Venice

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The Kulgu area, also known as the Narva Venice, lies one and a half kilometres from the Narva Art Residency. It is a system of canals along the Narva reservoir, with boat garages built by the locals. The garages are more than just boat sheds – this is where people of Narva come to rest, engage in different DIY projects, fish, grow plants, enjoy sauna and parties. 

This is where in the summer of 2022, the Narva Art Residency initiated the Narva Venice Embassy summer residency project. In 2025, it celebrates its fourth season! In July and August, the residency will host four artists who will live in the “embassy” on the site of the former Kreenholm Textile Factory Pump House, the home of the project since 2024. Throughout the summer, the embassy will host events where locals, visitors, and artists can get to know each other and the artworks created during the artist residencies.

The team of the NART Narva Venice Embassy project consists of Saara Mildeberg, Johanna Rannula and many more.

The residency programme is managed by Saara (+372 55903472, saara.mildeberg@gmail.com).

This project has been and is supported by British Council in Estonia as part of the People to People Cultural Engagement Programme in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Find more info about British Council’s work in Estonia at www.britishcouncil.ee.

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In 2024, three artists undertook this creative residency, bringing their wonderful projects to life in the run-up to August 2024 — Mimi Dearing (UK), August Honoré Rønne (Denmark), Jila Svicevic (Hungary-Serbia). The artists were selected by a jury of experts.

Mimi Dearing (UK)

Mimi is an artist and creative producer celebrated for her playful and participatory installations that uplift and engage local communities. Her project, “We open our arms to you,” will be a shadow sculpture that conveys a message of unity and belonging, fostering intercultural dialogue and transforming public spaces into vibrant, engaging environments.

August Honoré Rønne (Denmark)

August has recently relocated to Estonia. August works with video, printmaking, and sculpture. His project, “Flag of a Time to Come,” involves a blockprinting workshop where the Kulgu community will create signal flags. This project aims to empower personal communication and reflect the DIY spirit of the garage community, transforming Kulgu into a sanctuary for independent creativity and social freedom.

Jila Svicevic (Hungary-Serbia)

Jila is a Hungarian-Serbian interdisciplinary artist who is socio-ecologically engaged. Her project, “Captivated in Kulgu,” will feature glow-in-the-dark fishnets to highlight the community’s fishing heritage. This interactive installation invites locals to attach memories and objects, sparking reflections on the interconnectedness of culture and environment. 

ARTISTS 2023

Maksym Kozlov (France) 12.06 – 2.07.2023

As a Ukrainian artist based in France, he explores the intersection of various artistic mediums. Through transmedial photography, Maksym combines different visual forms to create unique and immersive experiences. His project aims to build a DIY Viking yacht in the Kulgu area using traditional materials and methods while exploring the connection between Estonian and Western European Viking history. The project will engage the local community in the shipbuilding process and involve educational workshops to teach participants about Viking history and shipbuilding techniques.

Leri Matehha (Israel) 26.06 – 23.07.2023

Leri is an artist from Israel. In her research and cinematic works She tries to combine social landscapes and the sensuality of personal memory, as well as looking for stories that make unusual, historical facts visible. 

During her residence in Narva Venice, she will open a temporary kosher distillery with her father Eduard. Moreover, she will hold traditional Shabbat dinners to introduce locals to the Jewish culture.

Frans van Hoek (South Africa/ the Netherlands) 9.07 – 2.08.2023

Frans van Hoek is an artist based in The Hague. Growing up in the Karoo desert, his practice explores phenomena by layering multiple temporal lenses. With a background in physics and psychology, Frans attempts to integrate these forces through a site-specific practice.

In Narva Venice, Frans will build a camera obscura overlooking the reservoir which acts as the border between Estonia and Russia. A live image of the outside world would cover the walls, floor, and ceiling, bringing the other side of the river into an intimate social setting. Creating a space to question relations between inside/outside, at a time of crucial re-definition for Narva.

Marijonas Verbel (Lithuania) 10.08 – 22.08.2023

Marijonas is a Lithuanian artist with a special focus in textile arts, crafts and art education. They are inspired by the concept of weaving, routines and synesthesia.

During their residency, they will conduct two weaving workshops and invite the local community to explore the themes of unordinary and site-responsive weaving together with them. One is about weaving without a loom and the second one is about basket weaving. The inspiration for the workshops came when the artist arrived at the residency without their loom. Living in a small container surrounded by wild grass, questions arose “How to weave with the smallest amount of supplies? How to get inspired by the environment around me?” 

Tim Sullivan (UK) 20.07 – 30.08.2023

Tim is an artist, writer, and Foundation Art Lecturer based in the UK working in photography and film. With regard to the current moment, he is increasingly interested in the contemporary and historical representation of land and our place within it. His time in Narva Venice will be spent building up an archive of objects found in, and along the banks of the river which will be presented in a publication along with a series of portrait and landscape studies. His investment in this project stems from his ongoing work representing border territories; however, for this residency, he would like to facilitate the production of an archive whose contents will be dictated by the community.

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PUBLIC EVENTS

During the summer, Narva Venice will host a series of different events directly related to the artists’ projects. The opening of the season will take place on Kulgu, where locals will be able to get acquainted with the project and communicate with some of the artists. In June, Maxim will talk about the history of the Vikings and hold a master class, in which everyone is welcome to participate. Leri will introduce you to the home distillery and hold Shabbat dinners.

Frans will join her in July and will show how to make your own camera obscura at home. At the beginning of August, Giuseppe will present his project – a series of postcards about the Venice of Narva, and Tim will end the season, by preparing an exhibition of the Kulgu archive.

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In 2022, five artists also worked in Narva Venice.

Enrique Roura (Mexico/Norway) built a public oven in Kulgu. Maurin Bisig (Switzerland) built a wooden shed next to Enrique’s oven and also created a small photo exhibition. Elisabeth Guerrero (Mexico/Netherlands) prepared a tour of the sounds and stories of Narva Venice, which you can listen to here https://on.soundcloud.com/bKbn (in Russian, some parts in English). Kevin Molloy (Ireland/Estonia) made a short audio-visual film showing the Kulgu area in the context of his daily life. Mohar Kalra (USA) created three interactive sculptures – a black-throated diver, a white-backed woodpecker, and a European green frog – calling it “Kulgu Public Radio”, which worked in Narva Venice in September-October 2022.