Climate Narratives

Residency: QAQORTOQ
2025-02-10 - 2025-03-02 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
In February 2025, we, Aurora, Romain, and Vincent, are traveling from France to join ILLU Residency and immerse ourselves in the fascinating world of Greenland. We are working on QAQORTOQ, an immersive performance combining theater, music, and sound creation, inspired by Inuit culture, Arctic landscapes, and contemporary climate issues.
We are eager to discover, learn, and exchange with the people of Ilulissat. We want to hear your stories, understand your land, capture the sounds of the ice, and explore new ways of telling stories together.
We can’t wait to meet you and share this adventure with you!

Aurora de Fitte de Garies, Author, performer & artistic director
Vincent Meurisse, Technical Director and Sound Designer
Romain Préto, Composer and Musician

Ice Music Festival
2025-03-06 - 2025-03-09 | Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, Sermermiut Aqqutaa B 2089, Ilulissat, Avannaata Kommunia, 3952, Greenland
A series of outdoor concerts and art installations, combined with a science camp, will take place in Ilulissat from the 6th to the 9th of March 2025. These events will be set against the stunning backdrop of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ilulissat Icefjord, located on the west coast of Greenland.
Ilulissat Icefjord lies 250 km north of the Arctic Circle and features the mighty Sermeq Kujalleq glacier with its massive icebergs. Sermeq Kujalleq is one of the fastest-moving glaciers in the world, contributing to more than 10% of the total mass loss from the Greenland Icecap.
The Greenland Sessions will be hosted on the terrace of the beautifully designed Isfjordscenter in the town of Ilulissat.
Greenland is experiencing the effects of climate change at a faster rate than most of the world. By weaving the magic of Ice Music into the lived experience of the local Avannaata community, the festival will make an important statement about life surrounded by one of Earth’s most precious resources – water.
The Greenland Sessions offer an extraordinary experience immersed in the fragile Arctic beauty.
Buy your tickets now at our Tikkio shop!

The stage in 2024 on the Isfjordscenter’s terrace (photo credit: Emile Holba)

Terje Isungset, musician
Petter Bergerud, professor in architecture
Mathias Grønsdal, sound deisgner

The stage is designed and constructed by Petter Bergerud, with the support of local volunteers. The unique ice instruments are handcrafted by Petter Bergerud and Terje Isungset, while sound production is managed by Mathias Grønsdal.
The core team also includes Kerim Nisancioglu, Bo Albrechtsen, Karl Sandgreen, and Anaïs Bretones, who play key roles in managing the festival’s logistics and operations.
The Ice Music project is proudly supported by the Arts Council Norway.
Additional support for the Ice Music Festival comes from the University of Bergen, Avannaata Kommunia, Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, NAPA, and Norges Forskningsråd.

Residency: The last Ice Project
2025-03-11 08:00 - 2025-03-30 17:00 UTC | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Project Objectives

As lead artist, Brian will work with Emile Holba to create a series of photographic portraits, and Charles Monroe-Kane to record conversational interviews with community members. This work will document their stories and impressions of ice, its importance, the changing environment, and their personal stories. All interviews will be conducted via an interpreter/translator to ensure those we interview can speak in the language they are most comfortable with. These portraits and interviews will be an important part of the Last Ice Project.
Presented as an in person exhibition in ILLU, Art and Science Hub, Ilulissat Greenland, the photographic portraits and edited conversations will also travel globally to raise awareness and foster dialogue about climate change and its impact on the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit Community (using a QR Code system to listen to the voices of the portraits). Additionally, Charles will create a podcast from the interviews to give voice and story to those directly impacted by climate change. Those stories will be presented in the preferred language of the interviewee and translated into English and Danish. These materials will be integrated into the traveling exhibition The Last Ice Project.
Field testing and artistic exploration will also be crucial to the working development of The Last Ice Project. During the residency, Brian will venture onto the fjord with polar explorer Dwayne Fields, Hans Sandgreen (a Greenlandic Inuit fishermen and dog sled musher), Emile, Charles and Angaangaq to perform a ceremony, test the extraction, carving, camping and test the sled to be used to transport the glacial ice. They will test carve a 4½-foot piece of ice and transport it with a sled, using a team of trained dogs. Shaman Angaangaq will join them for part of the field test, assist in selecting the ancient ice, and perform a solstice ceremony. These tests and this rehearsal is necessary to ensure success with The Last Ice Project expedition the following year in 2026.

