The seasonal part of the Icehotel will soon melt back into its source, the Torne River, and the ice harvest is in full swing, with massive ice blocks being gathered for next winter's build.
Artists wanting to create a suite in the 29th version of Icehotel have until 5 May to apply.
Icehotel is described as being more than a hotel with rooms and beds 鈥� 鈥渋t is an ephemeral art project made of ice and snow from Torne River鈥�. By tradition, the actual making of the hotel is an art forum, whereby the selected suite designers gather in Jukkasj盲rvi to use the ice and snow as a canvas for their art. Each room is an original piece of art, that melts and returns to Mother Nature in spring.
鈥淭houghtful, crazy, innovative, creative or beautiful 鈥� there are no rules for how the suites should look,鈥� said the owners. 鈥淭he only requirement is that they must be original designs and include a bed 鈥� and everything has to be made from ice and snow.鈥�
Above: design by AnnaSofia M氓氓g & Niklas Byman, photo Asaf Kliger.
鈥淚ce has an interesting effect on creativity,鈥� said Arne Bergh, an artist and creative advisor at Icehotel. 鈥淪ince it鈥檚 not a permanent material, people aren鈥檛 afraid of trying ideas they otherwise wouldn鈥檛 dare to test. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you have worked with ice and snow before 鈥� just submit your application. If you鈥檙e selected, Icehotel will show you and your fellow artists some basics about the material and the tools. The artist teams are responsible for completing their suites at Icehotel, but there is also a support team that can advise you on design and construction and a lighting team to assist you with the lighting of your suite.鈥�
A jury assesses the applications based on concept, innovativeness, visualization and description. The selected artists will be invited to Jukkasj盲rvi for two weeks in November-December.
Above: design by Rob Harding and Timsam Harding, photo Asaf Kliger.
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