Relate North: Art, Heritage &amp; Identity

Tinna Gunnarsdóttir; Glen Coutts

Relate North 2015: Engagement, Art and Representation Edited by Timo Jokela and Glen Coutts, University of Lapland, Finland Drawing on projects and studies from Canada, Finland, Iceland, Norway and the United States, Relate North 2015 explores contemporary practices in arts-based research and knowledge exchange in the fields of arts and design. The essays and reports in the book interpret the terms ‘arts’ and ‘design’ broadly to include, for example, crafts, indigenous making, media and product design. By focusing on Northern and Arctic perspectives of contemporary arts and design, links are made with issues of sustainability and context-sensitive research. The contributing authors provide thought-provoking accounts of current practice in these regions. Relate North 2015 brings together the work of leading scholars to explore issues in the field of contemporary art, design, and arts-based research. Relate North 2015 will be of interest to a wide audience including, for example, anthropologists, geographers, sociologists, artists, designers, art educators, practice-based researchers in addition to those with a general interest in Northern and Arctic issues.

Relate North Art, Heritage & Identity Edited by Timo Jokela & Glen Coutts 2015 © Authors and the copyright holders of the images. Layout & Design: Anna-Mari Nukarinen Lapland University Press PO Box 8123 FI-96101 Rovaniemi Tel +358 40 821 4242 publications@ulapland.i www.ulapland.i/lup Kirjaksi.net, Jyväskylä 2015 ISBN 978-952-310-972-8 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-310-971-1 (pdf) Contents Timo Jokela & Glen Coutts Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tinna Gunnarsdóttir Product design in arctic terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Antti Stöckell Spring: An artistic process as a narrative project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Gunvor Guttorm Contemporary Duodji – a personal experience in understanding traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Tuija Hautala-Hirvioja Relections of the past: A meeting between Sámi cultural heritage and contemporary Finnish Sámi. . . . . . . . . 78 Herminia Din A discussion of museum education in the north: An integrated approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Timo Jokela & Päivi Tahkokallio Arctic Design Week: A forum and a catalyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Valerie Triggs, Rita L. Irwin & Carl Leggo Walking Art: Sustaining ourselves as arts educators . . . . . . . . . . . 140 First published in Visual Inquiry: Learning and Teaching Art 3(1), 21–34. Maria Huhmarniemi Cross cultural meetings and learning in an Art Biennale . . . . . . . 160 Contributor Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Preface Timo Jokela & Glen Coutts University of Lapland, Finland T his is the second collection of essays in the Relate North series. As in the irst volume (Jokela & Coutts, 2014), we are pleased to present this anthology, which addresses a diverse range of topics and provides illustrations of practice from several countries including Iceland, Canada, Finland, Norway and the United States. he publication is made possible because of the Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design (ASAD) network, which was established in 2011. Since the founding of the network, there has been increasing dialogue and collaboration between members of the network resulting in a number of exhibitions, research projects, conferences, and publications. In all of the contributions to this book, particular dimensions of the central themes in the title, art, heritage and identity are acknowledged and explored. he rapidly changing political, social, cultural and educational landscape around the world has led to a shit in the type of skills that are required of university and art school graduates. Today’s graduates need to be adaptable, highly skilled, creative and extremely sensitive to the socio-cultural context in which they work. Art schools, in particular, have been renowned for allowing students freedom to pursue their own ideas, whilst providing in-depth training in practical and crat skills. However, what has been missing in many art programs has been practice-based learning rooted in the ‘real world’ or practical experience of socially engaged art education. his is not so much the case in the design disciplines. Over the past twenty years or so, in many European countries and in the US there has been something of a narrowing in the scope of educational provision, especially in the secondary (high) school curriculum and an emphasis on certain subjects, typically the irst language, science, and mathematics. here are worrying signs that this is extending to the higher education sector. An unfortunate consequence of this has been the sidelining of some subjects, and the potential loss of training in certain basic crat skills, for example, the arts (art and design, drama, dance and music) have oten found themselves on the edges of the debate about what skills and experience are important and relevant to society: 7 … the emphasis on practical and crat making skills has been lost, while schools are too narrowly assessed and regulated on the basis of qualiications achieved and university places attained rather than the depth and intensity of the learning experience. (CiC, 2012, p. 17) While these changes have been taking place, the world of work has not been standing still; employers are seeking people who are adaptable, creative problem solvers able to work efectively as part of a team. he so-called ‘creative economy’ (Bakhshi, Hargreaves & Mateos-Garcia, 2013, pp. 26–28) oten characterised by very small, lexible and interdisciplinary companies, is an increasingly important sector of many national economies. It is not at all clear that higher education providers have caught up with the changes in society and current employment requirements, especially in the creative industries. he ASAD network seeks to identify and share contemporary and innovative practices in teaching, learning, research and knowledge exchange in the ields of arts, design and visual culture education. he network consists of art, design and art education universities across the circumpolar area. Combining traditional knowledge with modern academic knowledge and cultural practices at northern academic institutions represents an opportunity unique to the Arctic and northern countries. None of us are able to predict what jobs will be available in twenty years time, so why are we still using methods and content that suited our teachers 30 or 40 years ago? How do we encourage young people to engage with real world issues and learn to think for themselves? How do we prepare people for the challenges of living in societies with increasingly diverse demographics, multicultural communities and social challenges if we insist on sticking to a twentieth century model of education? In short, how well do schools prepare young people to contribute to society? In many countries, at least in Europe, business leaders have become increasingly critical of university graduates, citing that they may be very well informed in the disciplines in which they were trained, but that they are hopeless as team workers and oten lack initiative or creativity. Educational establishments need to look not only at what is taught but also how it is taught, and that is where arts techniques might ofer some potential. One of the key features of the work that ASAD has been encouraging as an integral part of its work is the collaboration between educational institutions, local groups and business, the aim being to design and deliver ‘innovative productions’ (Jokela, 2012, p. 7) that research, promote and celebrate art, heritage and culture. Projects have included, for example, snow and ice sculpture, multimedia community performances, and heritage based art (See, for example, Jokela, Coutts, Huhmarniemi & Härkönen, 2013; ACE, 2013; ASAD, 2014). As the dividing lines between ‘community’ ‘mainstream’ ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ education become increasingly blurred there is scope for more research into the place and practice of socially engaged arts. here is also room for consideration of the potential of art techniques to ‘animate’ learning across the intersections of ‘art’ and ‘education’ in schools, universities and the wider community. he range of socio-cultural contexts in which ASAD operates is vast and it is outwith the scope of this book to do justice to all of them. Projects and individual artists have, for example, focused on traditional and indigenous ways of knowing; environmental issues, sustainability, service design and the meeting place between contemporary art and traditional cultures. (ACE, 2014; Coutts, 2012). It could be argued that the events, artworks and design products featured in this publication ofer examples of sound art practices on the one hand and potential learning situations on the other. Furthermore, the notions of participation and co-creation are increasingly to the fore in current educational thinking. he balance between theory and practice and ‘hands on’ thinking through making that permeates good practice in art and design, may also ofer alternative approaches to education (Eisner, 2004). he following collection of essays, we believe, provide insights to ways of thinking through making from Sámi contemporary duodji to developing the concept of ‘Arctic design’. In the opening chapter, Gunnarsdóttir reports on a product design project conducted in Iceland that sought to investigate, explore and possibly 9 enhance the experience of living in what she refers to as Iceland’s ‘wild’ terrain. A series of small-scale design interventions were constructed and tested which related to the notion of ‘being’ or ‘dwelling’. As a product design exercise, three products were made on the site of an abandoned farm, located in a remote and sparsely populated area; two could be described as markers and the other was a drinking vessel. Gunnarsdóttir argues that product design has potential beyond the utilitarian to enrich the experience of wild places. he second chapter is also place-speciic and features drinking vessels and reports on interventions in remote and sparsely populated places, but, in this case, the perspective is that of an artist. he essay provides a fascinating insight to the work of Antti Stöckell, an artist and academic working in Finnish Lapland. he artist visited natural springs, took some samples of water, made sketches, photographs and notes and a traditional birch bark ladle (tuohilippi). hese elements formed the basis of a sequence of exhibitions that invited viewers to consider the relationship between artist and place in the tradition of place-speciic environmental art. Tradition and in particular, traditional ways of making is central to the topic of the next essay in which Guttorm, from northern Norway, discusses her research about contemporary Duodji (Duodji is a Sámi word and the concept is similar to crat and making). he project was conducted over the period autumn of 2013 to spring 2014 and her aim was to show how indigenous peoples use diferent relationships as a springboard for the creative process and how contemporary duodji can be contemplated as personal experience in what it means to duddjot (create duodji). Her essay relects on the role of women in Sámi society, the work they did in making (in addition to all the other work) and she highlights the meditative dimension to duodji. he fourth chapter by Hautala-Hirvioja, also explores dimensions of Sámi culture this time from the perspective of an art historian. HautalaHirvioja discusses the importance of history and cultural heritage for contemporary Finnish Sámi art. Her central question is ‘How and why did Sámi traditional ancient mythology and early ine art inluence Finnish Sámi art during the last few decades?’