iceandwater2024

Ice and Water: Circular

thinking 
on Cultural and Environmental Sustainability 

A Two-Day Workshop and Conference

University of Iceland, Reykjavík, 23-24 May 2024

This is the first event in what we envisage as a series of events that seek to explore issues pertaining environmental and cultural sustainability across the cultural and artistic environments of the Far North and the Arctic.

Pointing to the crucial importance of circular arts and humanities in addressing the urgent environmental issues pertaining the Arctic, the events will be both interdisciplinary and ‘circular’ and propose to:

  1. investigate ideas of cultural and environmental sustainability found in representations of ice/water from the Arctic and the Far North;
  2. discuss questions of colonisation and marginalisation and its impact on cultural and artistic expression in the Arctic and the Far North;
  3. identify new frameworks to address the environmental crisis that take into account indigenous cultural needs and responses;
  4. establish a dialogue informed by research among the diverse cultural communities of the Arctic and the Far North.

Our first event aims to foreground arts and humanities contributions to Arctic studies, with particular emphasis on promoting a joint approach to environmental AND cultural sustainability.

As one of the few events of its kind, it is set to promote the development of a different way of imagining, relating to, and thinking about the Arctic.

We are currently working on putting together the programme for the upcoming conference, which promises to be an exciting event with international participants speaking on a wide range of topics ranging from music installation, Scottish art and Inuit throat-singing. There will also be a small art display featuring the work of artists from Alaska, Australia and the UK.

Plenary events at Ice and Water 2024

KEYNOTE

Kumandin Indigenous scholar and activist Dr Varvara Korkina Williamson.

„Guardians of the Arctic Waters: Indigenous Wisdom and Creative Resistance“

Water and ice are not merely elements of the natural world for Arctic Indigenous Peoples; they are integral parts of a universe imbued with spiritual significance and essential for survival. For coastal communities, the ocean provides critical food security through keystone species like seals, whales, and fish. For the Siberian Yupik, water and ice are sacred gifts from the Creators, protected by various spirits.

The melting of Arctic ice, erosion of permafrost, extinction of salmon, and water pollution are alarming indicators of environmental decline. However, the full impact of lacking clean water and severing our spiritual connections is a reality we are only beginning to grasp. Despite this, Indigenous communities have long faced and overcome threats to their water sources, such as pollution from tar sands pipelines and oil spills.

The Anishinaabe of the Great Lakes and the Lakota people of the Great Plains have become exemplars in the fight for water rights, developing robust networks for water protectors that encompass spiritual practices, protest art, and legal action. Their experiences offer invaluable lessons on how to view water and ice not as unlimited resources but as precious entities needing protection.

Can we draw from their wisdom to reshape our perceptions and inspire a collective effort to safeguard Arctic waters? Can we channel our creativity into forging new alliances and innovative strategies for protecting this vital region?

In this conversation I invite audience to explore these crucial questions and seek pathways to a more sustainable future for the Arctic, centered on the interconnectedness of all our relations.

Elizabeth Ogilvie and Robert Page

FILM SCREENING and Q&A

Into the Oceanic

INTO THE OCEANIC is an ambitious, immersive project from artists Elizabeth Ogilvie & Robert Page, involving two films: an artist’s documentary, both lyrical and analytical in form; and creative film installations created for large-scale projection. The documentary reveals investigation, experimentation, risk-taking and collaboration with world-class scientists; acting as an invaluable catalyst and educational tool for educators, curators, students and the public, revealing artists’ and scientists’ thinking and approach to art making as a conceptual journey, reflecting collectively, thinking ahead, reporting, questioning and sharing. During the ongoing collaboration the project will examine how artists and scientists can apply their skills to provide foresight and clarity in regard to the climate emergency, our relationship with the environment and our historical responsibility for what occurs in it.

This is an illuminating project engendering hope. It is a call to action and to collaborative public engagement. This is a long-term movement to inspire people who are contemporary witnesses of the state of the ocean worldwide and who will collect footage and data.

Click here for the full Programme.

Conference Abstracts, Bios and Exhibition Information.

Conference fee:

(This includes conference participation, coffee-breaks and lunch breaks)

Salaried faculty member or researcher: 21.000 ISK (approx. 140 EUR/150 USD)

Independent artist / writer / unsalaried researcher or student: 14.000 ISK (approx. 95 EUR/100 USD)

There will be an option of participating in a conference dinner on Friday night (not included in the conference fee). The price is 12.300 ISK for a three-course set menu.

Registration:

iceandwater2024

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