A few years ago, basking in the afterglow of the first Zap Your PRAM conference, the lads from upstairs and I were having lunch and pondering what to do for a follow-up act. Someone — it might have been me, but I can’t recall — suggested that we launch an “Artist in Residence” program here at 84 Fitzroy Street. In the way that pompous ideas are often greeted around our lunch table — we’re not programmers, we’re artists! — this one was warmly received, and we set off in search of our first candidates.

Our first candidates fell through — the lure of Hollywood — and the idea sort of collapsed around them.

Until last summer when I suggested to my Swanish friends Olle and Luisa that they be the first candidates. The idea percolated in their heads for a year, and this year they accepted the appointment, and on September 30, 2008 they’ll begin their 3-week residency here.

I’ll leave it to Olle and Luisa to flesh out their own artistry — suffice to say they probably won’t be painting still life portraits of Beaconsfield. They’ve just lauched Hello PEI as the blog of their project, and if nothing else this promises to be a goldmine of “seeing the Island through strangers’ eyes” flow.

If you’d like to sign on as a co-conspirator or sponsor, or otherwise be involved, please let if be known.