. he author traces the developments in Finnish Sámi art and its links to Duodji by focusing on selected artists to illustrate some of the ways that contemporary Finnish Sámi art has its roots in Sámi cultural heritage. In the next chapter, Din discusses some of the indigenous cultures, historical contexts, and scientiic discoveries of the Circumpolar North through the lens of museum education practice. he author also touches on environmental issues arguing that museum education practice ofers the potential to enhance understanding and raise awareness of ‘multiple perspectives’ and the pressures of change in the region. Din also seeks to encourage debate about using museum content for educational and public outreach. In the penultimate chapter, we return to the topic of design and, in particular, the notion of ‘Arctic design’. In this essay Tahkokallio and Jokela report on Arctic Design Week (ADW), an innovative event held annually in Finnish Lapland ADW has its origins in the irst design week held in 2009 (then Rovaniemi Design Week, renamed Arctic Design Week in 2013). According to the authors, the concept of Arctic design should be understood as actions aimed at increasing well-being and competitiveness in the northern and Arctic areas. Arctic design combines art, science, and design for solving the particular problems of remote places and sparsely populated areas. Walking art is the subject of the seventh and inal chapter, Triggs, Irwin and Lego outline a year-long inquiry of walking alone or with close friends or companions. In the essay, the authors consider how the routes and paths walked have sustained them as art educators. Individually and collectively they made art in the broadest sense; photographs, poetry, soundscapes or markmaking as away of nurturing and sustaining their individual and collective wellbeing as well as stimulating discussion and generating ideas. In their own own words ‘[...]is to communicate the ways in which we experienced a rising awareness and interest in mobility and the proliferation of aesthetic practices, and felt individual sustenance as arts educators, through a walking enquiry.’ (p. 142) he book concludes with a visual essay. Huhmarniemi describes, using image and text, the cultural and educational beneits of an art event, the X-Border Art Biennale. he biennale theme was ‘Borders’ and the interna- 11 tional art exhibition was shown simultaneously in three cities in three countries: Luleå in Sweden, Rovaniemi in Finland and Severomorsk in Russia. he artists taking part in the Biennale addressed the themes of ‘borders’ and ‘border crossing’ from a variety of perspectives. ASAD has its genesis in community-based, environmental and socially engaged art practices, in ASAD we refer to this dimension as Applied Visual Arts. It has become increasingly clear as we reine the working practises and operating philosophy of ASAD, that the notion of Applied Visual Arts has much in common with ‘design thinking’ and the relatively new ield of service design. Partly as a result of experience gleaned from the ASAD network, a new master’s degree was launched in 2015 at the University of Lapland that has a common core, but ofers two specialist routes, Applied Visual Arts or Service Design; it is called the Master’s Degree in Arctic Art and Design. In our opinion, the Arctic Sustainable Art and Design network, Relate North symposia, exhibitions and publications are all worthy components of a celebration of Northern art, heritage, and identity. Please visit the website for more information: www.asadnetwork.org References ACE, (2014). [Art, Community and Environment resources website] Retrieved from http://ace.ulapland.i ASAD, (2014). [Website of the Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design network] Retrieved from http://www.asadnetwork.org Bakhshi, H., Hargreaves, I., & Mateos-Garcia, J. (2013). A Manifesto for the Creative Economy, London, NESTA. Retrieved from: www.netsa.org.uk CiC, (2012). Creative Industries Council Skillset Skills Group: Report To Creative Industries Council. London: Creative Industries Council Skillset Skills Group. Retrieved from http://cicskills.skillset.org Coutts, G. (2012). Design, not Accident. In Tahkokallio, P. (Ed.). (2012). Arctic Design: Opening the Discussion. Rovaniemi: Publications of the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland. Series C. Overviews and Discussion. 38. Eisner, E., W. (2001). Should We Create New Aims for Art Education? Art Education. Vol. 54, No. 5, pp. 6–10. Jokela, T. (2012). Art Strengthened by Northern Culture. In Seppälä. (Ed.) Arts, Cultural Collaborations and New Networks: he Institute for Northern Culture (pp. 7–9). Tornio: Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences. Jokela, T. & Coutts, G. (Eds.). (2014). Relate North: Engagement, Art and Representation. Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. Jokela, T., Coutts, G., Huhmarniemi, M., & Harkonen, E. (Eds.). (2013). COOL: Applied Visual Arts in the North. Rovaniemi: Publications of the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland. Series C. Overviews and Discussion 41. 13 Product design in arctic terrain Tinna Gunnarsdóttir Iceland Academy of the Arts his article reports on a design research project that investigated the possibility of dwelling in Iceland's vast areas of wild and semi-wild terrain, through the lens of product design. Speciically, it attempts to enrich the experience of dwelling in these areas through product design interventions while maintaining minimal impact on the environment. hree objects were created through a case study and tested on location: River-Sticks, a pair of ford markers that can double as walking sticks while crossing the river; Brook-Cup, a drinking vessel for stream water, and Centre-Pin, a marker that can be placed in the landscape to mark a new centre for further exploration. he hypothesis is that product design can enrich the experience of dwelling in wild terrain and most certainly open up new perspective on the subject matter. Introduction With a growing world population, the supply of uncultivated land is dwindling. his encroachment of human activity into pristine landscapes is of particular relevance to product designers, who are trained to provide new opportunities within speciic contexts. his article relects upon the vast areas of wild and semi-wild terrain in Iceland and aims to examine whether and how the experience of dwelling in these northern areas can be enriched by small-scale design interventions. When referring to dwelling, I am alluding to Heidegger’s deinition of “being”, as articulated in his essay Building Dwelling hinking (Heidegger, 1951/2010). To explore how product design interventions might enrich the experience of dwelling in the wild terrain of Iceland, a case study was carried out on an abandoned farm, Möðruvellir in Héðinsjörður jord (Figure 1). Inhabitation in the area of the study is extremely sparse. Héðinsjörður was a part of a large settlement of unoccupied land that took place in Iceland during the 9th and 10th centuries, yet the jord has been considered a marginal area of inhabitation since records began, and for some time during the late Middle Ages it was only used as summer pastureland for cattle by the bishopric of Hólar. his changed in the 19th century, when the population of Héðinsjörður peaked. he jord 15 remained inhabited until the beginning of the 20th century, when Möðruvellir was the irst of the ive then-extant farms to be deserted in 1903. he other four were abandoned shortly ater. here has been no formal settlement in the jord since 1951 (Vésteinsson, 2001). In the autumn of 2010, two massive road tunnels were opened, connecting two small towns on the north coast of Iceland. his operation included a highway crossing the formerly isolated Héðinsjörður. Suddenly the jord that had only Figure 1. A map of Iceland showing Héðinsjörður in red. Made for the project by Gísli Pálsson. been reachable by foot or by sea was accessible to everybody. his occasion initiated discussion in the Icelandic media about the wilderness, deserted areas, and environmental preservation, both in relation to this jord and to similar places in Iceland. Although Möðruvellir and Héðinsjörður have their own story and particularities, the area is geomorphologically typical for the peninsula it sits on, Tröllaskagi, which is characterized by steep mountains, deep valleys and basins sculpted over 10,000 years ago by Ice Age glaciers. In terms of cultural history, it is similar to numerous other areas in Iceland that were de ulated in the irst half of the 20th century, when society was changing and farmers abandoned their homes looking for new opportunities in villages around the coast. his makes Möðruvellir an appropriate case study from which similar projects could draw when considering dwelling in Iceland's wild and semi-wild terrain. Context: land art, landscape, place, space, and product design Toward the centre of the ield there is a slight mound, a swelling in the earth, which is the only warning given for the presence of the work. Closer to it, the large square face of the pit can be seen, as can the ends of the ladder that is needed to descend into the excavation. he work itself is thus entirely below ground: half atrium, half tunnel, the boundary between outside and in, a delicate structure of wooden posts and beams. (Krauss, 1985, p. 277) In the opening of Rosalind Krauss’s seminal essay Sculpture in the Expanded Field, she describes Perimeters/Pavilions/Decoys, a work of art by Mary Miss constructed in 1978. It is a sculpture, or to be precise, an earthwork. During the 1970s the boundaries of ine art were being challenged, by pulling, stretching, and twisting in an “extraordinary demonstration of elasticity” (Krauss, 1985, p. 277). A similar ‘boundary stretching’ is now taking place in the design ield and has been for some time, demonstrating the way “a cultural term can be extended to include just about anything” (Krauss, 1985, p. 277). he conse- 17 quence is an interesting overlap between diferent ields. In her diagram of sculpture in the expanded ield, Krauss maps out these “oppositions and mutual implications of landscape, architecture, and sculpture to explain the production of artworks that escape categorization according to a single medium” (Boetzles, 2010, p. 58). Employing the mathematical construction of the Klein group, Krauss creates a ield diagram through which she introduces three new terms, where the periphery of landscape, architecture, and sculpture cross in diferent ways. Although today’s Earth Art has superseded these oppositions, it was an important analysis at the time and it clariies how diferent ields, or rather their periphery, can be combined to create new ields. Like art, design seeks to respond to contemporary matters of various sorts, which results in overlaps similar to those identiied by Krauss. New contact areas are appearing all the time, cutting across conventional boundaries. Very few design projects akin to the case study were identiied during the research. herefore Land Art, which represents an active engagement with landscape, is one of the ields this project drew upon for a discourse on what it could be to dwell in the wild terrain of the North. hat said, numerous product design projects where discovered that deal with similar attitudes but in a diferent context. Before engaging with these, however, it is important to articulate how I understand landscape in relation to time, place and space, as these became fundamental factors in the project. In his recent book Making, anthropologist Tim Ingold (2013) explores the idea that the earth is not the solid and pre-existing substance builders take it to be. It is rather the source of all life. Materials drawn from the earth are eventually returned to it though decomposition, fuelling further growth. In this sense, the earth is perpetually growing over. With every passing day out in the open, things keep changing, whether they are manmade constructions or the earth itself (pp. 77–81). his concept of constant origination is in accordance with the ideas of Icelandic philosopher Sigríður Þorgeirsdóttir (2010), who points out in her essay Conversations with Ourselves in Metaphysical Experiences of Nature, that “there can be no experience of pure and original nature since there is no such thing” (p. 19). his way of perceiving nature afects the way we