This hands-on exploration will inform the artistic and logistical aspects of the project, blending artistry with the stark reality of Arctic landscapes. Brian will also meet with fishermen and logistics experts for the planning the expedition in 2026 with the entire team, and work with a dogsled builder to construct a sled to transport the ice.
Artists’ Biographies
Lead Artist: Brian Goggin (San Francisco, USA). Brian has been a practicing multidisciplinary artist for over 30 years, creating site-specific works and urban interventions like Defenestration, Language of the Birds and Caruso’s Dream. Brian uses non-traditional locations and a wide range of materials to create dynamic and intriguing interactions with the environment through sculpture, public artwork, performance and museum and gallery installations. Goggin’s work is informed by his focus on the relationship between human action and the natural environment. He has created permanent public artworks for Yahoo!, Sacramento International Airport, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Avalon Bay Developers, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, Palo Alto Arts Commission, Seattle Arts Commission, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and the San Jose Museum of Art. He is an alumnus of San Francisco State University and Cambridge University in the U.K. His live-work studio is at Project Artaud in the Mission District San Francisco.
Radio Documentary & Podcast Lead: Charles Monroe-Kane (Wisconsin, USA). Charles is a Peabody award-winning journalist with over 25 years of on-air radio experience. Charles is an interviewer and senior producer for To the Best of Our Knowledge (heard on some 265 NPR stations). He has also served as executive producer of two nationally syndicated public radio programs and has produced radio pieces on NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition as well as on Snap Judgment and This American Life. His documentary on Jim Thorpe won the 2023 best radio feature award by the Indigenous Journalist Association. He is a recording artist with A.M.P.RECS, a music label based in Guadalajara México that focuses on electroacoustic and experimental works.
Photographic Artist: Emile Holba (Hertford, UK). Emile is an award winning, distinguished photographer specializing in documentary and portrait photography. His work is driven by a curiosity about communities, creative arts, the cosmos, scientific endeavors, and the complexities of climate change, all framed with a strong sense of place. In addition to his photographic pursuits, Emile has made significant contributions to broadcasting and the arts. He created a five-part BBC Radio 4 series called Welcome to the Quiet Zone and co-produces the annual Ice Music Festival in Norway. He has received high commendations in the Belfast International Photo Festival’s Open Submission in both 2022 and 2023. His project Arktisk Grenseland is available as Field Notes 015 at Another Place Press. Emile was also a winner in the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain 2019, and his work is featured in Portrait of Britain Vol 2 by Hoxton Mini Press. During March 2024 Emile travelled to Ilulissat to co-produce a special edition of the Ice Music Festival called the ‘Greenland Sessions’. Whilst in town seeking a deeper sense of connection with the area, he created a monograph called Avannaata’s Analogous Light.

Workshop: "Deicing the Arctic"
2025-03-21 09:00 - 13:00 | Boulder, Colorado, United States
Opportunities for research collaborations between Norway and the USA
As part of the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) in Boulder, the University of Bergen (UiB), NORCE, the Research Council of Norway (RCN), The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is hosting a workshop with the aim to strengthen collaboration in Arctic climate research.
In addition to discussing bilateral collaboration, we will offer a critical review of current interdisciplinary research in Arctic climate change, including the alarming trends and potential large-scale impacts of Arctic sea ice loss and Greenland ice sheet melting.
https://www.uib.no/en/nt/174292/deicing-arctic

Registration deadline:

01.03.2025 – 23.59

Residency: Anna Lindal
2025-04-01 08:00 - 2025-04-16 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Anna Lindal

Residency: Camille Lin and Adrien Chevrier
2025-04-05 08:00 - 2025-04-19 17:00
Camille and Adrien are here to produce a series of written and audio portraits of Illulisat’s inhabitants, in order to give voice to a number of aspects of the town’s daily life and a number of issues specific to the area – such as fishing, recent developments in tourism, access to education and global warming.

Camille Lin is a reporter-author for the Swiss online magazine Polar journal

Adrien Chevrier produces radio documentaries for France Culture – Radio France

Residency: Climate narratives
2025-04-07 08:00 - 2025-04-16 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Skade Henriksen, PhD candidate at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, University of Bergen
Siri Veland, researcher in Climate, Environment and Sustainability, NORCE

Residency: Jessie Kleemann
2025-04-17 08:00 - 2025-04-29 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Jessie Kleemann

Residency: Elizabeth Ultee
2025-05-01 08:00 - 2025-05-31 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
We are a team of 4 US-based scientists studying the dynamics of Sermeq Kujalleq glacier in the Ilulissat Icefjord. As part of our US National Science Foundation grant, we are working with museum professionals on a special exhibition about fast-changing tidewater glaciers and people’s interaction with them. The exhibit is planned for ILLU in 2026/27.

Elizabeth Ultee, Associate Research Scientist, NASA Goddard
Amy Jenson, PhD student, university of Alaska Fairbanks
Martin Truffer, Professor of Physics, university of Alaska Fairbanks
Jason Amundson, Professor of Geophysics, university of Alaska Southwest

Residency: Climate narratives
2025-06-09 08:00 - 2025-06-21 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
We will conduct fieldwork near Ilulissat to study iceberg drift and melt processes. To track iceberg movement, we will attach GPS trackers directly to the icebergs, while separate ocean drifters will be deployed to measure surrounding currents. This will enable us to evaluate the impact of wind and ocean circulation on iceberg drift. Additionally, we will create 3D models of icebergs—both above and below the waterline—and monitor their mass changes over time to analyze melting patterns.

