The term Tropism describes how living organisms respond to their surroundings: how a plant turns toward the light, how roots twist to seek water, how life continuously responds to stimuli. With this residency, we explore how tropism can be embodied through artistic practice - what makes us grow, bend, and reorient ourselves, not only in relation to the natural world, but within the shifting social and political ecologies we inhabit. The project is curated by Jonatan Habib Engqvist and carried out in close collaboration with the Berggården nursing home and the local elementary school in Rejmyre.
The Tropism residency program, taking place at Rejmyre Art Lab, will host a total of six artists during 2026 and 2027. All artists will begin with a one-week ensemble residency in April 2026, coming together for meetings, conversations, and shared work. This collective period is followed by individual residencies, with each artist spending a total of nine weeks working in Rejmyre.
The residency artists will work on site in Rejmyre, with the Refuging Pavilion as their studio, a transparent dome resembling a greenhouse, located in the heart of the glass factory village of Rejmyre, Sweden. The pavilion serves as both workspace and meeting point - a place to explore how art can create ecologies: between people, across generations, and between culture and nature.
Over the course of the residency, each artist’s stay concludes with an open studio in the Refuging Pavilion, alongside a public presentation and seminar. The project will also extend beyond Rejmyre through workshops in other parts of Östergötland and collaborations with research initiatives focusing on health, ecology, and sustainability.
Selected artists for Tropism residency are:
April - June 2026 Gülbeden Kulbay (SE) https://gulbedenkulbay.com/
June - August 2026 Andris Eglitis (LV) https://aeglitis.lv/
August - October 2026 Ella Ziegler (DE) http://www.ella-ziegler.de/
February - April 2027 Gözde Ju (TUR/DE) https://www.gozdeju.com/
April - June 2027 Alvaro Campo (SE) https://www.alvarocampo.com/
June - August 2027 Sajan Mani (IN/DE) https://www.sajanmani.com/
We look forward to welcoming the artists to Rejmyre and to following how their projects take shape and grow.
Made possible by funding from: