2019 - 2020 Denmark
SWLA / National Park Vadehavet
Continuing his work for the Society of Wildlife Artists, working with NGOs using art to engage communities with their environment and key conservation stories, Nik is currently co co-ordinator for an art project focusing on the National Park Valdevat area of the Wadden Sea.
The aim of the project is to document and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of the unique landscape and the wildlife that depends on it.
The project consists of two residency. The first will be based in Højer in the South of the National park in Autumn 2019 and the second on the island Fanø in the North in Spring 2020, 11 artists and a writer on each.
The artists will be delivering a series of art workshops for local schools and public engagement events. The artwork created by the artists from both residencies will be exhibited in 2021 at venues in the project area. A book documenting the project will be published to coincide with the exhibitions.
The National Park Valdevat
The area is characterised by an ever-changing natural environment due to tidal waters and waves transforming the landscape every single day. The tidal waters are home to an enormous production of worms, snails, mussels and crustaceans in the tidal flats which drain about two times a day. This is crucial for the millions of migratory birds that each spring and autumn descend on the Wadden Sea to eat and rest on their journey. The salt marsh is an important feeding ground, especially for geese and ducks. The Wadden Sea also plays an important role as a breeding ground for birds and seals, and it is a growing site for fish. Besides being the natural habitat of many animal species and plants, the Wadden Sea has an exciting cultural heritage of land reclamation and seawall construction.
The Waddensea
The Wadden Sea is the largest tidal flats system in the world, where natural processes proceed undisturbed. It extends along the coasts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. For its globally unique geological and ecological values the Wadden Sea is listed by UNESCO as World Heritage.