TRAIN IS
WAITING
Trainspotting Art Residency 
brings local communities and artists from 
Lithuania and other countries 
for an art residency programme 
exploring the theme of place-making.
Trainspotting Art Residency
Trainspotting Art Residency
Trainspotting Art Residency
Trainspotting Art Residency
Trainspotting Art Residency
Progressive community, wild nature & Industrial infrastructure.
Community
The Forest Harbour community includes people from various backgrounds: architects, visual designers, photographers, IT specialists, writers, bloggers, entrepreneurs. Architecture studio Šilta Šiaure, coworking space North Station, Bakas Art Gallery and Sawmill event space are run by community members.
Location
Švenčionėliai is a 4k people town, easily accessible by train from Vilnius. The town was established with the St Petersburg - Warsaw railway station, built in 1863, and has kept some interesting railway architecture heritage. It is located in Aukštaitija, one of the most beautiful regions of the country, and surrounded by forests and lakes.
Resident's review
“It’s a perfect balance of parts for a creative community; in the countryside but easy distance for the city set and event guests, built upon and around a bracing industrial heritage but with the forest and all its peace a step away. And the community itself is calibrated ideally to the task of making the most from all the potential: a tight-knit and welcoming circle of architects and designers, musicians and makers, who have found in Svencioneliai a chance to balance astonishing hard work and creation with a slow pace and easy demeanor. It proved for me to be exactly the environment I needed – I produced in one week more writing (conceived and completed!) than I have in almost two years, and probably more than in any one-week period since university.”
Robert IsafWriter
“Švenčionėliai felt like a second home to me. The team was very warm and friendly. We came up with new activities to do every day. The beautiful nature by the river is great if you want some alone time. It is a great place to relax and a quality getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.”
Karolis GrubisMural Artist
“I spent quite a lot of time there in Švenčonėliai on the Trainspotting art residency starting from september 2023 which was perfect to appreciate mushrooming time. I found the place to be quiet and peaceful, sometimes felt a little isolated there as it was so quiet to the city environment I'm used to. I had the chance to spend time in nature as well as around some of the very friendly local creative people, I also recorded a lot of sound and made all kinds of artworks working through ideas as well as having time to work on my recurring current projects for radio. Vilnius isn't too far away so I had the chance to spend a little time there. The residency for me was about exploring and solitude as well as creating some meaningful connections with people both in Švenčionėliai and in Vilnius.”
Michael HollandArtist