deep research and reflection, community engagement, and the creation of new work and ideas on climate action.
More about cecilia Fiona
Cecilia Fiona has exhibited internationally including at Copenhagen Contemporary, DK (2025), HEART Museum in Herning, DK (2025), SIXI Museum, Nanjing, CN (2024) and Lab Verde Residency in collaboration with National Institute of Amazonian Research, in the Amazon, BR (2024). In 2026 she will present a solo exhibition at Towner Eastbourne, UK and take part in group shows at Bergen Kunsthall, Norway; La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain and at Skaftfell Art Center, Iceland. The artist is represented by Andersen’s Contemporary (Copenhagen, DK) and Niru Ratnam Gallery (London, UK). In 2026 she will have her first solo exhibition at Niru Ratnam in London.
More about hillside projects
Hillside Projects’ video works are distributed by Filmform – The Art Film and Video Archive and Vidéographe Montréal. Recent solo and group exhibitions, as well as performances and presentations, include: Växjö konsthall, Röda sten konsthall, Bonniers konsthall, Galleri54, GAlleri Verkligheten (SE), Raum für Kunst – Das Esszimmer, OYOUN Kultur Neu Denken (DE), SODAS123 (LT) and Dazibao (CA). HP was part of the residency IASPIS (International Programme for Visual and Applied Arts) from 2023 –2024 and recently completed the HULT residency programme 2025-2026 (SE). HP regularly shares its research through lecture performances, walks, talks, and presentations hosted by institutions such as Lund University, Linnaeus University, Södertörn University (SE) and Ambedkar University Delhi (IN).
More about Christina riley
Christina Riley was longlisted for Canongate’s Nan Shepherd Prize for Underrepresented Voices in Nature Writing and a Save Our Seas Ocean Storytelling Finalist, her essays have appeared in Gutter, Extra Teeth, Little Toller and Caught by the River among other publications. Recent exhibitions include: Texas Photographic Society International Competition, Center for Contemporary Art, Abilene (2025); Beneath the Waves, Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine (2025); Argyll Hope Spot Retrospective, Rockfield Centre, Oban (2025); Quota, Art Walk Porty, Edinburgh (2023). She has been an underwater artist-in-residence at the Argyll Hope Spot and Environmentalist-in-Residence with West Dunbartonshire Libraries. Her photo book The Beach was published by Guillemot Press in 2021 and in 2025 she released her self-published artist’s book, An Index of the Colour of Water.
Featured image: Ghost Flower Ritual, Cecilia Fiona, courtesy of Copenhagen Contemporary, Photo by David Stjernholm.