Niap Completes Artist Residency in Finland


In November 2021, Niap travelled to Finland for a residency at the Malakata Artist Centre. The Malakata Centre brings together creatives from all over the world to cultivate ideas, art, and culture in various forms. Located in the city of Malax in western Finland, the centre was established in 2007 and since then has been host to various events, concerts, workshops, masterclasses, residencies and more. The yearly intensive workshop residencies, of which Niap was a participant, began in 2012.

During her four weeks spent at Malakata, Niap met and shared ideas with artists from Albania, Italy, Siberia, and Finland. She experienced many joys of rural Finnish life like foraging in the ancient forest for wild mushrooms and throughout these experiences, observed many likenesses between Inuit and Finnish cultures who relate to the land in similar ways. Niap also formed relationships with Indigenous artists from across the globe, sharing their unique lived experiences as Indigenous creatives from various international perspectives. In addition to this time spent at the Malakata Centre, Niap also travelled to Helsinki where to visit contemporary art galleries and museums.

Niap describes the experience as truly invigorating, providing great inspiration for her current projects. With a number of exhibitions and artistic projects in the works for 2022, we cannot wait to see what Niap creates next!