Emma Henderson

In residence: November 2025

Emma Henderson is an artist, producer, and arts educator based in the west of Scotland. Working across printmaking and textiles, she creates natural inks through slow, experimental processes informed by textile histories and craft legacies. Her work draws on feminist traditions of making while exploring sustainable alternatives to printmaking—developing low-impact, circular systems of production through DIY and low-waste approaches. Alongside her practice, she works as a producer for local and national arts organisations, leading place-based projects and public programmes that encourage creative learning, connection with nature, and more sustainable ways of living.

During her residency at Artica Svalbard, Henderson will develop a shared natural printmaking toolkit and establish a pigment library as a collaborative resource for current and future residents. Beginning with pigments gathered in Scotland and Svalbard, the library will grow over time as an evolving archive of colour rooted in place. The toolkit will be made openly accessible through NAARCA’s resources page, offering practical guidance for sustainable, low-impact printmaking. Henderson will also host a community workshop in Longyearbyen, sharing natural printmaking techniques and exploring collective, ecological approaches to image-making.

This residency forms part of NAARCA’s staff exchange programme, kindly supported by the Nordisk Kulturfond.

Instagram: @emmahenderson.studio