The Nomadic · Edition 8

2023: (Re)Presentation in the Nordics

DatesAugust–September 2023

WhereOslo, Norway · Tromsø, Norway · Kiruna, Sweden · Jokkmokk, Sweden · Moskosel, Sweden · Boden, Sweden · Luleå, Sweden · Helsinki, Finland

Cohort7 curators

2023: (Re)Presentation in the Nordics — group photograph — 2023: (Re)Presentation in the Nordics — Oslo, Norway · Tromsø, Norway · Kiruna, Sweden · Jokkmokk, Sweden · Moskosel, Sweden · Boden, Sweden · Luleå, Sweden · Helsinki, Finland.

The edition

What this one was about.

CPR's eighth Nordic residency centered on "the complex issue of colonial history and present reality in the North today, intertwined with aspects of sustainability and ecology," with curators getting, in the program's words, "a deep insight into the most urgent political, social and aesthetic issues" facing contemporary Nordic artists — chiefly Sámi colonization history, minority and immigrant representation, and environmental sustainability, and how these connect to global concerns.

Curators met roughly twenty artists per visited city through studio visits and institutional tours, and each delivered at least one public presentation per country visited, alongside critical dialogues that CPR says have frequently catalyzed longer-term international partnerships — connections from the prior 2022 cycle reportedly led to three artists being invited to international exhibitions within six months. The open call ran February 15 – March 21, 2023, for up to eight curators (seven were ultimately selected).

The program was led by Carmen Ferreyra (Founding Director), Susanne Ewerlöf (Europe Director), and Natalia Viera Salgado (CPR² Curator), working with eight regional specialists including representatives from Frame Contemporary Art Finland, IASPIS, the Office for Contemporary Art Norway, and local hosts Ruben Steinum, Lena Malm, and Ludvig Sjödin. Around thirteen governmental, cultural, and institutional funders backed the program across Norway, Finland, and Sweden, including the Nordic Culture Fund, Frame Finland, the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York and in London, IASPIS, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee's International Programme for Visual and Applied Arts, and the Visual Artists Support Center Norrbotten.

The cohort

7 curators.

Caimin Walsh

Curator & facilitator, Limerick

Caimin Walsh is a curator and facilitator based in Limerick, Ireland. Walsh participated in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2023, bringing a curatorial practice focused on civic engagement, rural ecologies, and collaborative models. His work connects artists, communities, and audiences through projects that examine cultural memory, environmental change, and shared heritage. He approaches curating as a social and site-responsive practice, developing frameworks that foster dialogue across artistic, ecological, and civic contexts. Walsh is Curator of Civic Engagement at Ormston House, where he leads projects that expand public participation in contemporary art. He is also the founder of Anywhere Projects, a nonprofit initiative supporting visual art, music, and performance in disused and unconventional spaces. His recent work includes Crex crex, crex crex, crex… and The Sky is Falling!, research-driven projects exploring conservation, land use, and more-than-human coexistence in rural Ireland.

Emiliano Valdés

Curator, writer & cultural leader, Guatemala

Emiliano Valdés is a curator, writer, and cultural leader based in Guatemala. Valdés participated in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2023. Widely recognized as one of Latin America’s leading curatorial voices, his practice spans large-scale exhibitions, institutional leadership, and cultural policy. Over the past two decades, he has developed an influential curatorial approach rooted in contemporary art, design, craft, and community-based knowledge systems, with a strong emphasis on transnational dialogue and socially engaged cultural production. He previously served as Chief Curator at the Museum of Modern Art Medellín and held senior curatorial roles at major international institutions and biennials, including the 10th Gwangju Biennale. In 2026, Valdés was appointed Vice Minister of Culture of Guatemala, marking a significant expansion of his impact from curatorial practice into national cultural leadership. Bridging research, writing, and public policy, he continues to shape critical conversations around contemporary art and cultural infrastructure across Latin America and beyond.

