Laura Turón is an active Mexican-American artist in the El Paso-Juárez US/Mex borderplex; her multidisciplinary art processes combine concepts of time, belongingness, and inclusion through collaborative work with the community, and non-objective designs that feature mark-making, ephemeral art, art with science, optical illusions, digital art, sculpture, immersive art, and community art installations.

The artist is also the creator of Paradox Traveling Art (2017), a traveling art installation project housed within a converted full-size school bus. The bus functions as an art gallery on wheels. Her most recent projects include a permanent public art sculpture in a roundabout for the city of El Paso, TX, and her project Paradox Immersive Art an immersive art gallery in El Paso, TX.

During her residency, she worked on photographing the Northern Lights and developing an interactive art installation inspired in The movement of the northern Lights.

Website: https://lt-artdesign.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turonlaura/

Laurie Torres is a composer and musician based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has spent the last decade working as a session musician, both live and in the studio. More recently, she recorded her first solo album of instrumental music centered around the piano (to be released in 2024).

At the Fish Factory, she worked in Studio Silo with an array of small electronic instruments as well as the piano. From there, she created numerous ambient soundscapes inspired by the view and the surrounding nature, and composed classically oriented pieces on the piano.

Instagram: instagram.com/laurietorres/ and https://www.instagram.com/soundstills/

Shayna Klee (Purple Palace) is a French-American multimedia Artist and musician. She lives and works in Paris, France.

In 2023 Shayna released her first full musical project under the pseudonym “Purple Palace”, giving homage to her early roots and online projects published under the same name. The EP entitled “Tower moments” is an experimentation in pop, spoken word and dark fairytales in French and English.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_purple_palace/

Elia Lombardini is an finnish-italian composer, producer and violinist. Their music moves along the intersection of classical and electronic music creating worlds between maximalism and minimalism. The main tool of their practice is the violin although sometimes heavily effected and manipulated.

At the Fishfactory Elia worked on some new material with their friend Helmi Tikkanen a.k.a Von Pearl and spent time exploring and developing new sounds and compositions for their upcoming album. Also importantly spent considerable time petting Tummi, the dog, permanent resident at the fisfactory and drinking coffee in the delightful kitchen area of the residency.

https://linktr.ee/elialombardini

elialombardini.com

Emma Anne Johnson is an interdisciplinary artist who creates art focusing on valuing a “glitch” – a sudden, usually temporary, irregularity or malfunction of equipment. Glitches, with their inherent imperfections and digital anomalies, offer them a unique lens through which to explore the intersection of technology, human experience, and aesthetics. They experiment with combining trash, technology, and traditional art forms, resulting in a diverse range of creations that include music, sounds, paintings, drawings, videos, sculptures, fashion, and installations.

Their creative process is a continual reflection of their personal experiences. Through their creations, Johnson aims to highlight and challenge the societal structures rooted in our organization of emotions, identity, and social dynamics. Their art encourages both themselves and viewers to confront their biases and preconceptions and to engage in critical reflection and discussion about the subconscious associations on what we value and why. Value a glitch, be a glitch, embrace the glitch.

During my time at the residency, I was able to practice my live performance to prepare for some shows I had coming up. Also, I was able to complete the synth and guitar tracking for 5 new songs! woo! I also spent a lot of time in my sketchbook drawing the beautiful fjords :)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealemmaj/

Morvern is an illustrator, storyteller and visual artist from Scotland. Her most recent work has seen her exploring her Scandinavian heritage, and diving into the world of folktales and mythology. Primarily working in traditional printmaking, Morvern’s work promotes the use of heritage crafts and manual methods.

I began my residency at the Fish Factory working on early development for a new book; taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape and the relationship between the wild seas and atmospheric skies of Stöðvarfjörður. Between time spent in the studio, I also spent many days hiking around the mountain areas, making field recordings, filling my sketchbook, collecting rocks and looking out for trolls!

In addition, I ended up undertaking a spontaneous ceramics project, after being inspired by the colours and textures of the mossy tussocks which cover the hills above the fjord; a collection of ceramic figures emerged, inspired by the folklore of the Huldufólk from Icelandic mythology.

I relished the sense of creative freedom I had whilst I was at the Factory, and it was wonderful to just explore all the avenues of random ideas I normally have to set aside in everyday life. It was a magical month of creative productivity, and I hope to be back one day!

Website: www.morverngraham.co.uk

Instagram: Instagram

Sarah’s approach to music is characterized by an insatiable curiosity and a fearless willingness to experiment. Her work in the Fish Factory serves as a creative crucible where her classical training and an unbridled passion for innovation converge. Here, she delves into the intricate dance between live music and music production, weaving together diverse genres into a cohesive, vibrant tapestry.

Thank you Sarah! :)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahlisa_steiner/

I used my time at the Fish Factory to return to my design and ideation processes. Spending time in my sketchbook, making paper maquettes and experimenting in metal to explore germinating ideas. Time spent on process rather than product allowed me to explore, experiment and even try my hand at other media. Seeing and feeling the drama of the Icelandic landscape held me in a constant state of wonder and I reveled in the act of trying to interpret it.

Thank you Erica!

Instagram: ericasbailey

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esbjewelry/