Maria Huhmarniemi is Vice Dean and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Lapland. With a career spanning two decades, she has approached hers arts to address societal and environmental challenges in the Arctic, bridging the gap between art, research, and community needs.
Huhmarniemi’s artistic journey is grounded in her passion for the Arctic. As a socially and environmentally engaged installation artist, she has exhibited widely, with her work featured in venues such as the Anchorage Museum in Alaska, Tromsø Art Museum, Tate Liverpool, and the Nordic House in Reykjavik. Her art often reflects her research, blending themes of cultural identity and environmental stewardship.
In addition to her artistic accomplishments, Huhmarniemi has made significant contributions to Arctic collaboration, education and research. She leads the international Master’s program Sustainable Arctic Art and Design at the University of Lapland and has spearheaded numerous cross-border art projects, such as the Arctic Arts Summit 2019 in Rovaniemi. As an artist-researcher, she has published research on Arctic art and Arctic art education in journals such as Education in the North, International Journal on Education through Art and Sustainability, as well as book series Arctic Yearbook and Relate North and books published by Intellect and Routledge.
As lead of the Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design (ASAD), Huhmarniemi continues to foster multidisciplinary collaboration, exemplified by projects like Observation of Change, an art initiative connected to nature restoration in Norway. She has also co-curated Nordic art exhibitions like Interwoven and Fringe, spotlighting artists from the Arctic region and exploring themes of sustainability and identity.
Huhmarniemi’s leadership extends to national and international platforms. She served as Chair of the Artist Association of Lapland for a decade, where she co-initiated exhibitions such as I Live on the Arctic Circle and the Young Arctic Artists series. Her role on the steering committees of networks like the Finnish Art and Culture Education Observatory and Sirene highlights her commitment to advancing arts education and environmental sustainability.
From her research on art-science collaboration to her engagement with Indigenous and Arctic communities, Maria Huhmarniemi continues to inspire with her vision for a culturally and environmentally sustainable Arctic.