Abstract
This workshop engages participants in thinking about the connections between communities, scientific research, and artistic practice. The diversity of modes for engaging communities in research through the arts will be differentiated and presented as fitting within three types: i) scientific illustration; ii) participatory arts-based research; and iii) artistic/artist-led engagement with science. The third type will be highlighted by discussing the example of the Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures (SNF) Artist-In-Residence Program. The broader SNF project started in 2019 with the aim to “combine Inuit Knowledge and western science to support informed decisions and planning for the Zone of the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area, and ensure protection of Inuit interests into the future.” Within this project, the SNF Arts Collective was initiated in 2021 to foreground contemporary Inuit culture and perspectives. The Arts Collective ran from 2024 to 2026 and supported 12 Inuit artists through a residency program to create visual art that either directly responded to scientific research or were inspired by SNF themes (i.e., climate change, changing sea ice, Inuit knowledge, self-determination). The interactive component of the workshop will invite participants to think through strategies for building connections between research and communities through artistic expression by considering the following questions: What are the characteristics (cultural, values, artistic, and other) of the community that could drive artistic practice? What kind of research is being done about/with/for the community and how could it benefit from artistic practice? What kind of new understanding or bridges could be built between research/researchers and communities through art?
Presenters
Melanie ZurbaAssociate Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Inuit knowledge, Artistic research, Knowledge co-creation, Inuit, Community engagement
