Queen Sonja Print Award–Nominated Residents Announced for Artica Svalbard 2026
Artica Svalbard and the Queen Sonja Print Award (QSPA) are delighted to announce the artists nominated for Artica Svalbard’s residency programme in 2026: Soghra Khurasani (India) and Todd Anderson (USA). Both artists will develop new print-based work in Longyearbyen, engaging with Svalbard’s cultural and environmental context and working in Artica’s print studio.
The Selected Artists for 2026
Todd Anderson
Todd Anderson is a mid-career artist and collaborative master fine art printer working across printmaking, photography, drawing, and book arts. For the past fifteen years he has collaborated with scientists, writers, and artists on large-scale, limited-edition books and portfolios addressing the global climate crisis — from glacial retreat in the United States and the Canadian Arctic to climate-threatened tree species in the American Southwest and Antarctic ice-core research. His work has appeared in over 125 exhibitions and entered major collections including the US Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, Stanford, Yale, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At Artica Svalbard, Anderson will focus on Svalbard’s glaciers as the subject of a new suite of limited prints — primarily hand-carved woodcuts with potential intaglio components — accompanied by a reflective essay. He also plans to offer public talks during his stay.
Soghra Khurasani
Soghra Khurasani holds a postgraduate degree in printmaking from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda (2010). Her work has been presented widely in India and internationally, including the 35th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts (special mention, 2023), solo exhibitions at TARQ, Mumbai (2014, 2015, 2021, 2025), and shows in New York and Hyderabad. She has participated in programmes such as the Beisinghoff Printmaking Residency (Germany) and the Khoj–Kooshk exchange (Tehran/Delhi). Awards include the 56th National Academy Award (Lalit Kala Akademi, 2015) and the Kala Sakshi Memorial Trust Award (2009), and she was a QSPA nominee in 2024.
During her Artica residency, Khurasani will create a new series of multi-plate colour etchings, expanding a practice best known for large-scale woodcuts. She approaches intaglio as a metaphoric and performative process — where incision, texture, and surface become vehicles for narrative and emotion — while using the residency to connect with peers and the local community.
“QSPA is proud to partner with Artica Svalbard to champion artists who expand the language of print today. Soghra Khurasani and Todd Anderson bring distinct voices and deep craft; this residency gives them the time, tools, and context to develop ambitious work in the Arctic.”
Trude Gomnæs Ugelstad, Director, Queen Sonja Print Award
“We’re delighted to welcome Soghra and Todd to Longyearbyen in 2026. Their practices are rooted in material rigour and public dialogue — ideally suited to Artica’s print studio and to Svalbard’s lived landscape.”
Charlotte Hetherington, Director of Artica Svalbard.
About the QSPA × Artica collaboration
Through this ongoing collaboration, Artica Svalbard and the Queen Sonja Print Award support artists who expand contemporary printmaking — offering time, space, and specialised facilities in the High Arctic, alongside opportunities for research, production, and public engagement.
Stay tuned for updates on the 2026 residents’ projects and public activities in Longyearbyen.