Artica Writings 2024 to Focus on Svalbard’s International Residents Amid Recent Policy Changes

Photo: Ángel Valiente

Elida Høeg, Photo: Ángel Valiente

Artica Svalbard’s Artica Writings series returns in 2024 with a new focus on the personal stories of international residents in Svalbard.

Svalbard, unlike many Arctic regions, has no indigenous population. Approximately 65% of the population is Norwegian, while the remaining 35% is made up of residents from over 50 countries. This diverse community has shaped life on the archipelago, with people from around the world coming to live, work, and call the Arctic their home.

Recent discussions about Svalbard have been dominated by Norway’s new White Paper, which outlines efforts to attract more Norwegian families to the archipelago. At the same time, new regulations have restricted local voting rights for non-Norwegians, alienating many long-term residents.

Against this backdrop, the upcoming edition of Artica Writings will explore the personal stories of some of Svalbard’s international migrants, highlighting the unique experiences and challenges faced by this diverse community.

The essay series will delve into the personal histories of residents, examining their reasons for migrating, their adaptation to Svalbard’s Norwegian customs, and the impact of recent policy changes on their lives. Through interviews, the series will explore how these individuals have integrated into the community and their feelings about the evolving socio-political landscape.

The essays, led by journalist Elida Høeg, will examine the experiences of residents before arriving in Svalbard, alongside the challenges they have faced since moving here. Høeg, a specialist in foreign affairs, climate, and migration for Morgenbladet, has previously reported on topics like Russian memory policy, Sami rights, and global warming. She spent six weeks in Longyearbyen in 2022 as part of an Artica Svalbard residency.

Accompanying the essays will be photography by Ángel Valiente, an Oslo-based photographer and designer whose work explores the relationship between identity and landscape.

The project comes at a critical time, with recent government policies reflecting Norway’s efforts to strengthen its presence on the islands. Svalbard’s international community is uniquely positioned within these dynamics, and the collection aims to capture the personal stories behind the shifting socio-political landscape.

As with previous Artica Writings editions, this project will culminate in a book to be published in 2025, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Svalbard Treaty. This anniversary highlights the ongoing relevance of the treaty’s principles of shared access and non-discrimination, themes central to the stories being told in this edition.

If you are an international resident and would like to share your story, please contact us at info@articasvalbard.no.

For more information and to read the full project description, click here.

The project is supported by Fritt Ord, a foundation dedicated to promoting freedom of expression in Norway.