To further understand how icebergs interact with their environment, we will combine these observations with hydrographic measurements around the icebergs to examine how their melt alters water properties. This research aims to improve iceberg drift models, enhance our understanding of melt processes, and help establish ocean circulation patterns.

Conducted in collaboration with local fishers aboard fishing vessels, this project contributes to Angela Muhmentaler’s Master’s thesis and Linda Latuta’s PhD. This work is part of the ClimateNarratives project and is supported by the Fulbright grant.

Lars H. Smedsrud, Professor of Polar Oceanography, University of Bergen

Linda Latuta, PhD student, University of Bergen

Angela Barbara Muhmenthaler, Master student, University of Bergen
Cy Keener, Interdisciplinary Artist, University of Maryland

Residency: Greenland Caves Project
2025-08-09 08:00 - 2025-09-08 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
The Greenland Caves Project is thrilled to announce its upcoming residency at ILLU Science and Art Hub where our team of scientists, artists, and photographers is eager to engage with the local community and exchange experiences and scientific findings about the little-explored caves in North Greenland.
We have prepared an exciting programme of events, including educational films (in Greenlandic, English and German), an art and science exhibition featuring photographs from our past four exhibitions to North Greenland, plus hands-on interactive science activities, and fun games for the younger (and older) audiences. Through project KINDLE (Kalaallit Nunaat Caves and Climate Outreach) our aim is to bring our findings of cave and palaeoclimate research in Greenland to the local (and passing tourist) communities.
During the residency, we will be holding training workshops on cave exploration and mapping techniques, and hopefully inspire the next generation to join, or better lead, future expeditions in the north of the country.

Our team includes Gina Moseley, leader of the Greenland Caves Project and four expeditions to Greenland.

Lena Friedrich, an early career scientist at the University of Innsbruck, working with cave deposits from the Greenland caves project and assisting KINDLE with administrative duties.

Robbie Shone, world-reknowned cave photographer and member of four Greenland Caves Project expeditions.

Madeline Shone, Gina’s daughter and chief mischief maker.
And you!
We welcome a Greenlandic-based artist-in-residence to join our team at the ILLU Science and Art hub for the duration of the residency. Personal costs are covered. Please contact Gina Moseley for further details.
We are also seeking a Greenlandic translator, who can assist the GCP team during the residency.
Everyone else, whether a local resident or passing tourist, please stop by to have a chat, learn about caves, palaeoclimate, science and art. We look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in Ilulissat.
Further details regarding the programme will be communicated in due course.

Residency: Ivana Blanco Gross
2025-09-09 08:00 - 2025-10-05 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Ivana Blanco Gross,

Residency: Soile Voima & Anttoni Halonen
2025-09-10 08:00 - 2025-09-24 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Soile Voima, photography -and perfomance artist

Anttoni Halonen, photographer and visual artist

SPS uses ILLU!
2025-10-06 08:00 - 2025-10-12 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Social pædagogisk seminarium

Residency: Eamon O'Kane
2025-10-13 08:00 - 2025-10-19 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Eamon O’Kane

Ilulissat Science Forum #ISF25
2025-11-07 08:00 - 2025-11-09 17:00 | Illu, Illumiut aqq. 18, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Registration for #ISF25 is open. This will take place at ILLU in Ilulissat 7-9th of November, 2025 and is a side event to the main Greenland Science Week which takes place in Nuuk the following week: https://www.scienceweek.gl/
The program and registration is found here: https://www.uib.no/en/nt/179364/ilulissat-science-forum-isf25
For a glimpse of the last ISF in 2023, see the UiB news post:
https://www.uib.no/en/nt/166454/uibs-collaborative-path-ilulissat-greenland

Ice Music Festival - Greenland Sessions
2026-02-26 - 2026-02-28
2026 will be our 21st year of merging music, art and climate science. This yearly festival in Ilulissat is a collaboration between Ice Music Festival Norway, the Icefjord Center, Avannaata Kommunia, the University of Bergen, and ILLU – Science and Art.
Program details will be released on October the 15th 2025

ILULISSAT ICEFJORD CHALLENGE
2026-03-22 11:00 - 15:00 | ISP Langrend, Sisorarfik 35, Ilulissat, 3952, Greenland
Ready to explore Ilulissat’s backcountry on skis? No matter your skill level, we got you covered with our short (5km), long (25km) and extreme (50km) routes! Join us for the Ilulissat Icefjord Challenge, an unforgettable adventure along the historic fishing route. This event is a collaboration between the Ski Club I.S.P. Langrend, Illu Science and Art, Avannaata Kommunia, the Greenland Ski Federation, and World of Greenland.
More information and tickets on Worldofgreenland.com.
