Self-Care Then and Now residency

Art Inside Out is offering a residency on the theme “Self-care then and now” in the health resort of Varberg. The residency aims at an artistic activation of the heritage of the health resort, connected to various cultural sites, life stories, objects, and archive material, which also gives an opportunity for reflection about the ways history is written. How has the perception of self-care, health, and well-being evolved from the establishment of the health resort until today? What is the meaning of cultural, psychosocial and socio-economic perspectives for self-care?

Art Inside Out is offering an eight-week residency for three artists during 2019, with the following schedule: April 29–May 12 (research), May 13–June 9 (production), August 26–September 8 (presentation).

Each artist will receive a grant of 88,000 SEK for an eight-week residency and a production budget of 20,000 SEK. Art Inside Out will cover all travel costs, and provide the chosen artist with accommodations and workspace. At the end of the residency, there will be public presentations of the artistic processes on-site in Varberg municipality as well as other places in Region Halland and Sweden. Various public meetings will occur during the entire residency period.

The residency is open for all artistic expressions and genres, with a particular interest in performance, sound, text, video/film.

Apply by January 15, 2019 via the application form here.
Decisions will be announced in March 2019.

An experienced facilitator as support
An artistic facilitator will be present during the entire residency period to support the artists in their creative processes. The artists will be given the opportunity to work independently or/and together.

Health resort Varberg
Varberg has a long history as a spa and health resort—with the first public health springs, the spa life of bourgeois, the coastal sanatorium for children with tuberculous, the popular outdoor swimming and today’s widely spread spa culture. It all began in 1811 when the Svartekällan at Apelviken, in southern outskirts of Varberg, became an official health spring.

A health treatment could consist of drinking copious amounts of sour water, hot and cold baths, a well-balanced diet, walking in the wholesome sea air and activities in the form of gymnastics, tennis or sailing. The water from Svartekällan was later transported to the central parts of Varberg. The strengthening water attracted people from all parts of society.

Later on, a thermal bathhouse was built, and in 1864 the construction of the first cold bathhouse began. The beautiful location attracted many bathers to the city of Varberg and the bathing opportunities increased all along the Halland’s seacoast.

Early on there was a conviction that the sun, fresh air, and salt baths were of great significance for health. It was no coincidence that doctor Johan Severin Almer, city physician in Varberg between 1903 and 1927, chose Apelviken as the site for his coastal sanatorium, which opened in 1904. He, and many others, were convinced that the marine climate was beneficial to children suffering from tuberculous). Balneology, the science of baths and their medical significance, was at this time an upcoming doctrine.

The spa tradition came to Sweden via England and its health resorts like Bath, where spas were formed with inspiration from the 17th-century ideas about the mysteries of the hot springs. Even as early as 43 AD the Romans set up bathing establishments in the city they called Aquae Sulis (today’s Bath). These establishments served as intimate spaces suitable for philosophical and political discussions as well as for different types of love meetings, conversations, and rest.