Abstract
The relatively nascent and evolving relational turn in science has come with an ethic and increasing awareness of the need for sustainability science to serve communities. This transition has been happening alongside an increasing acknowledgement that science should not separate the study of the natural world from the people who have deep ancestral roots, rights, and livelihoods in connection to those places. For research that aims to respect and prioritize the “co-creation” of knowledge, it then becomes essential for histories, lived experiences, knowledges, and cultures to be respected and accounted for in ways that are meaningful to communities. The Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures (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.” The SNF Arts Collective was formed in 2021 and was borne out of a desire to shift the lens through which questions were being posed by foregrounding contemporary Inuit cultural and artistic practice. The collective is composed of three Inuit (two other former members), one university researcher, and one research assistant. In 2024, the collective in collaboration with The Rooms Museum and Gallery in St. John’s (Newfoundland, Canada) hosted an artist-in residency program. Seven Inuit artists took part in the residency and created artworks that reflected on the themes of the SNF project. A catalogue was published in 2025 documenting the artworks and the work of the collective.
Presenters
Melanie ZurbaAssociate Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
Art, Culture, Co-Production, Inuit, Indigenous, Science