associate with it and helps us to comprehend its temporality, as well as our own, and the objects we make. Ingold makes this extremely visual when he writes: Imagine a ilm of the landscape, shot over years, centuries, even millennia. Slightly speeded up, plants appear to engage in very animallike movements, trees lex their limbs without any prompting from the winds. Speeded up rather more, glaciers low like rivers and even the earth begins to move. At yet greater speeds solid rock bends, buckles and lows like molten metal. he world itself begins to breathe. (as cited in Benediktsson & Lund, 2010, p. 6) For terminology relating to place and space in landscapes I turn to Martin Heidegger’s deinitions in his essay Building Dwelling hinking (1951/2010). He distinguishes between measureable space between locations and the overall space in which we live. In other words, places are created around things such as bridges, houses, rocks, or trees, and between these locations space becomes measureable as a distance from A to B (Heidegger, 1951/2010). he focus was put on a few selected artists and artworks within the contemporary Land Art ield who relate to the research in an immediate way. he irst artist under consideration was Ólafur Elíasson, who has since the beginning of his career in the early 90s relected on the elements, exploring our relationship with natural phenomena such as light and water. His works “expose their own technological qualities, though they are oten centred on elemental activity such as rainbows, waterfalls, vegetal growth, and the movement and colour of light” (Boetzles, 2010, p. 131). In a conversation with artist Robert Irwin, published in relation to his exhibition Take Your Time, Elíasson says: “Artworks are not closed or static, and they do not embody some kind of truth that may be revealed to the spectator. Rather, artworks have an ainity with time – they are embedded in time, they are of time” (Elíasson & Irwin, n.d.). his deinition of the artwork could be applied to design as well, which welcomes the interpretation of the viewer as an active spectator, as design – just like art – holds many truths, many ideas, and many possibilities. 19 Figure 2. Ólafur Elíasson: he New York City Waterfalls, 2008. Photo: Christopher Burke. Courtesy of the artist and i8 Gallery, Reykjavik. In his waterfall project (Figure 2) it seems as if culture and nature meet to create a new phenomenon, Elíasson states: Nature as such has no ‘real’ essence – no truthful secrets to be revealed. I have not come closer to anything essential other than myself and, besides, isn’t nature a cultural state anyway? What I have come to know better is my own relation to so-called nature (i.e., my capacity to orient myself in this particular space), my ability to see and sense and move through the landscapes around me. (Elíasson & Orskou, 2004 no page) his corresponds to Ingold’s and Þorgeirsdóttir’s observation of nature as a constant low of materials, but also Wylie’s relections about the relationship between selves and landscapes as “motile relations, an incessant movement of enfolding and unfolding, openness and enclosing, in which the two implicate (fold with) and include each other” (as cited in Wall, 2014, p. 140). In his essay Models are real, Elíasson criticizes how Western societies do not generally recognize the temporal aspect of space. He says “Space does not simply exist in time; it is of time” (In Engeberg-Pedersen, 2012). his attitude frees the space from being a mere background for our actions and renders it “a co-producer of interaction” (In Engeberg-Pedersen, 2012, no page number). his constant interplay between space and time and ourselves might connect us in a richer way to the environment in which we dwell. Other Land artists and artworks that relate to the design project include Icelandic artist Hreinn Friðinnsson and his direct but sensitive relection on the environment. his is highly visible in Attending (Figure 3), which consists of a small object connecting sky and earth. Last but not least, Richard Long’s interventions in nature, which are oten ephemeral, but always bear witness to human interaction with the earth. Figure 3. Hreinn Fridinnsson: Attending, 1973. 2 colour photographs, 55,5 x 70 cm each. Courtesy of the artist and i8 Gallery, Reykjavik. 21 Turning to the discourse on contemporary design, the periphery of design, crat, and art cross in many ways as pointed out by critic, editor and curator Chantal Pontbriand (2005, p. 7): Design came to occupy a signiicant place in everyday life in the course of the twentieth century. But what does the twenty-ist century hold in store for us? Is design destined to encroach ever further into the realms of art and crat, as many artistic practices today seem to suggest? Product design is a broad concept and like other cultural terms it is constantly stretching its boundaries. Although product design is oten mass-produced it can also be made in limited edition or even one-of items. As suggested by Pontbriand (2005), design has both material and immaterial dimensions; it “is not only a language but a form of communication and a form of being in the world” (p. 7). his way of understanding the scope of product design is one of the underpinnings of this present article. Þéttsetrið (see Figure 4), a piece by Icelandic designer Hanna Jónsdóttir, has a strong association to the case study. It is a structure measuring app. 160 x 160 x 160 cm and made from metal proiles, which are galvanized and Figure 4. Hanna Jónsdóttir: Þéttsetrið, 2009. Metal structure, 160 x 160 x 160 cm. Photo: Svavar Jónatansson. Courtesy of the artist. inally painted. It raises intriguing questions, such as: are you in fact ever inside the piece, although you can walk through it and sit inside the frame? In a conversation with Jónsdóttir (personal communication, June 19, 2014) she declared that she wanted to create an object that would make peace with the threat of wide-open space. She is talking about vast areas in Iceland where little shelter is to be found. he situation she describes is evident in her image of Þéttsetrið (Figure 4). Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan’s (1977/2001) relection upon space and place reveals a similar understanding. From the embraced place of protection and stability, we experience a vast contrast with the open space of freedom, “if we think of space as that which allows movement, then place is pause; each pause in movement makes it possible for locations to be transformed into place” (p. 3). he other design projects examined in relation to this project have a diferent connection to it, either through their attitude to the design ield or their direct connection to nature. Spanish designer Martin Azua relects upon the power that wild nature has to “appropriate the artiicial and leave its mark” in his design series Natural Finish. he series consists of white ceramic vases let for one year in riverbeds “during which time they were colonized by mosses and other organic growths” (Azua, n.d.). Another example of direct interaction with nature during the design process is a series of furniture objects by English designer Max Lamb, who produces the pieces from pewter by casting them directly in the wet sands of his favourite childhood beach in Cornwall. All these projects have a link to ‘Slow Design’, a term coined by Alister FuadLuke in 2002 when he “raised a rhetorical question whether 'slow design', an approach predicated on slowing the metabolism of people, resources and lows, could provide a design paradigm that would engender positive behavioural change” (Fuad-Luke & Strauss, n.d.). Concurrently, slowLab, a design research organization and a leading catalyst of the Slow Design movement, was founded in New York. by Carolyn Strauss. As described by them, the term “Slow Design” does not refer to a time-consuming process; instead “it describes an expanded state of awareness, accountability for daily actions, and the potential for a richer spectrum of experience for individuals and communities” (SlowLab, n.d.). 23 Another important aspect of product design is the expression of intangibles such as feelings, concepts, and the senses. his is highly recognizable in the work of Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka, who believes that “there will be an end to arranging forms, and that the act of experience will become the creation itself ” (as cited in Quinn, 2011, p. 164). Yoshioka talks about how the deinition of design is changing now when all kinds of creative activities (art, design, and architecture) are discussed in the same voice, through the widespread use of the Internet. Yet as boundaries between professions are blurred, it is important to acknowledge that although one ield might stretch into another it does not become the other. I believe this is one of Krauss’ central arguments in her Klein Group Diagram of Sculpture in the Expanded Field, which is supported by Renny Ramakers (co-founder and creative director of Amsterdam-based design company Droog) when she stresses the “inestimable importance for the practice of design… that independent design doesn’t become alienated from the design context” (as cited in Pontbriand, p. 20). Methodology: the design process, its frame, and function he design research was carried out through practice and follows an understanding of practice-led research as “a mode of enquiry in which design practice is used to create an evidence base for something demonstrated or found out” (Pedgley, 2007, p. 463). As suggested by Pedgley, both the activity of designing and the objects as outcomes are sources of research data (p. 464). Since the primary aim of the project was to look for alternative ways to enrich the experience of dwelling in the vast wild terrain in Iceland, rather than establish a single truth or give a inal answer, a phenomenological approach was deemed appropriate. his perspective is particularly relevant when dealing with vibrant living systems such as landscapes that are constantly responding to everything around them, whether it is an ancient human dwelling, an animal path, or a landslide. It has in fact been argued that the subjective and objective qualities of landscape cannot be separated, which is an opinion I agree with (Ingold, 2011, 2013; Jóhannesdóttir, 2010; Tuan, 2008; Þorgeirsdóttir, 2010; Wylie, 2007). Landscape involves a holistic way of looking at the reality of places and spaces. Instead of dividing reality into diferent boxes and viewing nature in one box and culture in another, the landscape emerges through the intertwining of subject and object, of the human and the land. (Jóhannesdóttir, 2010, p. 115) he qualitative approach generated interpretive data in the form of threedimensional objects, as well as a sketchbook where the process was documented to enable analysis. Such a framework is founded on the premise that reality is perceived, experienced, and interpreted by people. here is no absolute reality but rather “multiple realities, each of which is a social construction of the human mind” (Kane & O´Reilly-de Brun, 2001, p. 19). Although the case study of Möðruvellir is limited in scope, reactions to the subject are potentially ininite. In order to clarify the aim and objectives of the research, and make evaluation more precise, a design brief was created. hree actions were introduced based on topological and cultural observation from my previous trips to the site, documented in photographs over the last eight years. hese consist of crossing the river, drinking from a babbling brook, and marking a new centre, as explained below. Crossing the River To get to Möðruvellir one has to walk from the national road, crossing Héðinsjörður jord to the stream Stórilækur, which marks the border between the two abandoned farmlands Möðruvellir and Grund. his distance is approximately one km and takes around half an hour to walk. Stórilækur is the biggest obstacle when entering the land of Möðruvellir from this side. he design intervention should mark a convenient place for crossing Stórilækur, in addition to creating some kind of an aid when crossing it. he object(s) should be made out of resistant materials that can withstand year-round exposure to the elements. 