Mapping with the Body: Welcoming Ashley Middleton to Artica Svalbard

We’re delighted to welcome Ashley Middleton to Artica Svalbard for a nine-month residency, supported by the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

Ashley is an artist and researcher whose work examines the evolving relationship between the body, technology, and the environment. Working across installation, sound, video, and photography, she creates immersive experiences that bring scientific inquiry into conversation with sensory perception. Her practice is shaped by embodiment, feminist phenomenology, and rhizomatic methods, often unfolding through field-based research, interdisciplinary collaborations, and participatory workshops.

During her time in Svalbard, Ashley will develop Reimagining Arctic Landscapes: Innovative Mapping for Embodied Ecological Awareness — a multidisciplinary project exploring new approaches to climate communication. Through cartographic archives, Arctic climate data, and embodied fieldwork, she will investigate how the body itself can become a site of ecological knowledge and map-making. The project will include public workshops and culminate in the creation of a limited-edition oracle deck that translates embodied Arctic experiences into visual and symbolic language.

Ashley was selected for the 2024 Arctic Circle Residency and is currently an Alternate for the 2025 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Her work has been exhibited internationally and supported by institutions including NYSCA, Arts Mid-Hudson, Arts Council England, Stiftung Kunstfonds, the European Spallation Source, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

Welcome to Longyearbyen, Ashley!