The Nomadic · Edition 6

2018: Dimming the Northern Lights

DatesAugust 2–27, 2018

WhereReykjavik, Iceland · Tórshavn, Faroe Islands · Tromsø, Norway · Boden, Sweden · Luleå, Sweden · Hyrynsalmi, Finland · Helsinki, Finland

Cohort8 curators

2018: Dimming the Northern Lights — group photograph — 2018: Dimming the Northern Lights — Reykjavik, Iceland · Tórshavn, Faroe Islands · Tromsø, Norway · Boden, Sweden · Luleå, Sweden · Hyrynsalmi, Finland · Helsinki, Finland.

The edition

What this one was about.

CPR's sixth Core Program explored remote and peripheral communities across the North Atlantic and Nordic region through the lens of "integration" — examined from two angles: social integration (how individuals are incorporated into a society as equals) and behavioral or environmental integration (how individuals live in harmony with their surroundings).

Over 26 days, eight curators — from Mexico, Estonia, Italy, Australia, Croatia, and Denmark, each with 2+ years of professional curatorial experience — investigated how these remote societies manage integration, their relationships to local heritage and refugee reception, and the tension between stated commitments to sustainability and the region's resource-extraction industries. The program traveled through Reykjavik, Tórshavn, Tromsø, Boden, Luleå, Hyrynsalmi, and Helsinki, with support from Nordisk Kulturfond, HIAP Helsinki, Frame Finland, the Mustarinda Association, IASPIS Sweden, and ArtNorth. As with earlier editions, participants developed home-city project proposals after the residency, with a production grant awarded to one winning proposal. The open call closed on February 15, 2018.

The cohort

8 curators.

Alessandro Facente

Curator, writer & educator, New York

Alessandro Facente is a curator, writer, and educator based in New York. Since participating in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, Facente has built an international practice spanning Europe, North Africa, and the United States. He served as Curator at Artists Alliance Inc. from 2018–2025 and developed a curatorial methodology he terms curaticism, exploring the relationship between art criticism and exhibition-making. Alongside curating exhibitions and public programs, he teaches at the School of Visual Arts, New York University, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran

Artist, curator & researcher, Saigon

Arlette Quỳnh-Anh Trần is an artist, curator, and researcher based in Saigon. A participant in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, Trần has developed an internationally recognized interdisciplinary practice spanning contemporary art, research, and experimental exhibition-making. As a member of Art Labor, her work combines political discourse with speculative futures through performance, animation, architecture, and installation. Her practice explores futurity, ecology, and postcolonial imaginaries, particularly through visions of a reimagined Third World utopia. Her work has been presented at major institutions including the Centre Pompidou, National Gallery Singapore, and Leeum Museum of Art.

Lea Vene

Curator, cultural anthropologist & researcher, Zagreb

Lea Vene is a curator, cultural anthropologist, and researcher based in Zagreb. After joining the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, Vene expanded an interdisciplinary practice spanning contemporary art, photography, performance, and critical research. She serves as curator for Organ Vida Festival and performance programs at Gallery Močvara, while also working as a researcher at CIMO – Centre for Research of Fashion and Clothing. Her work explores visual culture, fashion, ecology, and post-industrial transformation through exhibitions, residencies, and international collaborations.

Marten Esko

Curator, writer & exhibition-maker, Tallinn

Marten Esko is a curator, writer, researcher, and exhibition-maker based in Tallinn. A participant in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, Esko has played a key role in shaping contemporary curatorial discourse in the Baltic region. He served as Director and Managing Curator of the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM) from 2016 to 2020 and remains a board member of the institution. He is also a PhD researcher at the Estonian Academy of Arts, focusing on exhibition-making and contemporaneity.

Nina Wöhlk

Curator, writer & researcher, Copenhagen

Nina Wöhlk is a curator, writer, and researcher based in Copenhagen. Since participating in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, Wöhlk has developed a distinctive curatorial practice centered on feminist methodologies, performative practices, and regenerative cultural infrastructures. Since 2019, she has led ARIEL – Feminisms in the Aesthetics, an exhibition platform exploring feminist discourse through contemporary art. Her work spans exhibitions, writing, public programming, and advisory roles, with a strong focus on site-responsive practice, critical dialogue, and sustainable institutional development.

Paulina Ascencio

Researcher & curator, Guadalajara/New York

Paulina Ascencio is a researcher and curator working between Guadalajara and New York. A participant in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, Ascencio has developed an interdisciplinary practice at the intersection of anthropology, contemporary art, and critical heritage studies. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at New York University and was a Hevey-Filling Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. Her recent projects include exhibitions at Museo de Arte Moderno and Museo Cabañas.

Siân McIntyre

Curator, writer & researcher, Sydney

Siân McIntyre is a curator, writer, and researcher based in Sydney. After joining the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, McIntyre continued developing a dynamic practice spanning exhibition-making, research, and independent institutional development. As founding director of The Paper Mill ARI, she has played an important role in supporting experimental contemporary art and interdisciplinary dialogue in Australia. Her work focuses on socially engaged practice, cultural exchange, and critical exchange across local and international contexts.

Vanina Saracino

Curator, writer, film programmer & educator, Berlin

Vanina Saracino is a curator, writer, film programmer, and educator based in Berlin. Since participating in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2018, Saracino has developed an influential international practice centered on ecological thought, posthuman theory, and lens-based art. She has co-curated major projects including Screen City Biennial and exhibitions at institutions such as the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia and Palais de Tokyo. Since 2021, she has taught at Universität der Künste Berlin, expanding her work across curating, writing, and pedagogy.

All The Nomadic editions