25 Drinking from a Babbling Brook here is a lot of running water in Möðruvellir, originating from freshwater springs high up in the mountains. his results in countless brooks babbling down the hills and downs before they join the main river Fjarðará at the bottom of the valley. he design task deals with inding and marking a place where it is good to bend down next to one of the many brooks to take a sip of fresh water. A cup or vessel should be provided to enhance the experience of drinking directly from the natural source. he object(s) should be made out of resistant materials that can withstand year-round exposure to the elements. Marking a New Centre Möðruvellir combines wild nature and the remains of vanished human culture. Around 97% of the terrain consists of steep mountains, reaching the height of 1200 meters, while the remaining 3% is lowland that was cultivated by farmers. When observing the numerous archaeological indings, which according to a recent archaeological report include 27 ruins (Lárusdóttir, 2008, pp. 108–115), one experiences vividly the temporality of landscapes where nature is little by little overgrowing the traces of human settlement. he aim of the third design intervention was to mark a new centre, new beginning, which responds in some way with the existing ones – the numerous archaeological indings. his is impossible to do without being physically present among the past settlements. he design task is therefore to create a marker that can be brought along and used to identify the selected spot. he place should respond to dwelling, no matter how brief that dwelling might be. Most importantly, it should be a place you can return to again and again. he outcome of the design process, the inal objects, are oten referred to as design interventions to stress the interaction between them and the site they are made for. A sketchbook was kept during the design process, where development of ideas over time was recorded, as well as self-relection and analysis. he inal stage of the design process was the making of the three-dimensional objects in authentic materials. he objects were then taken to Möðruvellir, where they were placed at speciic sites where they were tested and photographed in their “ideal” setting. his was done in accordance with the design brief that I carried out. Although the design process is multifaceted and cannot be deined in brief, certain deinitions are parallel to the understanding and application of the research project. Spanish architect and author Jose Morales (2008) states succinctly; “Designing is an action associated with unfolding: everything occurs through an action that links, associates, puts in contact, joins, and ties singularities” (p. 644). Another interesting perspective is the understanding of designers as having “to deal with the ‘halfway’ between people and things” (Koskinen et al. 2011, p. 8). As pointed out in Design Research hrough Practice, this understanding comes from Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who noted that in philosophy the intertwining of the world and people had no name. he words experience and interaction come close, but Merleau-Ponty preferred to use the word lesh (Koskinen et al. 2011, p. 12). Indeed the design interventions in this project aim to capture and enhance this intermingling of people and the environment – or the body and the world – by creating a thing, a tool; an idea made lesh. Results: analysis and evaluation Two main sources of data were generated during the research, the design process documented in the sketchbook and the three prototypes. hese were analysed in somewhat diferent ways. he sketchbook analysis focused on the design process, whilst the analysis of the prototypes was more concerned with the design brief. Nevertheless, the two are interdependent enough to render it diicult to separate the two analyses completely, as may become evident from 27 time to time. Being able to bring the objects to their locations was of immense importance for the analysis, evaluation and summarizing of the project as a whole. hrough the detailed microscopic analysis of the sketchbook and the prototypes it was possible to move to a macroscopic analysis of the project as a whole. he design process, like the research process, is a journey in and of it self. It is oten shown graphically as a circle of thoughts and actions where the designer moves from one “station” to another. his depiction does not do justice to the chaotic crossings and detours where many valuable things are discovered and others dismissed. Charts like these give the impression that all the “stations” have similar weight, but reality reveals the contrary. One dwells much longer on certain things while others somehow low with ease. he sketchbook documents several dramatic shits of ideas. he biggest of these was undoubtedly when I decided to do three smaller interventions rather than one somewhat Figure 5. he River-Sticks create places in between which space becomes measureable as a distance from A to B. Photo: Tinna Gunnarsdóttir. Figure 6. Crossing the river supported by the River-Stick. Photo: Tinna Gunnarsdóttir. more monumental. he irst sketches depict objects as big as huts, although more transparent. hese where followed by lower but more massive walls and furniture. At one point I thought about working directly with the earth rather than bringing new materials to the land. I soon found this to be too nostalgic and dropped the idea rather quickly. Instead I applied contemporary materials and construction techniques, although some of them have ancient roots, for instance the traditional silversmith’s techniques used to make the Brook-Cup. he sketchbook analysis reveals that one idea links all the diferent elements of the book together. he creation of a place was fundamental, whether it was by interacting directly with the earth, building a construction on it, or bringing along a ready-made piece. hree autonomous objects were created, all of which work with the overall aim of the project to enrich the experience of dwelling in wild and semi-wild terrain in Iceland. Although they formed a sequence of crossing the river, drinking from a brook and inally marking a new centre, the design process of the diferent objects was interconnected. I sought autonomy for each one of them, however, as well as a group dynamic. his linear sequence was trigged by the ritualised linear walks undertaken by Long, but also by Tuan’s understanding of space as movement 29 Figure 7. Although the cup is generous in size in relation to other cups, it seems tiny in its vast surroundings. Because of the relective qualities of the material it intergrades with its surroundings and from certain angles even disappears. Photo: Tinna Gunnarsdóttir. and place as a pause in the movement. he diferent actions became pauses during the walk towards the farm mound of Möðruvellir, where the CentrePin was to be placed. River-Stick (Figures 5 & 6) responds to the action of crossing the river. It also function as marker for the ford. he object is therefore both a place-maker and an aid when crossing the river; it is both static and mobile. It is made from aluminium, which is a highly resistant material that endures the outdoors for years without deteriorating. he handle is embossed with a texture that makes a steady grip. he length of the handle, 36 cm, is intended to make it practical for people of diferent heights. he red colour of the handle is chosen to contrast with its green surroundings and thus work as a marker. he sharp pin at the end of the stick is made out of stainless steel, as aluminium would be too sot to withstand the pressure. he stainless steel pin is the only solid material in the stick, while the rest is made out of tubes, which are anodized for extra surface resistance. Other characteristics of the sticks are more subjective, and a visit to Möðruvellir revealed some new ones. he two sticks create a measurable space between them, echoing Heidegger’s deinition of places as emerging around things, and between those places space becomes measureable. his efect is somewhat intensiied by their mechanical appearance, which is reminiscent of measuring devices. When crossing the river, the sticks proved even more useful than anticipated. hey give a irm grounding during the balancing act of crossing a river. A considerable amount of weight can be put on them, which makes the wading much easier on bare feet. Crossing the river supported by the stick was experienced as a digniied act, as the danger of falling into the running water was dramatically decreased. River-Stick responds to the threat of wide-open space as declared by Jónsdóttir. Like Þéttsetrið (Figure 4), the sticks frame the landscape and give you something to hold on to in the wide-open expanse. Just like Þéttsetrið, they work as an emotional shelter, one that does not necessarily need walls and roof. hey also accentuated the beginning and the end of the passage. Brook-Cup (Figures 7 & 8) found its place on a lat stone next to a brook that has dug itself into the earth, forming a tiny canyon. It has a strong low of Figure 8. Brook-Cup is made of silver in the shape of a pentagon. Photo: Tinna Gunnarsdóttir. 31 Figure 9. Centre-Pin is hand made from hardwood. Photo: Tinna Gunnarsdóttir. crystal-clear water. he cup is shaped like a pentagon and made out of silver, which is highly resistant to bacteria. he material is also beautifully relective. he cup weighs around 350 gm and is eight centimetres in height. It has a steady handle to make it easy to dip it into the running water. he shape is intended to relect the variability of its rich surrounding. It was inspired by Elíasson’s tremendous work with polygons (1998, 2012) and their latent qualities, as well as by his relection on the elements. I wanted to see if I could bring culture and nature together in this small object. On site, the Brook-Cup brought out a certain playfulness. It was tempting to move it around to create a kind of cinematic efect through its variegated simultaneous relections. It is a digniied experience, drinking from it, where multiple relections of landscape, sky and man are juxtaposed in a collage of human and nature. he Brook-Cup, unlike the River-Sticks, is in a secret place; unlikely to be found by anybody who doesn’t know where to look for it. It bears a resemblance to Attending (see Figure 3) by Hreinn Friðinnsson, both in relations to Figure 10. Centre-Pin creates new perspectives. Photo: Tinna Gunnarsdóttir. size and the relective quality of the material, and not least in the way both pieces draw attention to their immediate surroundings. Centre-Pin (Figures 9 & 10) marked the inal destination, both in terms of the design process and the sequence of the objects taken to location. As conveyed by former inhabitation, this is a good location for dwelling. Its location is deep in the valley, approximately one hour’s walk from the highway, with fantastic views to the waterfalls of Ámá across the river Fjarðará, towards the sea, and into the narrow valley. he ground is irm but sot, covered with a mixture of delicate grass, lowers, and decorative straw. here is also an abundance of wild blueberries, bilberries, and crowberries in the area. he aim of this part of the design brief was to mark a new centre, materialised in an object. As suggested by Heidegger, places are created around things, such as a bridge, a house, a rock, or a tree, and in this case a wooden pin. A more contemporary reference to this task is that of dropping a virtual pin in various map applications in the digital world. From the virtual object, an analogue version was made to be taken to Möðruvellir. he pin is sculpted out of solid hardwood. he material was chosen to counteract the coolness of the metals used in River-Stick and Brook-Cup. Whereas 33 the irst two interventions associate with water this one relates to the earth. It is 50 cm in height, the sphere is 14 cm in diameter and it weighs 1600 gm. It is likely to erode over time, like the former centres located within each archaeological inding. he Centre-Pin is more embedded in time than the other two objects created for the project, both because of its