Shadowing Without a Sunset

Shadowing Without a Sunset is a collaborative residency project by ecologist Sanne Moedt and artist Floortje Zonneveld that brings Arctic science and artistic storytelling into shared conversation. Hosted at Artica Svalbard in spring 2025, the project invited members of the local community—particularly young people—into a hands-on, creative exploration of Arctic ecosystems and the research that shapes our understanding of them.

The project began with a research-collecting expedition to the Netherlands Arctic Station in Ny-Ålesund in summer 2024. There, Moedt and Zonneveld gathered scientific materials including microscopy footage, maps, field notes, and expedition objects. These materials were later transformed into a three-dimensional, interactive archive installed at Artica Svalbard and used as the foundation for a series of public workshops and events.

Over the course of the residency, more than 195 participants engaged with the project, including students from Longyearbyen Skole (Grade 6 and Design/Redesign), the Svalbard Folkehøgskole Art Group, visitors from UNIS and Hurtigruten, and members of the general public.

Using methods inspired by field scientists—observation, mapping, drawing, and collecting—participants explored the archive to create their own zines: small, self-published booklets combining text, sketches, data, and personal reflections. Through this process, the project offered an accessible, tactile approach to understanding Arctic science, emphasising curiosity, interpretation, and storytelling.

Floortje Zonneveld is a certified Arctic Nature Guide and long-time collaborator with Artica Svalbard. Her practice focuses on participatory and site-responsive work across remote Nordic regions. Sanne Moedt is a polar biologist specialising in Arctic freshwater ecosystems and climate change. She previously studied in Ny-Ålesund and occasionally teaches at UNIS. Shadowing Without a Sunset marks the first public collaboration between the two, following their initial meeting on an expedition in Svalbard in 2022.

The project was supported by Sparebankstiftelsen and the Netherlands Arctic Station Ny-Ålesund.