Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design (ASAD)

The network aims to identify and share contemporary and innovative practices in teaching, learning, research and knowledge exchange in the fields of arts, design and visual culture education. The Thematic Network (TN) Arctic Sustainable Arts & Design (ASAD) seeks to:

Promote cooperation and collaboration between universities, institutions and communities focused on Northern, Arctic issues in the field of arts, design and visual culture.
Improve arts, design and visual culture education amongst the members of the University of the Arctic (UArctic).
Identify and share contemporary and innovative practices in teaching, learning, research and knowledge exchange in the fields of arts, design and visual culture education.

The TN consists of three Special Interest Groups (SIG):

Arctic Arts and Visual Culture Education (AAVCE)
Arctic Sustainable Design (Design)
Indigenous Art and Craft

The member institutions may participate in the network activities through one or both SIGs depending on their own interests.

Leader professor

Timo Jokela, Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland

SIG leaders:

Arctic Sustainable Design, Professor in Design for Sustainability Cindy Kohtala, Umeå University
Arctic Arts and Visual Culture Education, Assistant Professor Hanna Ólafsdóttir, University of Iceland
Professor in Duodji Gunvor Guttorm, Sámi University of Applied sciences

To support the realization of the annual goals, ASAD will:

Host a biannual symposium on arts, design and visual culture education in the Arctic;
Support joint presentations at national and international seminars and congresses
Initiate collaborative workshops and seminars for students, teachers and researchers across the Arctic
Promote educational collaboration in the fields of arts, design, visual culture and craft education, for example through joint educational programmes
Instigate exhibitions, events and publications
Initiate and oversee joint research projects
Support the development of context-sensitive research methods and arts & design practices in the Arctic
The ASAD Thematic Network will release a number of publications and exhibitions.

Planned activities for 2024:

The Exhibition "Shifting Ground – Muuttuva maa"will be held at the Rovaniemi Art Museum from February 1 - May 19, 2024 as the results Shifting Ground: Mapping Energy, Geographies and Communities in the North a research creation project coordinated by Emily Carr University of Art+Design and University of Lapland (funded by SSHRC).
Living in the Landscape development project continues until October 2023. Funded by UArctic, Norway and Nordplus Horizontal.
The fifth Living in the Landscape Art-based Research Method’s course will star in Marsh 2024 to investigates rivers and the impact of green energy.
Living in the Landscape Art-bases Research Method’s Summer School will be held in Finland, in Vuotso, May 2024.
New Genre Art Education in the Arctic collaborative project of the Thematic Networks on Arctic Sustainable Art and Design (ASAD) and Children of the Arctic continues until the end of October 2024. Funded by UArctic / DAHES
Community-based sustainability collaborative project of the Thematic Networks on Arctic Sustainable Art and Design (ASAD) and Children of the Arctic continues until the end of Augusta 2025. Funded by UArctic /DAHES
Art-based sustainability: Sustainable Portraits collaborative projects of the Thematic Networks on Arctic Sustainable Art and Design (ASAD) and Children of the Arctic continues until the end of 2024, Funded by NAPA / Nordic Councils of Ministers
New Genre Arctic Art Education Development Project of the Thematic Networks on Arctic Sustainable Art and Design (ASAD) and Children of the Arctic continues until end of 2025, Funded by Nordplus Horizontal
Sustainable Portraits workshops will be held in four countries, in Greenland, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 2024.
New Genre Arctic Art Education course starts in April 2024.
Nomadic Hub of New Genre Artic Art Education will camp at Karajok, Sami region of Norway in April 2024. The key local partners for the AAE were the Sami Centre for Contemporary Art (Sámi Dáiddaguovddáš) and the Karasjok School. In addition to the University of Lapland, the event was also supported by Umeå University from Sweden, Nord University from Norway and the University of Greenland. External partners included the multidisciplinary arts association Piste from Rovaniemi and the artist and social psychology association Siunissag from Greenland.
Exhibition New Genre Arctic Art and Art Education will be shown in Bodö, Norway, in May 2024 as a part of the Arctic Congress 2024 programme and in Rovaniemi as part of the Relate North Symposium & Exhibition.
Sheiling – Laavu: permanent architectural work / installation will be published in Spring 2024 at Glasgow School Northern Campus, Forres, Scotland; UK in collaboration with University of Lapland.
Observation of Change project will have art-science fieldwork in Junkerdal Norway on 14^th-19^th June.
Observation of Change project will have art-science fieldwork in Junkerdal Norway on 9^th-15^th September.
Relate North Symposium will be held in Rovaniemi New Genre Arctic Art Education at The University of Lapland 4 -7. Nov, 2024.
Relate North Exhibition: will be held in Rovaniemi, 5th-21th November 2024 in the galleries Seinä, Lyhty, and Kajo.
Sustainable Portraits Exhibition will be shown in November 5th-21th November 2024 in the gallery Kopio and Käytävä.
Living in the Landscape exhibition will be shown in 5th-21th November 2024 in the gallery Kilo.
ASAD’s annual book Relate North. New Genre Arctic Art Education Beyond Borders will be publish in December 2024.
Collection of New Genre Arctic Art Education Visual Essays will be published in 6^th of November 2024.
Collection of Sustainable Portraits Visual Essays will be published in November 2024.
Call for chapters for Relate North 2025 will be published in the end of the 2024.