An Art Inside Out Residency in Kungsbacka Municipality (Sweden) in 2024

Art Inside Out invites artist applications for participation in Forgotten Realms, an artistic residency that explores new representations of reality in the borderland between the mundane and the fantastical, myth and reality, past and present. The residency is connected to Tjolöholm Castle in Kungsbacka, at the Swedish west coast, with a relationship to Nordic and Celtic folklore, reflected in both the breathtaking natural surroundings and the impressive castle interiors.

In a time characterized by advanced weaponry, ‘fake news’, conspiracy theories, extreme weather, selfies, screens – speed and affect – ensouled nature, the spiritual and magical world seems to have taken on new meaning that tempts our fantasies and needs in the search for our inner selves. Global mobilization in the face of environmental and climatic threats, along with a growing longing for a life in harmony with nature, have meant that the forest and its inhabitants’ mystique, knowledge, and power have become a sought-after refuge – far from the din of city life. Mythological and magical beings’ re-emerging presence crosses the boundaries of reality’s possibilities and points toward new queer worlds in which gender roles, perceptions of good and evil, beautiful and ugly, and us and Others stand to be dissolved.

With the artistic residency Forgotten Realms, Art Inside Out wants to invite artists to explore the irrational, fantastic and magical in our lives through various forms of artistic investigations.

The location - Tjolöholm Castle, Kungsbacka, built from 1898 to 1904 under the direction of Blanche Dickson, was created to be its own realm from the very beginning. It is designed as a British estate with inspiration from the Arts & Crafts movement and qualities of National Romanticism, drawn by a young Swedish architect who had never set foot in the British Isles. Situated on a peninsula in Kungsbacka Fjord along the west coast of Sweden, surrounded by dense forests with a view for miles over the Halland archipelago, its unique architecture has allowed Tjolöholm to serve as the stage for stories such as Lars von Trier’s film Melancholia, in which a struggle against the realization of the end of the world is reinforced by the castle’s dark, brooding silhouette. Since 2022, the castle has been on the European Film Academy’s list of significant sites in film history.

Submissions from international artists in an interdisciplinary field of contemporary artistic production are welcome. The residency schedule is as follows: research March 11–24, production Maj 15–June 20. The artworks created during the residency will be presented in an exhibition at Tjolöholm Castle opening by mid-June 2023.

Each residency artist will receive a sum of 100 000 SEK (F-taxable, exclusive VAT, paid by invoice) for an 8-week long residency. Each artist also has access to a production budget of approximately 50 000 SEK. There is also an additional budget for installation and other exhibition-related costs available. The artist is responsible for paying applicable taxes in their home country. (To avoid paying taxes also in Sweden, every non-Swedish citizen needs to apply to be exempted from the taxation (30% of the promised sum). The application will be sent to the Swedish tax office, if/after the artist has been selected to the residency.)

Art Inside Out covers associated costs such as travel (two trips, to and from residency according to the residency schedule), housing, workspaces and process management. The artists will have the opportunity to work independently and together. Public meetings, such as artist talks, will be held regularly throughout the residency.

Residency artists will live in shared and self-sufficient households with their own rooms at a location in Kungsbacka municipality, close to but not at Tjolöholm Castle itself. This means that daily trips between the accommodation and the workplace will occur. A driver's license is a preferred, but not required.

The application is online with a deadline October 26, 2023 (23:59 CET). Decisions will be announced in December 2023.