material, which is not as resistant to time as the metals, and because of its ainity to the former settlement. One is likely to spend more time around this place than the other two, as it functions as a base for dwelling. It relates to Elíasson’s observation that space does not simply exist in time, but is of time. he project also shares Tokujin’s future concept of design, where the experience becomes the creation: the core quality of Centre-Pin is the action of bringing it along to create a new centre. From there a place will emerge, unfolding contingent processes as time goes by. Conclusion Investigating dwelling in Iceland’s vast wild terrain through the lens of product design opened new perspectives on the subject. As the literature reveals little emphasis on product design for wild terrain, this could indeed be a potential new ield for product designers to invest in. In my own view, the concept of dwelling in wild terrain could be augmented tremendously through product design, not only because of its low impact on the environment but also by its observational approach, its search for new possibilities, new experiences, “forging fresh directions for tomorrow” (Quinn, 2011, p. 12). he intermingling of man and the world that Merleau-Ponty refers to as “lesh” is materialized in the three objects created for the study. hey connect human and nature through action and demonstrate collectively that the experience of dwelling can be enriched in various ways by product design interventions. Not only do the objects intertwine human and nature but also the diferent places created around each object, creating an invisible line of measurable space between the diferent locations. hese are some of the agencies carried within the objects, but more are likely to emerge with time, caused by diferent interactions between them, the landscape and the engagement of man. It is my belief that small-scale product design processes might enrich environmental awareness, which is one of the key factors for a sustainable future. Further research might look into the enormous commons or national parks in Iceland and involve the unknown traveller rather than the private landowner, as was the case in this investigation. References Azua, M. (n.d.). Homepage, Retrieved from http://www.martinazua.com/product/ natural-inish/ Benediktsson, K., & Lund, K. (Eds.). (2010). Conversations With Landscape. Farnham: Ashgate. Boetzkes, A. (2010). he Ethics of Earth Art. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota press. Eliasson, O. (1998). Your compound view [sculpture]. Retrieved from http://olafureliasson.net/archive/artwork/WEK101561/your-compound-view. Eliasson, O. (2012) Face surveyor [sculpture]. Retrieved from http://olafureliasson.net/ archive/artwork/WEK107929/face-surveyor#slideshow. Eliasson, O. & Irwin, R. (n.d.). Take your Time: A Conversation. Take your time: Olafur Eliasson. Retrieved from http://www.olafureliasson.net/publications/download_ texts/Take_your_time.pdf Eliasson, O. & Orskou, G. (Eds.). (2004). Inside the Spectacle. In O. Eliasson, Olafur Eliasson: Minding the World (pp. 17–32). Aarhus: ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum. Engeberg-Pedersen, A. (Ed.). (2012). Never Tired of Looking at Each Other – Only the Mountain and I: Olafur Eliasson. London: Koening Books. Fuad-Luke, A. & Strauss, C. (n.d.). he Slow Design Principles. Retrieved from http:// www.slowlab.net/CtC_SlowDesignPrinciples.pdf Heidegger, M. (1951/2010). Building Dwelling hinking. In Krell, D.F. (Ed.). Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings (pp. 239–255). London: Routledge Classics. Jóhannesdóttir, G., R. (2010). Landscape and Aesthetic Values: Not Only in the Eye of the Beholder. In K. Benediktsson & K. Lund (Eds.). (2010). Conversations With Landscape (pp. 109–123). Farnham: Ashgate. Ingold, T. (2013). Making. London: Routledge. 35 Kane, E. & O´Reilly-de Brun, M. (2001). Doing your Own Research. London: Marion Boyars. Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redström, J. & Wensveen, S. (2011). Design research through practice. London: Elsevier. Krauss, R. (1985). he Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths. Cambridge: MIT Press. Lárusdottir, B. (2008). Fornleifaskráning í Hvanneyrarhreppi II: Minjar í Siguluirði (sunnan Siglujarðarbæjar og austan jarðar), Hérðinsirði og Hvanndölum. (Archaeological Survey. Archaeological inds in Siglujörður, Héðinsjörður and Hvanndalir). Reykjavík: Institute of Archaeology Iceland. Morales, J. (2008). Unfolding. In S. Cros (Ed.). he MetapolisDdictionary of Advanced Architecture (p. 644). New York: Actar. Pedgley, O. (2007). Capturing and analysing own design activity. Elsevier vol. 28 (5), 463–483. Pontbriand, C. (2005). Design. Parachute, vol. 117. Quinn, B. (2011). Design futures. London: Merrell. SlowLab homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.slowlab.net/ Tuan, Y. F. (1977/2008). Space and Place. he perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Vésteinsson, O. (2001). Fornleifakönnun. Jarðgöng milli Ólafsjarðar og Siglujarðar. (Archaeological Survey. Tunnel between Ólafsjörður and Siglujörður). Reykjavík: Institute of Archaeology Iceland. Wall, G. (2014). Encounters with Iceland’s Eventful Landscape: A Series of Photographic Occasions. In T. Jokela, & G. Coutts, (Eds.). (2014). Relate North: Engagement, Art and Representation (pp. 128–145). Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. Wylie, J. (2007). Landscape (pp. 139–186). London: Routledge. Þorgeirsdóttir, S. (2010). Conversations with Ourselves in Metaphysical Experiences of Nature. In K. Benediktsson, & K. Lund, (Eds.). (2010).Conversations With Landscape (pp. 13–26). Farnham: Ashgate. 37 SPRING: An artistic process as a narrative project Antti Stöckell University of Lapland, Finland Introduction In this article, I review an artistic process as a phenomenon covering various areas of life and diferent disciplines through a hiking art project that I started in the spring of 2013. he working method in the Spring project was simple: I visited springs either deliberately or for some other reason when hiking in the countryside. I took some water from the spring in my bottle, observed and documented, and made a traditional ladle of birch bark (tuohilippi) by the spring. I have built an installation of these elements and exhibited it in three exhibitions. My study belongs to the tradition of environmental art in which the core questions concern the relationship between art and artist, and the place and the place-bound work in relation to the exhibits created through the process. Two theoretical viewpoints direct my analysis of the artistic process. Karjalainen’s (2006) topobiography, that represents the ield of cultural geography, analyzes the biographical meanings related to places. A theory of narrative circulation which is famous in the ield of social psychology and well known in Finland especially by Hänninen (2003; 2004), provides a deeper relection on the meaning of narration and narratives—which is present also in topobiography—in the construction of self and identity. I use these viewpoints to form a picture of interaction between a human being and place. In addition, I view the process from the perspectives of a few other disciplines. hey include Paulaharju’s (1922) cultural-anthropologically and ethnographically tinted narratives, Suopajärvi’s (2001) sociological analyses of environmental debates in Lapland, and Leopold’s (1999) environmental-philosophical ethics of land— without forgetting the groundwater-geological, hydrological and hydrobiological perspectives of springs and the phenomenon of water cycle. As a whole, this multidisciplinary analysis can be called a survey of a place, which also follows Karjalainen’s (1999) idea of the objective, subjective, and textual dimensions of place—a place is analyzed as the landscape of a land, mind, and language. Applying this deinition, I analyze springs as natural scientiic places, then as lived experiences, and inally as narratives that also combine 39 Figure 1. Feelings from the irst springs at bright summer night in the beginning of the project. he cloudberry bloomed, Wood Sandpiper and a lone Black grouse sang. Photo: Antti Stöckell. the previous levels. In the artistic process and products consequently created, such as in the installations in exhibitions, these viewpoints merge together. he initial reason for the relection on my own artistic process is my work as an art educator in the contexts of education and research. In my opinion, this kind of project supports the developmental and teaching work of art-based environmental education and enhances the supervision of artistic processes. An artistic process can unify the fragmented everyday reality and one’s experience of it into a sensible collage of meanings. Based on this experience, I will inally expand my viewpoint to cover the needs and possibilities of applying art among people and communities of the Arctic area. The hiking artist’s relationship with the environment Walking has been characterized as the irst form of a human being’s aesthetic and creative action (Careri, 2002). he continuum of art can be viewed across centuries from the viewpoint of the relationships with environment, but it was not until the last century when walking or traveling became a signiicant part of the artistic processes of some artists’ and groups’ work. Alongside the concept of environmental art, which emerged in the 1960s, there have been some other terms to describe the diversity and variety of art produced in a certain, ixed place. It was also the time of environmental awakening. Landscapes were re-entering modern art. Hiking or walking art emphasizes literally movement or traveling as the crucial element of a product and its birth. In addition to environmental art, artworks featuring walking have been included in performance, sculpting, conceptual, or land art. I use the concept of hiking art because it is not too restrictive about the method of moving. I accept all possible ways of moving that are based on muscular strength as hiking art. hen, the body and senses become emphasized in the perception of environment and experience of human limitations. Walking has a strong position in this artistic ield. In the northern snowy areas, you can walk half of the year, while the other half you have to ski, if you want to go to places without roads 41 he combination of hiking and art makes one contemplate the relationship with environment and the meanings of related concepts. Environment can be analyzed as a societal and administered entity and as a scene of the exercise of power, under the inluence of which people live their everyday lives. he lived environment, for its part, is deined from the viewpoint of a human experience; then, the meaning of the place and subjective place-bound experiences become emphasized. Places form a network with routes between them. (Jokela & Hiltunen, 2014.) Ingold describes places as knots and their threads as the hiker’s routes (Ingold, 2011). In hiking art, the journey between places has to be seen as the core. I focus on springs that can be accurately located. My arrival at each spring is tinted with my experience of the journey. I have planned the route, practiced orienteering, lost my breath, struggled, and enjoyed the views and varying experiences of spaces within the architecture of woods, swamps, and hills. Ingold (2011) describes the hiker’s movement as forming the relationship with the land and as a line proceeding into the world and the tip of the line going ahead of the hiker (Ingold, 2011). In a ready path, the tip of the line has only one direction but, in a pathless terrain, the hiker’s senses become sensitive to all possible hiking directions provided by the terrain. he interactive nature of the relationship with environment is emphasized in the movement. Moving by muscular strength means reading the terrain, places, and landscape with one’s whole body and then the dynamic nature of observation is accentuated. According to Anttila (1989), a human perception does not know stopping—even the eyes have to move constantly in order for us be able to see (Anttila, 1989). Corporeal, spiritual and