The Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation (MJF) Fellows program in Vestvågøy municipality in the Lofoten islands

The program is offering residency periods of 1-2 months for artists, curators, critics, writers and researchers of contemporary art.  The MJF’s building, called The Place,is in the populated area Kvalnes situated along the long coastal road Haverringen. The residents called ‘fellows` have the whole building at their disposal during their residency periods. The building does not have a studio, but ample space  e.g. for writing and drawing.  The Place is a two-storey house of about 90 sq.m. consisting of living quarters and a library. The house is equipped for a single Fellow or a couple with facilities for receiving guests. There is also a sauna in the building.  The house is designed by the Finnish architect Kimmo Aslak Liimatainen who was one of the “Group” architects who were granted the Golden Lion in Venice Architecture Biennale in 1996

Send your application to: contact@mjfoundation.no.

Applicants are selected to the Fellows program by our board, and announced on mjfoundation.no by the end of the year.

Tell us who you are and why you want to stay at Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation. Let us know if you prefer a residency of one or two months and your preferred dates. 

The months of August-October are so far permanently reserved. 

Please keep the application to one PDF including a CV (maximum one A4), the file should not exceed 5 MB. You may add relevant information and other media as links. 


•Application deadline for 2025: November 15th

•The residency includes a car and stipend for living costs.

A driver’s licence is required for a stay at MJF.


Guidlines for Fellows Program Applicants, 2025


Wednesday 17. April, at 5pm
North Norwegian Art Center, Torget 20 Svolvær

17:00 – Author Laura Raicovich presents her book «Talking Culture Strike».
17:30 - Åsa Sonjasdotter presents her artistic work.
17:50 – Raicovich and Sonjasdotter in conversation with curator Adriana Alves from North Norwegian Art Center.
18:10 – Q&A from the audience.

North Norwegian Art Center presents a talk and conversation with the author and MJF Fellow Laura Raicovich and the artist Åsa Sonjasdotter.

Lyd og stillhet i Lofoten, kunstavisen.no, Nov. 21th, 2023, by Mona Gjessing 


Read the report on MUSEUM OF SOUND at MJF at Kunstavisen.no: 

7 pm - 10 pm Live Event:
Tuomas Toivonen/Live Performance, Timo Kaukolampi/Live Performance, Alex Murray Leslie/performance talk

Listening Room 3 pm - 6 pm: Tommi Grönlund, Thora Dolven Balke and Rikke Lundgreen

11 am - 1 pm
Talk:Maria Veie Sandvik, Rikke Lundgreen, Alex Murray Leslie, Timo Kaukolampi, Tuomas Toivonen and Thora Dolven Balke


Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation is situated between mountains and the ocean in Lofoten, an archipelago within the arctic circle in Northern Norway. This event will reflect and discuss what characterizes listening and hearing, and how we can stimulate reflection on what constitutes meaningful sound and listening processes.

The Museum of Sound is nomadic and in flux and is rooted in the essence of sound and listening. Tommi Grönlund and Rikke Lundgreen created the initiative while preparing the exhibition "Mika Vainio 50Hz" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, Autumn 2020.

The late Mika Vainio (1962-2017) had a habit of inviting friends to his home, to play them music recordings in silence, with full concentration. In the series of the listening rooms, the aim is to create a similar situation, an empty room full of sound.

How can music trigger an emotional response? Everyone has a relation to sound and it is often defined by subjective experience and memories. The listening room at Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation has the intention to get back to listening as a focused and prioritized activity. With no distractions other than the view to an open horizon, listeners can create a narrative from their own connotations, and just experience sound. 

For the live event there will be a session based on the drum machine Roland TR-808, an instrument that is an institution in itself. 

Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation (MJF) is non-profit foundation in the name of curator Maaretta Jaukkuri. Founded in 2014, it is made possible with donations from artists and generous support from Saastamoinen Foundation and Kone Foundation, Finland. MJFs programme is centered around the foundations building, which houses Maaretta Jaukkuris library, a sauna, simple work and living spaces in close proximity to nature. Here MJF houses an ongoing Fellows programme of visiting artists, curators and other practitioners across a range of fields, as well as a series of public events. 

Musician Timo Kaukolampi releases electronic music under various projects and has  made soundworks in collaboration with artists, television and film and for dance projects. His sound can be recognized by organic, soulful melodies and intense drones. 

Toumas Toivinen is an architect, producer, composer, and sonic artist , and produces a range of outputs in sound, such as installations either in architecture or nature. He uses composed text, slowly evolving atmospherics, deep pulsating rhythm drones, and experiments in technology, process and form

Alex Murray Leslie is an artist best- known for being a part of Chicks on Speed with artist Mel Logan. Their work is rooted in the feminist actions, combining art, sound, fashion, creating multidisciplinary performative experiences which have many forms. Their expressions have a unique position in between art, music and club culture. 

Maria Veie Sandvik is an editor, curator and gallerist for the Gallery Maria Veie, which now has a nomadic form. She also works as a critic for both music and art, and has a profound interest in electronic music. Her lived experience of sound is a outset for her contribution. 

Thora Dolven Balke is an artist, curator and producer working mainly with photography, video and sound in larger sculptural installations. Her multichannel works in sound combine voices and narratives with audiovisual landscapes made from field recordings and electronic music. 

Rikke Lundgreen is an artist and curator. Lundgreen works with a range of techniques such as sound, film, drawing and installation. A performative event is often a starting point for the installations. She also administers Mika Vainio's studio, archive, and collections of records and books, remaining in Oslo, where he lived with Lundgreen.

Tommi Grönlund is an artist and runs the record label Sähkö Recordings, which he started with Mika Vainio in 1993. His artistic practice in collaboration with Petteri Nisunen uses a variety of materials and technologies, from objects to light and sound. Often using electric currents, or simple gravitational forces to create quietly evocative and formally striking works.

MUSEUM OF SOUND at Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation, Lofoten, Norway
 Listening Room / Live Concert / Talk 
 FRIDAY/SATURDAY 27/28 OCTOBER 

Saastamoinen Foundation has generously renewed their support for Maaretta Jaukkuris Fellows programme with five years (2021 - 2025). 

Since 2018 MJF has received 19 Fellows, made possible by the support of Saastamoinen and KONE Foundations (2018 - 2020). "

We are very happy to announce the result of our first international Open Call 2020 for participation in our Fellows programme. MJF is overwhelmed by the large, positive response and would like to thank all the applicants for taking the time to apply to our programme and allowing us to get to know their work.

Due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the process of selection was delayed and we apologise to the applicants for the wait.

We are excited to invite Marina Valle Noronha and Jacob Moginot as MJF Fellows for separate periods between late August and November 2020. The two applicants were selected from the Open Call by our board and advisory board."

We are very happy to announce the result of our first international Open Call 2020 for participation in our Fellows programme. 

Our building is finally up. MJFs building was designed by architect Aslak Liimatainen, and made possible from the generous donations of works by artists who have collaborated with Maaretta Jaukkuri throughout her career. A special thanks to the dedicated work by previous director Audhild Dahlstrøm who brought the building process to completion. It was constructed by local company TMS bygg.

Saastamoinen Foundation renews support

Saastamoinen Foundation renews support

Open Call 2020 Result

Open Call 2020 Result

The building is completed!

The building is completed!