News and Events

Application deadline: 3. September 2026 at 23:59 gmt 

The National Gallery of Iceland is proud to announce an artist residency open call in relation to its CUSP program, a European cooperation project funded through Creative Europe’s Culture grant. Artists working in complex media or emerging technologies (e.g. generative AI, custom sensors, sound, software-based, blockchain, physical and digital hybrid, etc) are invited to apply to the residency program. This is the first of four residency stays offered to different artists through the program, one in each of the five participating countries; Iceland, Norway, Czechia and Ukraine, to be followed by two micro residencies in the Netherlands and Iceland.

This residency programme brings together artists working time based media and museum professionals, conservators, and technology specialists working to develop the preservation and conservation methodologies required to ensure the long-term endurance of artworks. The artist will meet with a preservation specialist or conservator specializing in time based media art who will conduct an in-depth artist interview aimed at addressing the preservation needs of the medium in which the artist works. The artist will be required to present publicly their body of work and working methods during an open-lab masterclass to be designed in collaboration with the museum.

The residency will be up to four weeks and take place in early 2027, with exact dates to be arranged with the artist selected.

What will be provided

• Accommodation and working space for the duration of the residency.
• The artist will be provided with a travel and subsistence stipend.
• The artist will be provided with an artist fee for collaborating in the open lab/masterclass.
• Depending on the artist's request and museum means, the institution may provide hardware and software for the working space.

Eligibility

International artists based outside Iceland are invited to apply. Artists must be residents in any of the 27 European Union member states, or several non-EU countries that have signed association agreements, such as EFTA/EEA members, acceding countries, candidate countries, and European Neighbourhood Policy countries. For a full list of non-EU eligible countries, see here

Application Requirements

Each applicant must complete application form and provide the following information:

• Full name
• Country of residence
• Gender identity
• Contact information
• Artistic Statement — a short description of the artistic practice and main areas of interest (maximum 2500 characters, including spaces)
• Motivation Letter — outlining the applicant’s interest in the residency topic, expectations, and potential outcomes of participation (maximum 2500 characters, including spaces)
• Draft idea of the public workshop or masterclass during the open lab (maximum 1000 characters, including spaces)
• Links to social media and/or professional websites
• CV and portfolio upload (max 10MB each)

Application link here

For inquiries please email: cusp.residency.is [at] gmail.com

About the CUSP project

CUSP: Creative Understanding, Saving and Preserving Time-Based Media Art is a transnational cooperation project, cofunded by the European Union’s Creative Europe Culture grant, focused on strengthening knowledge, research, and professional capacity in the preservation and presentation of time-based media art. The project brings together museums, archives, conservation specialists, researchers, and artists to address the growing challenges associated with preserving artworks that depend on rapidly changing technologies, including video art, sound art, digital works, installation-based media, and performance documentation.

The project is led by the National Gallery of Iceland in collaboration with Nasjonalmuseet (Norway), LI-MA (Netherlands), Vasulka Kitchen (Czechia), and Mystetskyi Art Arsenal (Ukraine), together with associated partners the Vasulka Foundation, the University of Iceland, and Iceland University of the Arts.

CUSP addresses the entire lifecycle of time-based media artworks, from creation to documentation to long-term digital preservation and sustainable storage. Through artist residencies, conservation research, emergency digitization initiatives, and environmental sustainability work, the project seeks to develop new knowledge, shared methodologies, and practical tools for museums and cultural institutions working with technologically complex artworks.

Museums and cultural institutions across Europe are increasingly responsible for preserving time-based media artworks that rely on fragile and rapidly obsolete technologies. Unlike more traditional mediums, these works often depend on hardware, software, file formats, operating systems, and display technologies that become inaccessible or unsupported within relatively short periods of time. As a result, institutions face significant challenges related to documentation, migration, storage, technical maintenance, and the preservation of artistic intent.

At the same time, many institutions lack sufficient expertise, infrastructure, and coordinated methodologies for preserving and presenting these works sustainably and responsibly. Existing preservation practices are often fragmented, and there is a growing need for international collaboration, artist-centred preservation approaches, and environmentally sustainable digital preservation strategies.

CUSP responds to these challenges by bringing together leading institutions and experts in the field of media art preservation. The project combines practice-led research, artist collaboration, conservation expertise, and technological development to strengthen the capacity of museums and cultural institutions to preserve time-based media art for future generations. Artist residencies will be held in each of the five participating countries; Iceland, Norway, Czechia and Ukraine, to be followed by two micro residencies in the Netherlands and Iceland. Artists working in complex media will be invited to participate in each of the up to four week long residencies. Each artist is paired with a conservation team who will be selected after the artist's selection, taking into account the technology involved as well as the artist's interests and needs. The conservator or conservation team will conduct an artist interview focusing on the conservation and preservation of artwork using the specific media type the artist works with.

A central research focus of the wider CUSP project is the work and archive of Steina and Woody Vasulka, pioneers of video and media art whose archive is currently being researched through the Vasulka Chamber at the National Gallery of Iceland. Their artistic legacy offers unique insight into the development of media art and the long-term preservation challenges associated with technologically complex works.

The project also addresses urgent cultural heritage risks caused by war and natural disasters. In collaboration with Mystetskyi Art Arsenal in Kyiv, CUSP will develop emergency response methodologies and establish a mobile digitization unit capable of preserving at-risk audiovisual and digital materials. Preservation copies of digitized works will be securely stored at the National Gallery of Iceland and Nasjonalmuseet in Norway.

In parallel, the project will investigate the environmental impact of digital preservation practices. As digital storage infrastructures continue to expand, museums must confront the energy consumption and carbon footprint associated with long-term preservation. CUSP therefore seeks to develop more sustainable workflows and practical tools, including a “green calculator” to help institutions assess environmental and financial costs related to digital preservation.

Open Call - Artist residency in Reykjavík 2027, hosted by the National Gallery of Iceland in cooperation with Mystetskyi Arsenal, Vasulka Kitchen Brno, Nasjonal Museet Norge and LI-MA

The National Gallery extends a warm welcome to Berglind Jóna Hlynsdóttir and Sigríður Regína Sigurþórsdóttir, graduate students who will be working within the Vasulka Chamber archive for the next two years. Their research will focus on time-based media, including works from the National Gallery's collection, as well as the Vasulka Chamber archive that is preserved in the museum's research library. The two newly-created positions fall under the definitions of studies at the doctoral level -- one in artistic practice and the other in art history.

The new research programme in art and art history is under the auspices of the Iceland Academy of the Arts, the School of Humanities at the University of Iceland and the National Gallery of Iceland. In the spring of 2024, the entities received a substantial development grant for two years from the University Collaboration under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education, Industry and Innovation. The project managers are Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir, visiting professor at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, Ingibjörg Jóhannsdóttir, director of the National Gallery of Iceland, and Æsa Sigurjónsdóttir, professor of art history at the University of Iceland.

Welcoming scholars to the Vasulka Chamber!

Steina: Playback at the National Gallery of Iceland and the Reykjavík Art Museum until January 11th 2026.

Recording online!

Steina: Playback
Colloquium: Instructions and Iterations: Archiving Steina's Work
Held October 4, 2025 10:00 – 12:00 at the National Gallery of Iceland

Watch the recording here