holistic experiences are all highlighted in the physicality of hiking, and this way hiking creates prerequisites of humanscale life and experience. he hiker’s exhaustion, fatigue, and even pain outline the limits of the lived environment and give full meaning to the notion of rest. Walking or skiing as pleasing primary activities can also release the hiker’s mind to the territory of memories, mental pictures, and prospects. Keskitalo (2006), who has been developing a walking method, explained how the relaxed state resulted from the meditative continuation of movement had revealed unforced intuitive and conscious understanding about the research target (Keskitalo, 2006). From the pedagogical point of view, work applying hiking art means, at its simplest, a hike or trip by muscular strength outside the formal, everyday or routine learning environment. he multisensory, bodily, and active state created by walking can also be seen as a moving learning environment (Keskitalo, 2006; 2012; Kortelainen, 1995) that enables not only personal contemplation but also interaction between other walkers. A spring as a natural scientiic, lived and presented place I dived into the forest from the swamp; the tree stand became thicker and lusher, the terrain went down like a kettle. here it was again, the extraordinary power source, a spring. It was white in the beam of the forehead lamp, a steady round place embroidered by frost with a black glittering eye in the middle. he winter solstice was already close; winter frosts of -30 degree Celsius had just passed. Clear water welled from the bosom of Mother Earth toward the land surface keeping this little place unfrozen. I reached over the spring, adjusted the beam of the forehead lamp to a clear spot, and looked inside the spring’s eye. he chips of sand on the bottom rippled and sparkled sotly as water welled from the bowels of the earth. (Blog, January 3, 2014) he natural scientiic viewpoint necessitates that one familiarizes with the phenomenon of ground water cycle from the perspectives of ground water geology and hydrobiology. In a long-term thematic process, one’s knowledge accumulates little by little by following various sources of information, by observations during hikes to springs, and by comparing these observations with theoretical information. his process can be called an objective surveying of place (Karjalainen, 1999) with all related classiications and measurements. 43 In terms of groundwater geology, a spring is a place where the surface of groundwater reaches the surface of land (Korkka-Niemi & Salonen, 1996). In a wider sense, springs are a part of the great system of the water cycle. Groundwater develops mostly when rain water absorbs in the ground. he absorbing water drives the underground water masses to move when water in cycle goes toward places of discharging or resurgence (Mälkki, 1999). Finland is called the land of thousand lakes. However, we have three times more ground water than the visible surface water in these thousand lakes. Finnish springs are usually typiied as creek springs, depression springs, and seepage springs that are more diicult to notice. A net of springs is oten a combination of the aforementioned types of springs and includes also a border area with its typical plant species (Juutinen & Kotiaho, 2009). In addition, groundwater discharges to waterway directly from the river and lake beds. he discharging groundwater that is rich in oxygen is vital, for example, to the successful spawning of salmoniformes living in rivers. he quality of groundwater is signiicantly determined by land use. he basic map of Finland includes about 30,000 marked springs. here are many other unmarked springs waiting to be found in the terrain. Except for the North-Finland, most of the Finnish spring areas have been either totally destroyed or changed due to various land uses. (Juutinen & Kotiaho, 2009). According to my observations, this has also happened to many springs marked on the map in the area of Rovaniemi. Natural springs are therefore a northern treasure and a special feature to cherish. As groundwater is discharging continuously, springs are unfrozen in the winter. In the summer, the small-scale climate created by the cool water provides a habitat for special species that is richer than in elsewhere in the surrounding environment. Deterioration or dissipation of the natural state of springs decreases the diversity of nature. his also leads to the decline of the spirit of the place (see Relph, 1984), which, for its part, inluences the quality of the space-speciic experiences. his is how the focus of analysis turns from the objective natural scientiic emphasis to the ield of subjective experiences of places. Figure 2. he traditional birch bark ladle is easy to make. Cut a round piece of the birch bark. Fold it as cone. hen press the birch bark cone into half cut stick end. Making the practical and beautiful birch bark ladle makes drinking of spring water a festive moment. Photo: Antti Stöckell. What makes springs so lively and attractive? Clean, lowing water is already a widely fascinating element. When at a spring, I am at the starting point of this phenomenon. he location of a spring is always accurate. It is like a power source point on a map and comprehensively experienced in the actual place. An experienced person can see from a distance where the spring is. he usually thicker lora at the border area and more low-lying surface than the surface of the surrounding terrain draw the hiker towards the power area of the spring. he spring inspires one to think about the underground world. By the spring, one starts to wonder the caverns of groundwater and how it iltrates through the layers of ground. Ground is a living organism with many vital phenomena happening under the surface of ground all the time. Furthermore, that clear liquid welling from the spring is fresh and cold, it quenches the walker’s thirst, and gives new strength to continue the trip. When one personally experiences the adventurous power of a spring, it is not diicult to understand why springs have had an important role in various cultures as places of many kinds of beliefs and rites. In addition to objective 45 and subjective analyses, the place can be approached from a textual perspective that highlights cultural meanings. A textual place covers representations of the place and landscape and conventions to see or illustrate the landscape as something. hus, place-related narratives are emphasized (Karjalainen, 1999). Paulaharju (1922) describes the water people in the bottomless peculiar lakes (Saivojärvi). he people were the sprites of water who had to be respected if one wanted to catch prey from these ish illed lakes. Like human beings, the sprites were of two kinds, rude and friendly ones. Greedy ishermen got their share of the horrible sprites’ tricks, whereas the sprites only were friendly to those ishermen who blessed the water. he same lake water welled to springs and absorbed the wonderful, healing powers of the ground in itself. Many springs were used for healing purposes of various conditions; people would dip, say the right words needed in the spring in question, and ofer money or other metal items as a sacriice. Instead of dipping, the healing power of some springs took efect inwardly, by drinking the water (Paulaharju, 1922). he belief in the healing powers of springs has occurred across Europe; which is manifested by the health spas built by springs. Likewise, the abundance of mineral water in the market originates from the same phenomenon (KorkkaNiemi & Salonen, 1996). A quite recent example of the cultural meaning of springs is the debate over the exploitation of the Sulaoja Spring in Enontekiö. he municipality’s intentions to make it possible to build a commercial water bottling planet nearby the spring strongly conlicted with the Sámi people’s understanding about the spring as a holy place. Due to the strong opposition, the municipality of Enontekiö withdrew from the project. Before tourism “found” the beauty of the nature of Lapland, Lapland could be seen only as a desolate, barren area. he landscape as presented in a cultural text changes in shape over time (Karjalainen, 1999). Even the same modern landscape is looked at in many ways. Keskitalo (2005), who has studied the relationship between a journey and its description in some Finnish artists’ works, writes about diferent looks that have their own cultural history. An explorer, hiker, tourist or artist looks at the scenery diferently. Depending on ‘gaze’, it is possible to ind classiiable objective facts, admirable beauty of nature, historical authenticity, anti-places or ideological mental images in the same landscape. Diferent kinds of gaze produce diferent stories about journeys and places (Keskitalo, 2006). I have now looked at springs as “landscapes of land, mind, and language”, at the levels of objective, subjective, and textual analysis as they were named by Karjalainen (1999). hese levels are still present when I focus my viewpoint next on the biographical meanings of the constructed place-bound identity of journeys and the artistic process. Springs in the network of biographical places I looked for the North Star from the ladle of the Big Dipper, and headed my skis slightly to the let. My trail crossed intentionally a fox’s pearls-like trail and hares’ paths, my mind was occupied by the merging images or expectations of the forthcoming and reminiscing of the past. Just like our eyes see lines between the stars, we weave together fragments of memories into our own narratives. When traveling from a spring to another, I can create a new parallel thread of a story complementing other important place-bound stories. Places have a signiicant role in our lives’ stories. According to Leena Krohn (1993) "When we remember times and places, we remember ourselves.” (Blog, January 18, 2014) Places have an important role in everyday life. Karjalainen (2006) has created the fascinating new word ‘topobiography’ to describe the biographical meaning of places. he concept of place is essential due to the simple reason that the world exists to us via our senses. We remember what we experienced as bodily creatures in some place of the world. hese memories mould our identities or selhoods (Karjalainen, 2006). 47 Language and time have a central role in the formation of place-based meanings and, irst of all, in remembering. A narrative structures places and events into a chronological continuum. Narration structures fragmented and even scattered memories into a complete picture. (Karjalainen, 2006) herefore, it is a process that produces meanings actively. In addition to place-bound memories, we have also future-oriented expectations regarding places. Karjalainen states that “a narrative identity is a Figure 3. he spring water bottles and birch bark ladle in North-Finnish Art Biennale at Gallery Valo, Arktikum, Rovaniemi 2014. Photo: Antti Stöckell. dialogue between remembered and expected places” (Karjalainen, 2006, p. 89). According to Tuan (2006), our sense of selhood is dependent on the stability of our important places. What will my important places be like in ten years? Will my narrative have the kind of continuity I wish? Within the familiarity of everyday life, places hide from us and become again visible when something changes around us As we become accustomed to the change, the place starts to have habituated meanings, which means that the place is reforming and hiding again gradually. Karjalainen calls the aforementioned experiential relationships existential moods of places. (Karjalainen, 2006). Hiking breaks the course of everyday life where days repeated very similar. However, I do not lead a set, routine everyday life where places hide like they do during work commutes or trips to grocery stores. I reminisce about trips and moments during my hikes, I travel in places of my memories. Simultaneously, I hope that terrains and places that please me will stay. Change and the passage of time are at the centre of the dialogue between remembered and expected places. Ater my Spring project had been going on for two years, I had oten visited the same springs. When observing the