writing – Emma Fält – drawing out loud

July 24–29, 2026 | Niemelä House, Nerohvirta Village, Iisalmi, Finland

Applications are now open for WELL 2026, the 4th International Drawing Residency, hosted by artists Angie Brew and Emma Fält in the Finnish lakeside countryside. WELL offers a focused and supportive environment for artists, researchers, and creative practitioners interested in drawing and expanded drawing practices. The residency creates time and space for deep reflection, listening, and grounding, while encouraging dialogue, experimentation, and collective exchange. Each summer, the Fält family opens their land and studios in Nerohvirta Village near Iisalmi to a small group of international and local artists. Surrounded by forests and lakes, participants are invited to engage with their own creative practice while becoming part of a temporary community of drawing practitioners.

Residency Focus
The residency is centred around drawing as a practice that can expand into multiple disciplines and approaches. Participants are encouraged to explore both individual work and shared creative processes.

What we offer

Drawing and sound art workshops led by Anna & Emma Fält and Angela Brew (Further workshop details will be announced during the spring.)
Opportunities to share and develop your artistic practice with fellow artists, researchers, and practitioners
Time and space for independent creative work
A small, supportive community of practitioners
Simple shared vegetarian meals
Daily access to nature: lake swimming, forest walks, and harvesting
A peaceful working environment in the Finnish countryside-

Participation Fee

The residency fee is 451.5 € (£390). The fee covers the programme and shared meals and is kept as low as possible to cover basic costs.
Accommodation is not included in the residency fee. Participants may choose from:

A low-cost bedroom in the studio house
Local accommodation nearby
Camping in the surrounding area.

Who Can Apply

Applications are welcome from artists, creative practitioners, researchers, and makers whose work relates to drawing or expanded drawing practices.
The residency hosts a maximum of 7 participants, allowing for an intimate and focused working environment.

To apply,/register please send an email including:

A short introduction to your practice
A brief description of what you are currently working on
A few sentences on why participation in the WELL residency would be meaningful for you
Application deadline: April 20, 2026

Contact
For applications and questions regarding accommodation or the residency programme, please contact the organisers by email. We warmly welcome applications from practitioners interested in exploring drawing, nature, and shared creative practice in the Finnish landscape.

 WELL International Drawing Residency 

Hosted by Emma Fält & Angie Brew
brewdrawing@gmail.com
emmavilina@gmail.com

Welcome to the free workshop at Tieteen päivät, the University of Helsinki.

https://tieteenpaivat.fi/fi

Shared Futures – Listening exercises to imagine the impossible

Studium 1, Helsingin yliopiston päärakennus, Fabianinkatu 33

Saturday 11.1. // 15.45 – 17.00

Description:

How do you imagine the impossible and share it with others? In this workshop, participants will work on multisensory listening exercises to delve deeper into thinking about radical imagination. We will listen, draw and walk together.

You can participate in English or Finnish. The exercises are done independently and in groups, and no experience in the arts is necessary.

The workshop is based on a long-term art project Shared Futures that was initiated by Fält, implemented by artists Fält, Anna Maria Väisänen and Roberto Fusco and supported by ANTI Contemporary Art Festival, Kuopio City and Arts Promotion Center Finland as a Project for cultural well-being for the elderly people. The project was invited to be presented as part of POLIMA seminars and workshops at Turku University between 2022-23. POLIMA is an ethnographic research project that addresses the timely question of political alienation and the dissipation of political imagination, as well as the need for fundamental social change. Last year, I wrote an article that collects and suggests alternative thinking tools for sociologists and other scientists who work on the topic of future research.

https://tieteenpaivat.fi/fi/ohjelma-2025/helsinki/lauantai-11-1/jaettu-tulevaisuus-mahdottoman-mielikuvittelua-ja-yhteisia

https://emmafalt.net/portfolio/imagining-future-bodies-tuning-in-to-the-future/

https://polima.fi/in-english/