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ART / EARTH - JÖKLAMINNI​​
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Art / Earth - Jöklaminni is a transdisciplinary art-science project initiated by Stray Light and The Young Academy of Belgium (Flanders). The project brings artists and scientists together to explore how we relate to a planet in motion. Taking glaciers as its point of departure, it connects scientific knowledge with artistic engagement with landscapes that are visibly changing and disappearing. Glaciers make planetary transformation tangible: local movements of ice and water are closely linked to global processes such as rising sea levels and shifting ecosystems, which also affect low-lying regions such as Belgium.

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From early March to early April 2026, three Icelandic artists - Julie Sjöfn Gasiglia, Vala Sigþrúðar Jónsdóttir and Sigrún Gyða Sveinsdóttir - were in residence at C-TAKT in Pelt, where they together with artist-curator Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir developed new work and research in dialogue with scientists and fellow artists. Their stay was accompanied by a programme of encounters in Belgium, including meetings with scientists from The Young Academy of Belgium (Flanders), participation in the Belgian Science for Climate Action conference, visits to artists and institutions, and in situ field work. The residency followed an earlier phase of the project in February at SÍM Residency in Reykjavík, where Belgian artists Mattias De Craene, Stijn Demeulenaere and Kevin Trappeniers, together with artist-curator Nicolas Baeyens, undertook fieldwork in glacial landscapes together with glaciologists from the University of Iceland.

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These artistic and scientific exchanges generate artistic research material. For example interdisciplinary input from member scientists of The Young Academy of Belgium (Flanders), and field measurements gathered during glacier expeditions (including data collected by scientists involved in the European research project ICELINK, which studies the impact of climate change on glaciers in Iceland and Greenland), feed the artists. The artists work in different art forms and create independently. The artists first showed work in Reykjavik (IS) at the gallery of SIM (The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists) and in situ. Artists and scientists later met at BAC ART LAB in the city Leuven (BE) for a public exchange and the showing of work in progress in an expo space and in situ. BAC ART LAB focuses on artistic projects at the crossover between art and science at KULeuven University. To gather more public feedback, the project also showed the work in progress at Theater Aan Zee (TAZ), a major multi-day performing arts and culture festival held annually in the summer in the coastal city of Ostend, Belgium. In September 2026, the project will be featured in EOS Science Magazine. The residencies formed the first steps towards a collaborative project between the participating artists and scientists.

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CREDITS

artists: Mattias De Craene, Stijn Demeulenaere, Julie Sjöfn Gasiglia, Vala Sigþrúðar Jónsdóttir, Nick Steur, Sigrún Gyða Sveinsdóttir, Kevin Trappeniers

artist-curators: Nicolas Baeyens, Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir

production: Stray Light vzw

production manager: Ilka De Wilde

communication: Sam Loncke

video: Daniel Demoustier

partners: Samband íslenskra Myndlistarmanna (SIM), The Young Academy of Belgium (Flanders), C-TAKT Transdisciplinary Platform, Werkplaats Walter, Space-oriented Artistic Practice (SOAP), University Of Iceland, ICELINK (Advancing Knowledge of North Atlantic Land Ice Linking Observations and Models), BAC ART LAB, EOS Science Magazine

with the support of: the Flemish Government​, the city of Leuven​​