changes in springs and landscapes, the hiker starts to think about his own life and its changes. One of my favourite places is threatened by a mine investment plan. My visits to this region have become more frequent, and I have traveled the old camps and camp-ire places as if to collect memories to a secure depository. Artistic action in a place can be the conscious making of a change when the place becomes visible and the place-bound experience is formed through an active conscious process. Artistically orientated traveling and action are like an intervention that catalyze transitions and cycles between the moods of place. Visits to springs as a narrative project A human being produces the meaning of his or her life with narratives, and also reconstructs the meaning of life in times of changes (Hänninen, 2003). When I started this project, I pondered how to combine various areas of life and roles within this one activity. According to the concepts of narrative cycle 49 theory, these various areas and roles can be called parallel and even contradictory inner narratives where a human being interprets his or her life through narrative meanings. he interpretation can proceed through relection and inner dialogue to the awareness that it is exactly the question of narratives. Future-oriented inner narratives are called narrative projects (Hänninen, 2003). When reminiscing my spring visits and expecting and planning new ones—but especially when actually hiking—my mind voluntarily operates with inner narratives and narrative projects, articulating observations, atmospheres, experiences, meanings and constructing the conscious narrative. A narrative, in this sense, is a linguistic or visual presentation usually with a plot including a beginning, middle and end. My blog postings are oten presentations that follow the familiar plot of a narrative. Compacting a long-term artistic process into one spatial artwork is a very interesting task. I have to make many choices: what to tell, how to tell, and what to leave untold. A narrative becomes the narrative only when it has a receiver. his is also close to the Figure 4. he Coordinates of the spring, temperature of the water, map, photograph, and some experiential observation from that spring are appearing through the spring water, relecting the stratiication and wealth of the experience. “I was ishing at night. I got smoked ishes.” Photo: Antti Stöckell. idea of a dialogue. Varto describes an artwork as one address in a dialogue which is received through various senses: Artwork as an address becomes the concreter part of a dialogue the richer and equivocal it is. Varto names dimensions of dialogic conversation: When listening dialogic speech we can hear incompleteness, multisensory, bodiliness, visuality, and aspiring to form a holistic picture. (Varto, 2007, pp. 63–64) Let the pursuit of a holistic picture be enough and let the narrative remain incomplete—then, the dialogue with the artwork is the most fruitful. Indeed, this kind of project that is meant to be continuous truly is incomplete; and I refer to this with empty bottles in my installation (Figure 3). hey symbolize open endings where the narrator—in this case, the artwork—does not want to say the last word but leaves room for various and individual interpretations. he starting point of a narrative cycle is the situation formed by the entity of a human being’s life situation, including opportunities and limitations to realize narrative projects. he situation changes with action (Hänninen, 2003). he Spring project has been a meaningful process and a narrative project to me. I partly feel that I have succeeded in combining the conlicting inner narratives of my everyday life and future-oriented narrative projects based on them. My situation that is based on my life situation has not dramatically changed, but some parts of it that I earlier experienced as limitations started to appear as opportunities. he Spring project continues in my hunting, ishing, and berry picking trips, and when trekking with my family. his is how I have managed to combine the roles of a man, father and artist. In the topographical sense, I have been able to travel repeatedly in places important to me, and the dialogue of the related memories and expectations mould my narrative identity. hese experiences have enabled the change resulting from the artistic process and change-inspired narration to happen. his positive experience also motivates my teaching and research work. For example, as a supervisor of environmental and communal artistic processes, I now understand better than 51 before how people attach to the place they live in and how their action in their life situations can be inluenced by conlicting narrative projects. I also consider that this review addresses the topical question of the possibilities for art in the North. Art might also be useful as a support and a tool for processing dramatic environmental change. I am going to act through hiking art with people who are worried about the mining plans in Lapland. In the most extreme case, people lose, once and for all, places that are important to their identities. My idea is to participate in those natural chores due to which people act in places they ind important. Artistic action that pays attention to topobiography meanings and the narrative circulation can make a signiicant part of supporting the processing of changes. Art as a narrative, a narrative as a transmitter and reformer of heritage Narratives are a part of our core heritage. However, we also need new narratives in the changing world. In the narrative cycle, individual people collect elements in their inner narratives from the social stock of cultural stories and narrative models (Hänninen, 2003). he question of identity and heritage is strongly connected to this: How can we enrich our cultural stock of stories artistically so that it will provide sustainable elements for the future-oriented narrative projects of individual people and communities within the change of the Arctic area? here are numerous paths and models, and they are all diverse. Impressed by springs and the phenomenon of the water cycle, I especially think of the increasing international interest in the massive exploitation of the natural resources of Lapland. In local media readers opinions – and at times even editorials – can be found the typical comments on how “there is land for all uses in Lapland" or "you cannot live here if everything has to be protected.” In the Talvivaara mine in Sotkamo, water management failed catastrophically in 2012 when the mine dam broke and one million cubic meters of water containing chemicals lowed without puriication to surrounding water system. he consequences expanded to a wide area through the water cycle. Despite these episodes, the belief in the progressiveness of modern technology in new projects still appears strong. Interpretations about the massive exploitation of natural resources that follow the discourse of development are, however, also constructed, and socially produced structures that shape perceptions of the world. hese structures also exist in language. We speak the language but the language also speaks us. For the most part, communication consists of agreed, conventional meanings that we are not necessarily aware of or do not at least dispute, or whose contents are not negotiable (Suopajärvi, 2001). Salonen (2010), who is an expert in environmental psychology, suggests that we do not necessarily even recognize experiences that are not in accordance with the language and thinking of our culture. he struggle over the control over natural resources and land in the Arctic area and deinition of cultural rights does not only happen between various and opposite interest groups. For example, as a local inhabitant of Rovaniemi, I do recognize (in addition to my inner narratives of the typical life situation) balancing conlicting inner narratives in relation to the ways and extent of the exploitation of natural resources. In my inner narratives, I compare various prevailing discourses and narrative models. What are those narratives like that inspire people to make the socially and ecologically sustainable choices, which respect cultural heritage but also renew it? Is it possible to use art to mediate between conlicting perspectives? Artistic action pursuing a desired change should also create new language that challenges the prevailing discourses and that speaks to modern people and communities in their own life situations and life environments. his would provide a good premise for the development of narratives that renew and transmit sustainable cultural heritage. The cycle of water, narratives and energy Reviewing the cycle of water and narratives side by side has led me to contemplate the inseparable connection—or unity—between people and land and 53 how to illustrate the connection. In his ethics of land, Leopold (1999) draws a third picture of the cycle to us. Since I have been working in the ield of community art education, I am used to thinking only of communities formed by people. Instead, Leopold talks about the biotic community formed by the ground, water, lora, and fauna, and how people should be its rank and ile members. he land is an energy source, and food chains are channels of the energy cycle. Death and decomposition release energy to the ground. Leopold analyzes the dramatic role of people as the modiier of the energy cycle, for example, through erosion. When thinking of the questions of land use, it would be necessary to consider ethically and esthetically right solutions that Figure 5. Changing pictures in digital display throughout the year hikes can be seen on the bottom of rugged bucket I found at reindeer cabin’s spring. Photo: Antti Stöckell. maintain the harmony, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. An ethically sustainable relationship with the land can only be achieved by loving and respecting the land (Leopold, 1999). he ethics of land leads my thoughts back to the old beliefs in water sprites as described by Paulaharju (1922). Likewise, I think that the modern people need some kind of similar respect for springs and the land—in addition to the current multidisciplinary knowledge. Indeed, the formation of the ethically sustainable relationship with the land is, according to Leopold, both an intellectual and emotional process. he intellectual content of ethical thinking increases as it expands from an individual people to a community (Leopold, 1999). In my opinion, the progress of thinking within a community necessitates emotion-provoking narratives and the kind of narrative models which people can apply as components of their personal inner narratives.. Art has the potential to create such narratives; moreover, the community does not have just the listener’s or viewer’s position, it can also have the participant’s and narrator’s role. Spring water reveals a lot about the ground around it, about everything that has happened to the land in geological and biological processes and especially within the inluence of human action and land use. On the other hand, people’s biographical narratives are iltered through the stratiied and diverse elements of place-bound experiences. In the terrain of springs, water’s route Figure 6. Children liked to drink spring water with the birch bark ladle. "Hope clean water will be enough for them", I wrote on water bottle label of that spring. Photo: Antti Stöckell. 