“Two Residencies in Norway” Artist Talk with Jane Whitten and Lisa Theriault

“Two Residencies in Norway,”an artist talk presented by This Town Is Small, will take place at The Arts Guild in Charlottetown on March 19 from 6–7:30 pm. PEI-based visual and craft artists Jane Whitten and Lisa Theriault will share insights from their recent residency experiences in Norway. 

Artist residencies offer time and space to develop ideas in new and stimulating contexts, outside of artists’ usual studios and communities. Two Island artists found themselves in very different residency settings in Norway.

Jane Whitten spent September 2025 at Kvitbrakka Berlevåg, an artist residency in Northern Norway. During her time there, she collaborated with Norwegian textile artist Ingrid Larssen to explore textile techniques using kelp. Together, they gained an understanding how climate change is impacting kelp forests on the other side of the Atlantic. They collected and processed local kelp and experimented with weaving, basketry, netting, knitting, stitching, and dyeing, expanding the material possibilities of seaweed.

Lisa Theriault was an artist-in-residence in November and December 2025 at the Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale in Western Norway. The residency hosts five to six artists at a time, each working independently while sharing space and conversation. During her residency, Theriault developed a series of cut-out drawings that can be reconfigured into large-scale wall installations that merge imagination and lived experience. The work references artist studios and shared spaces, incorporating furnishings and objects observed during her time in residence and in community with fellow artists.