Wood as Material | Forest as Practice

Wood as Material | Forest as Practice is a thematic, site-specific artist residency at Rambu and Fagertun, developed in close connection with the residency hosts' forest in Tylldalen. The residency invites professional artists to explore wood and forest as material, landscape, and field of practice through material-based and process-oriented artistic work.

Rooted in a rural inland context in eastern Norway, the residency operates at the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and local knowledge. It offers time and space for slow artistic immersion, production, and reflection, with a strong emphasis on place-specific inquiry, exchange, and public-facing processes.

Using wood as a shared thematic framework, the residency creates opportunities for dialogue between artists and local actors working with forestry, wood processing, craft, and cultural heritage. Encounters with forest owners, sawmills, craftspeople, and other knowledge holders form part of the programme and are invited in as contributions to the residency's wider conversations. At the same time, strong emphasis is placed on artistic autonomy, allowing each artist to define their own approach, methods, and outcomes.

The open call is directed at professional artists working with wood, forest, landscape, or related materials and themes, as well as artists engaged in material-based, site-specific, or process-driven practices who wish to explore these questions in dialogue with a new place and local context.

The residency runs for two months, from 17 April to 12 June 2026 and artists may choose to come for one month, or for the entire period. Fagertun serves as the artists' residence and shared social space, while Rambu functions as a production site, workshop, and arena for conversations and public activity. The hosts' forest in Tylldalen, approximately 30 km from Tynset, plays a central role as a site for exploration, work, and presentation.

The forest functions both as workspace and exhibition site. Situated along a well-used walking trail, it offers strong possibilities for low-threshold public engagement. Use of the forest and related logistics will be planned in dialogue with the artists to support both artistic processes and public-facing activity.

The residency concludes with a public presentation developed by the artists as part of their working process. This will take the form of a site-specific outdoor exhibition in the forest in Tylldalen, potentially combined with works or documentation shown at Rambu. The presentation may include temporary installations, interventions, or other artistic responses adapted to the landscape, and audiences will be invited to experience the works through a simple guided route. The final format will be shaped by the artists' processes and decisions during the residency.

Wood as Material | Forest as Practice further develops the Fagertun residency as a platform for material-based artistic practice rooted in place, contributing to professional artistic development in rural contexts.