Artist Residencies & Volunteer Opportunities
Applications for 2026 OPEN NOW
Submit by November 15th
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Creative Group Residency
A week-long residency to explore and experience the island of Arnøya while having supported time to observe, think, and create. This is a shared time for a small handful of creative types from different disciplines to work independently but also live in community in a way that allows for a cross pollination of ideas and inspiration. The only thing required of participants is a 100$ food/supplies fee and a readiness to embrace the experience. See full details below.
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Individual Residency
A supported residency week to delve deep into your work. This is best suited to folks who crave wild nature, space, and quiet for their process and especially those exploring themes or subjects that connect to the environment or the culture and concerns of the Arctic. You would be living at Singla with one or two other artists plus host, and residents can choose their level of community interaction. Open to all disciplines, collaborative cross disciplinary pairs encouraged to apply.
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Volunteering
Volunteer opportunities available for those who wish to jump into the work of restoration, renovation, and preservation at Singla. This will usually be a full week where you can mix work and play and be a part of our lively community. We ask for 5 hours of work a day in exchange for hot cooked meals, hot saunas, and endless gratitude. Projects may include: painting and scraping, organizing, carpentry, masonry, cleaning and boat restoration, and much more. Volunteers are accepted on a case by case basis as space allows throughout the year.
We are looking to welcome a mixture of folks from different creative visual and written disciplines. Performance and movement artists are also welcome though we do not have specific studio space for this at the moment. We will prioritize those who are already generative in their various fields and strongly encourage applicants who incorporate climate science or environmental issues into their work. This is not a “time and space” residency, but instead we provide unique access to the natural environment tailored to the needs of those who have specific projects or lines of inquiry related to the region, its environment, history, challenges, and culture. Collaborative pairs may attend together, but please send individual applications and reference whom you wish to work with. Applicants wishing to attend with a spouse and child should contact us in advance to discuss.
The deadline for application submittal to attend the Group Residency and Individual Residencies is November 15th, 2025 (for Summer/Fall 2026). Our team will review applicants in the following weeks with notifications going out by December 5th. If you want to chat about any questions or details, or have notable medical or food concerns please contact us in advance of the deadline by emailing Hannah Viano at starlightandstormsingla@gmail.com We will notify you whether you are accepted or not, and accepted applicants will receive a full packet with travel planning resources and further details. Please scroll down for more information.
2026 OPPORTUNITIES
Group Residency-
June 26th-July 2nd
Individual Residencies -
Week A August 28th-3rd
Week B October- 16th-22nd
How To Apply:
Use the APPLY NOW button below to fill out our short application form. Submissions will open on October 15th 2025 for the 2026 Summer/Fall season. Please submit your form by midnight November 15th.
You will be asked for a description of what you are excited about exploring as a creative and your recent work or projects as well as why you would like to come to this place in the world at this point in your life. Kindly keep your responses within the word counts required, and make sure you test any links in advance of submitting.
Note for Volunteers: Please use the same application form and answer the questions as suits whatever your own work is, creative in nature or not, and mention any relevant skills or specific interests that we should know about.
What’s included:
For our Residencies, you can expect:
Help with figuring out travel details
A snug, dry place to sleep indoors
A work table to spread out on, or a cozy chair to write in
Hot breakfasts and coffee, packed lunches, and family-style dinners
Shuttle to other parts of the island or use of bikes for further exploration
Encouragement and logistical support in your work and process
For Volunteers, you can expect:
All of the above, but with an expectation that you can contribute 5 hours each day to work projects and that you comfortable in a little more crowded and “under construction” environment full of activity, people, and noise.
All volunteers and residents, once selected, are asked to pay a fee of $100 to help us provision in advance and cover the cost of food and consumables. It also acts as a commitment and confirms your place in the schedule. This fee is non-refundable.
Summer 2023 Group Residents utilizing found orange fishing gear for an experiential multimedia production.The Location
The island
Arnøya is roughly a 25km x 25km square with a couple tiny villages and 300 total residents. The entire mountainous interior is tree-free open roaming through alpine meadow dotted with icy lakes and steep slopes that fall into long fjords all around the coast. There are 2 tiny grocery/post offices on the island and that is all. Sheep sleep in the road and reindeer roam the mountains and mudflats. The weather is dynamic with rainstorms blowing through often and daylight that lasts for 24 hours all through the summer months.
The place
Called Singla by locals,your home for the week is a historic homestead that is in the process of being re-imagined as a base for arts, research and adventure.
First developed in the 1850s it consists of a handful of buildings from generations of fiskerbonde or the fisherman-farmers life, including a boathouse, barn, cottage, and small working lighthouse, complete with all of the tools and treasures of years gone by. *Scroll through the picture bar below for some views of Singla.
Getting Here
The nearest major airport is in the city of Tromsø and you can take a passenger ferry most days of the week direct to the island in about 2 hours (though you may need an overnight in Tromso to line this up). Also the Hurtigruten coastal ferry that doubles as a cruise ship makes long, slow treks up the coast every day in summer and stops at the neighboring island of Skjervøy. If you are wanting to come by car or have a car during your stay the drive is about 4 hours from Tromsø and includes an undersea tunnel as well as a small car ferry to get you the last hop from the mainland. This small car ferry runs every few hours during the day.
We encourage you to look into travel arrangements and ponder your wider travel hopes and plans to see if the timeframe and trek across the world work for you this year. If so, please apply!
A Few Important Notes:
The property is still in ongoing renovations and the amenities of our historic buildings are very rustic. We have a (mountain hut-style) incinerating toilet. There is no guest laundry or showers, but we encourage sauna and sea/lake bathing. Bedrooms are generally double occupancy and located in our small 1850s farmhouse. The kitchen is small and mighty, but please contact us in advance if you have a food restriction or allergy as we are not be able to accommodate all requests.
We are asking that only folks who are comfortable living simply and have good mobility apply.
Not looking for a residency?
Creative retreats & Workshops
These alternative offerings, led by instructor Hannah Viano and visiting guest instructors, are open to all and bring small groups together to share explorations and guided activities that take our creative practice in new directions.
Alumni
2022
Anna Brones
Luc Revel
Donna Keyser
Maria Coryell-Martin
Zach Carver
Clayton Beaudoin
Emma Jane Royer
2025
Franziska Mattner
Christine Innes
Adina Pease
Laura Pashby
Pat Naldi
Chelsea Cook
Paula LaRochelle
Marissa Aragon Ware
Alexis Church
Lyndsay Roberts Rayne
Christina Campbell
Gretchen Duggan
2023
Shelly Leavens
Klara Maisch
Jules Hotz
Nina Sarnelle
Heidi Tungseth
Meghan Rilkoff
Don Edler
Gina Maffey and Co
Carmen Jimenez and Alexandra Sansano
2026…
2024
Isobel Coney
Ocean Holiday
Leonie Wise
Gabriel Dawe
Naty Gomez
Perri Lynch Howard
Emily Sullivan
Danielle Stickman
Mandy Bernard
Sarah Cameron Sunde
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