Artica Svalbard Welcomes Residents Sanne Moedt and Floortje Zonneveld for ‘Shadowing Without a Sunset’
Left to right: Floortje Zonneveld, Sanne Moedt
Artica Svalbard is pleased to welcome ecologist Sanne Moedt and artist Floortje Zonneveld as our current residents, here to develop Shadowing Without a Sunset—an immersive project that brings together scientific research and artistic storytelling to explore the Arctic in new and accessible ways.
Sanne and Floortje first met aboard the Noorderlicht, a small expedition ship in Svalbard, in August 2022. Sanne was on board as a guest scientist conducting field research, while Floortje, the expedition leader, was guiding the journey. Their conversations during that voyage sparked the idea for a collaborative project that would translate the complexities of Arctic science into creative, participatory experiences for wider audiences.
Sanne Moedt specialises in Arctic aquatic ecosystems and how they respond to environmental change. She holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Copenhagen and has carried out extensive research in Svalbard and Greenland, focusing on microscopic life—phytoplankton and microalgae—that forms the foundation of Arctic freshwater systems. Through both fieldwork and teaching, Sanne’s work reveals the hidden structures and vital roles of these ecosystems in the face of climate change.
Floortje Zonneveld is an artist, educator and certified Arctic Nature Guide, known for her time-based and participatory projects across remote Nordic regions. A long-time collaborator with Artica Svalbard, she has led several of our community-focused initiatives with young people in Longyearbyen, including Future Community Garden, The Slow Adventure: A Year Without Trees, and Havet Bringer. Her work consistently bridges disciplines, inviting communities to reimagine their relationships with landscapes through shared storytelling and creative engagement.
During their residency, Sanne and Floortje will create Shadowing Without a Sunset, an interactive project that invites local youth to explore a curated three-dimensional archive of Arctic research. The materials for this archive—videos, photographs, maps, objects, and field data—were collected during a research trip to the Netherlands Arctic Station in Ny Ålesund in the summer of 2024. Through workshops, participants will be encouraged to engage with these materials in open-ended ways, blending science and art to develop their own perspectives on Svalbard’s environment.
By making scientific research tangible and personal, the project fosters curiosity and deeper connections with the region’s ecosystems. It offers a fresh view of the Arctic—not only as a site of research but as a place full of evolving stories, shaped by both natural processes and human experience.
This residency and project are generously supported by Sparebankstiftelsen and the Netherlands Arctic Station. Artica Svalbard is proud to support this unique collaboration and looks forward to seeing how it unfolds in the weeks ahead.