In February 2022, the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Moscow in partnership with Inversia Festival is organising an art residency entitled Stories from the North: Female Voices. Taking place as part of the Arctic Convoys: A Shared History programme, the residency proposes ways of engaging with the Arctic in a broader context. The residency’s core focus is on women, their roles and perspectives in the region’s past and present. UK artists Die Hexen, Sami El-Enany and Su Shaw have been selected to visit Murmansk and Arkhangelsk and participate in the residency programme online. The objective of the residency is to open up the discussion, invite new and alternative perspectives on the Arctic, and inspire future artistic collaboration between the participating artists and local artistic community in the Russian North.
More about the artists
Die Hexen / Dianne Lucille Campbell. Composer, Sound Artist & Performer. Die Hexen is a daringly innovative composer merging composition & unconventional sound elements to create unique sound worlds. Often described as otherworldly, haunting, intense, textured, ethereal and atmospheric with shades of light and darkness, their boundary pushing repertoire spans a range of mediums including narrative and experimental film, dance theatre, animation, installation, performance, documentary and game.
Sami El-Enany works with sound, often negotiating the fringes of new instrumental, electronic and field recording. His practices range widely from composition and sound design for the screen, sound art, theatre, record production and radio production. He is a regular producer for BBC Radio 4’s Short Cuts and Radio 3’s Between the Ears — his work in this field most recently being recognised with a Best New Radio Producer nomination at the Audio Production Awards 2021. His work has filled spaces in the Barbican, Tate, ICA and the National Theatre and been performed by the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Budapest Art Orchestra and Musica Assoluta. El-Enany is also a pianist and improvisor, performing solo and in ensembles across the world.
Su Shaw. S H H E is the alias of Scottish-Portuguese artist, musician and producer, Su Shaw. Her artistic practice is influenced by environment, exploring themes of identity and connection at the intersection between sound and space. S H H E ’s eponymous debut album was released by One Little Independent Records and was shortlisted for Scottish Album of the Year 2020. Previous composition and sound installations have been presented at V&A Dundee, Summerhall and Cryptic Nights (Scotland), Hangar (Portugal), BFI and Sensoria’s FAMLAB (international) and the Westfjords Residency (Iceland).
The art residency is organised by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Moscow and Inversia Festival, as part of the UK – Russia “Arctic Convoys: A Shared History” programme.