Jasa McKenzie

Curator, Minneapolis

Jasa McKenzie is a curator and arts professional based in Minneapolis. McKenzie participated in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2023. Her practice centers on contemporary art, public programming, and cross-cultural exchange, with a strong focus on building meaningful connections between artists, institutions, and audiences. Working across exhibitions, research, and collaborative initiatives, she develops projects that engage questions of representation, equity, and community-centered cultural production. McKenzie has held roles at major institutions including The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach, where she contributed to curatorial programming and institutional initiatives, as well as organizations spanning the U.S. and international art contexts. Bridging curatorial practice with public engagement, she continues to build a thoughtful and socially responsive practice shaped by dialogue, accessibility, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Magdalena Testoni

Artist, independent curator & producer, Buenos Aires

Magdalena Testoni is an artist, independent curator, and cultural producer based in Buenos Aires. Testoni participated in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2023. Her practice operates at the intersection of contemporary art, publishing, and self-organized cultural production, with a strong focus on experimental artistic practices and collaborative infrastructures across Latin America. She co-directs El Vómito, an independent art space in Buenos Aires, and coordinates Pulpería Mutuálica, both platforms dedicated to alternative forms of artistic exchange and critical dialogue. Previously part of the Public Programs team at MALBA, she has also built a significant presence in the field of art publishing as director of Paraguay, an art book fair through which she co-founded Formas de la Idea, a network connecting independent publishers and artists across Latin America. As editor at Cuestión and member of microutopías Press, Testoni continues to shape critical conversations around contemporary art through curating, writing, publishing, and collective cultural organizing.

Myriam Amroun

Independent curator, Algiers

Myriam Amroun is an independent curator and cultural practitioner based in Algiers. Amroun participated in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2023. Working at the intersection of contemporary art, urbanism, and political thought, her practice examines how cultural production can reshape public space, collective memory, and civic engagement. She is the co-founder and former artistic director of Rhizome, an influential independent arts organization in Algiers dedicated to supporting artists, research, and experimental public programming. Over the past decade, she has developed major city-scale initiatives including DJART and EL MEDREB, projects that reimagined public space as a site for artistic and social exchange. Her curatorial work increasingly centers decolonial methodologies and structural critique, with recent research and collaborative projects developed alongside Natasha Marie Llorens in Sweden and across the Nordic region. Recognized with the Prince Claus Seed Award, Amroun has emerged as an important voice in shaping critical curatorial discourse across North Africa and beyond. Amroun and Llorens produced and directed the Curatorial Program for Research Core Program in North Africa (May 2026).

Natasha Marie Llorens

Curator, writer, art historian & educator

Natasha Marie Llorens is a curator, writer, art historian, and educator based between Stockholm and Algiers. Llorens participated in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2023. Her work bridges curatorial practice, critical writing, and political theory, with a focus on contemporary art from North Africa and the broader SWANA region. Through exhibitions, research, and long-term collaborations with artists, she examines questions of colonialism, labor, migration, and cultural memory, foregrounding art’s role within broader political and social structures. She is currently Professor of Art Theory at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, where she leads research in decolonial curatorial methodologies. Llorens has curated major exhibitions and programs internationally, while her writing has appeared in leading publications including Artforum, e-flux, and Frieze. She is also the author of Waiting for Omar Gatlato: A Biography of a Film, a critical study of Merzak Allouache’s landmark Algerian film. Bridging scholarship, curating, and criticism, Llorens has become one of the most influential voices shaping discourse around contemporary art and decolonial practice today. Llorens and Amroun produced and directed the Curatorial Program for Research Core Program in North Africa (May 2026).

Sin-Yi Emilie Choi

Researcher, curator & writer, Hong Kong

Sin-Yi Emilie Choi is a Hong Kong–based researcher, curator, and writer working at the intersection of digital culture, media infrastructure, and contemporary visual culture. Choi participated in the Curatorial Program for Research in 2023. Currently a PhD candidate at the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong, her research examines how computational systems reshape environmental perception, creative production, and visual culture across East Asia. Her work spans media studies, critical AI, blue humanities, and cinema, with a particular focus on the political and aesthetic implications of digital infrastructures. Alongside her academic research, Choi curates film and exhibition programs that engage moving image, performance, and experimental media across institutional, community, and virtual spaces. Her projects include Jumping Frames – Hong Kong International Movement-image Festival, Macao Experimental Cinema, and Contact Zoning, while her writing has appeared in Film Quarterly and Modernism/modernity. Bridging scholarship, curating, and critical writing, Choi has developed a distinctive practice connecting contemporary media theory with artistic experimentation and cultural discourse.

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