Open Your Eyes
Artist residencies, exhibitions, and local crafts in Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Welcome to the Spitsbergen Artists Center
The Spitsbergen Artists Center is located in Longyearbyen, Norway. The town is named after John Munro Longyear, an American who founded the town in 1906 as a coal mining town. For many years, coal was the primary industry of Svalbard, and Longyearbyen was a company town run by the Norwegian coal mining company, Store Norske. Now, industrial coal mining is in the past, and Longyearbyen is a center for Arctic tourism, research, education, and the arts. The Spitsbergen Artists Center lies in Nybyen, meaning 'the new town,' which is located in the south end of the Longyear valley. This historical building was built in 1947 as a store for the miners working in the mines. In 1973, an addition was built on to the original wooden structure.
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Artists Residency
The Spitsbergen Artists Residency fosters the connection of artists from diverse countries, disciplines and media in the extraordinary environment of the Arctic. This is an open-call residency accepting creative projects that involve the Arctic. The residency is open all year.
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Craft Center
Autumn opening hours are Thursdays 4:00pm to 8:00pm
The craft center displays and sells the work of local artists and crafts people, many of whom have studios or workshops at the Spitsbergen Artists Center. The craft center is usually open Tuesday to Friday, and is also open for special events like Solfest and the Christmas market. -
Exhibition Space
The beauty of the Arctic brings many artists to Svalbard. The Spitsbergen Artists Center is proud to exhibit the work of local and international artists of all disciplines who are working on projects involving the polar regions and climate change.