55 coheres with the path and narrative of a human being attached to the same terrain. What we do to the land, we do to water. What we do to the land and water, we do to human beings, ourselves and our communities. Naturally, this is mostly an analogy and a poetic metaphor that inspires the artistic process. In this connection, a spring can be called an identity symbol (Tuovinen, 1992), whereas the sacred spring of Sulaoja can be called a communal identity symbol of the Sámi. By a spring, I witness a rich and multidimensional view: simultaneously, I see the bottom through water, forest litter on the surface, and my own face in the middle of the relections of trees reaching the sky. My birch bark ladle goes through the surface tension. Fresh water revives me from the strain of hiking. he land, water, and I are the same low of energy. Let them low freely. Treasures collected and hunted in spring visits he artistic process I have described here has gone on—in life and while I have been writing this text—like a hiker or gatherer in a changing terrain. Viewpoints of various disciplines provide a rich collection of optional routes to the springs. Along the journey, I have made discoveries like a collector, and they inspire me to continue the search trip by trip. In my Spring project—the narrative project I formed due to the need for change—I have found a method that combines an artistic process as a natural part of those chores that I would do in my life anyway. I have mostly been working independently with my personal aspirations, yet having my close people participate in the process as well. he Spring project has also given new ideas to the planning of community art education, and research processes. his kind of experience can be called empowerment. I feel that I can inluence important issues. his trust has literally accumulated step-by-step, trip by trip, in a dialogue between myself, the land, water, people, and literature. Viewpoints change constantly when a hiker is on the move. A change is a prerequisite of the birth of new narratives. New narratives, for their part, support the desired change. I have deliberately put my personal artistic work and teaching and, little by little, my research in mutual dialogue. his has simply happened by explaining my experiences and listening to others’ stories. Listening is walking by someone’s side, inding a route that suites from oten conlicting options, narrative models. Understanding about the route develops step by step. here are many good routes, and our place is to be found in their crossings. If we want art to speak to us and others, people and communities, it has to have such elements for narratives that people feel they can use in their own narratives. If we want art to change the world, it also has to be used for creating a new language that challenges the established, conventional manners of speaking. However, we should do it by respectfully renewing the sustainable heritage and perhaps by revitalizing old, forgotten traditions worth cherishing. he land is not just for us. Narratives formed within the steps of past generations have formed our identities. It is our turn to transmit the message to the future generations. References Anttila, L. (1989). Ajatus ja havainto. Kirjoituksia vuosilta 1976–1987 [hought and perception. Writings from 1976-1987]. Helsinki: Kuvataideakatemia. Careri, F. (2002). Walkscapes. Walking as an aesthetic practice. Land & Scape Series. Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, SA. Hänninen, V. (2003). Sisäinen tarina, elämä ja muutos [Inner narrative, life, and change]. Acta universitatis Tamperensis 696. Tampere: University of Tampere. Hänninen, V. (2004). A Model of Narrative Circulation. Narrative Inquiry, 14(1), 69–85. Ingold, T. (2011). Being Alive. Essays on Place, Movement and Description. Oxford: Routledge. Jokela ,T. & Hiltunen, M. (2014). Pohjoiset kylät ja koulupihat taidekasvatuksen paikkoina [Northern villages and schoolyards as places of art education]. In E. K. HyryBeihammer, M. Hiltunen, & E. Estola (Eds.) Paikka ja kasvatus [Place and education] (pp. 78–106). Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. Juutinen R., Kotiaho J. (2009). Lähteikköjen luonnontilan ja sammallajiston pitkäaikais– muutokset [Long-term changes of the natural state of spring areas and swamp species]. Helsinki: Suomen ympäristökeskus. 57 Karjalainen, P. T. (1999). Tunturit maan, mielen ja kielen maisemina [Fells as the landscapes of land, mind, and language]. In T. Jokela (Ed.) Tunturi taiteen ja tieteen maisemissa [Fell in the landscapes of art and science] (pp. 18–22). Rovaniemi: University of Lapland. Karjalainen, P.T. (2006). Topobiograinen paikan tulkinta [he topobiographical interpretation of place]. In S. Knuuttila, P. Laaksonen & U. Piella (Eds.) Paikka. Eletty, kuviteltu, kerrottu [Place. Lived, imagined, narrated] (pp. 83–92). Kalevalaseuran vuosikirja 85. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. Keskitalo, A. (2006). Tien päällä ja leirissä: matkanteon kokemuksesta taideteokseksi [On the road and in the camp: from the experience of traveling into a work of art]. Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. Keskitalo, A. (2012). Kävelymetodi kuvataiteellisena ajattelumenetelmänä [he walking method as an artistic thinking method]. M. Haveri & K. Jouni (Eds.) Ihan taiteessa. Puheenvuoroja taiteen ja tutkimuksen suhteesta [Totally in art. Addresses about the relationship between art and research] (pp. 84–97) Aalto-yliopiston julkaisusarja Taide + Muotoilu + Arkkitehtuuri 5/2012. Aalto-yliopiston taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu/Taiteen laitos. Aalto ARTS Books. Korkka-Niemi, K. & Salonen, V-P. (1996). Maanalaiset vedet – pohjavesigeologian perusteet [Underground waters – the basics of ground water geology]. Vammala: Turun yliopiston täydennyskoulutuskeskus. Kortelainen, J. (1995). 24 tunnin vaellus kotikaupungissa [A 24-hour hike in the home town]. In M-H., Mantere (Ed.) Maan kuva. Kirjoituksia taiteeseen perustuvasta ympäristökasvatuksesta [he picture of land. Writings about art-based environmental education] (pp. 56–73). Helsinki: Taideteollinen korkeakoulu, taidekasvatuksen osasto. Krohn, L. (1993). Tribar: huomioita inhimillisestä ja ei-inhimillisestä [Tribar: notions of human and inhuman]. WSOY. Leopold, A. (1999). Maaetiikka [he ethics of land]. In M. Oksanen & M. Rauhala-Hayes (Eds.) Ympäristöilosoia [Environmental philosophy] (pp. 120–137). Tampere: Gaudeamus. Mälkki, E. (1999). Pohjavesi ja pohjaveden ympäristö [Ground water and the surroundings of groundwater]. Helsinki: Tammi. Paulaharju, S. (1922). Lapin muisteluksia [Memories of Lapland]. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö kirja. Relph, E. (1984). Place and placelessness. London: Pion. Salonen, K. (2010). Mielen luonto. Eko- ja ympäristöpsykologian näkökulma [he nature of mind. An eco- and environmental psychological viewpoint]. Helsinki: Greenspot. Suopajärvi, L. (2001). Vuotos- ja Ounasjoki-kamppailujen kentät ja merkitykset Lapissa [he ields and meanings of the struggles over Vuotos and Ounasjoki rivers in Lapland]. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland. Tuan, Y., F. (2006). Paikan taju: aika, paikka ja minuus [he perception of place: time, place, and selhood]. In S. Knuuttila, P. Laaksonen & U. Piella (Eds.) Paikka. Eletty, kuviteltu, kerrottu [Place. Lived, imagined, narrated]. Kalevalaseuran vuosikirja 85 (pp. 15–30). Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. Tuovinen, P. (1992). Ympäristökuva ja symboliikka. Ympäristökuvan ja siihen liittyvien merkitysten analyysimetodiikasta [he environmental picture and symbolism. On the analyzing method of the environmental picture and related meanings]. Yhdyskuntasuunnittelun täydennyskoulutuskeskus. Teknillinen korkeakoulu. Espoo. Varto, J. (2006). Seuraava askel – nykytaiteen viesti kuvataidekasvatukselle [he next step – the message from modern art to art education]. In K. Kettunen, M. Hiltunen, S. Laitinen & M. Rastas (Eds.) Kuvien keskellä. Kuvataideopettajaliitto 100 vuotta [In the middle of pictures. he Union of Art Education Teachers 100 years] (pp. 149–157). Helsinki: Like. ----------Blog: www.tuohilippi.blogspot.com 59 CONTEMPORARY DUODJI a personal experience in understanding traditions Gunvor Guttorm Sámi University College, Norway Introduction his article is the result of duodji1 development project that started in the autumn of 2013 and inished in the spring of 2014. he aim of the article is to show how indigenous peoples use diferent relationships as a springboard for the creative process. he name of the development work, and its outcome, an installation, is Iešvuođat ja iešdovddut (characteristics and identity). I study how contemporary duodji can be contemplated as personal experience in what it means to duddjot (create duodji). Additionally I use another Indigenous woman’s sculpture, Diane Reynas’ he Crossing, 2008 as reference to my own piece (see Figure 3) (Lamar, Racette, & Evans, 2010, p. 16). I approach the project from a duojár/ artists perspective, in this case me. My research question in this article is; how can personal experience in a Sámi context be a crucial key for the artistic process? his development project was my way of exploring what I remember about women close to me, the ones that went to their neighbour and brought their tendon thread, the twine they were braiding or knitting. I highlight the everyday conditions and all the work the women did. But I also bring the meditative side to this, because they also had small breaks where they only analysed and sat in their own thoughts. My main argument and claim is that if we want to have duodji as a discipline in higher education and research, we need to use the content of duodji itself and the way it works in society as a basis. his article is the result of duodji development project that started in the autumn of 2013 and inished in the spring of 2014. he name of the development work, and its outcome, an installation, is Iešvuođat ja iešdovddut (characteristics and identity) (Hansen/Snarby/Tangen/Tingvoll 2014) (see Figure 3). he work was part of University of Tromsø – he Arctic University of Norway`s project called Čáppatvuohta ja duohtavuohta (Beauty and Truth). An exhibition with the same name was held in Tromsø Kunstforening/Tromsø artassociation 25.08.2014 – 26.10.2014. In addition, a book with the same 1 Duodji is a Sámi word, and the concept is artistic work that has its starting point in everyday handcraft. 61 name as the project was published (Hansen/Snarby/Tangen/Tingvoll, 2014). Later, my duodji has also been shown at the Relate North 2014 exhibition at Riddo Duottarmmuseas/Gilišiljus Guovdageaidnu in November 2014. Is it possible to talk about traditional and contemporary duodji at the same time? Is it two diferent issues, or are they intertwined? In the contemporary world, the opinions about duodji will be complex. As in all other artistic activities, understanding of duodji changes over time and this makes a dynamic interpretation of duodji as a creative process. In this article I study how contemporary duodji can be contemplated as personal experience in what it means to duddjot (create duodji). I approach the project from a duojár/ artists perspective, in this case me. I use a theoretical framework that emphasises ‘knowing from the inside’ (see Ingold, 2012). I will examine this by using two empirical sources; my own production of duodji, and another indigenous artist's work. he aim of the article is to show how indigenous peoples use diferent relationships as a springboard for the creative process. My research question in this article is; how can personal experience in a sámi context be a crucial key for the artistic process? he empirical source is twofold. Firstly my own artistic practice is used, this could be called the inside perspective. In the personal experiences the Sámi and personal experience is the ground. When the researcher has been both the maker of duodji and the person who discuss own cultural environment and personal experience, the analysis are within theoretical frameworks that emphasise to know from the inside (see Ingold, 2012). Secondly, as a further inspiration for my own artistic development, I chose another indigenous artist's work and her relationships to a speciic area and culture. he article is divided into three parts: irst I present what duodji and duddjon has meant in previous times and what it means today, as I see it. Furthermore, I discuss what duodji as a creative expression means in a broader discourse. hen I present the project, and lastly an analysis of the project. In my own duodji/art process I have used the sources from other indigenous women in the world, what they have thought about their own duodji/art development work (Lamar, Racette & Evans, 2010), and what I have myself experi- enced in the subject of duodji, and how these meetings have given me inspiration to make duodji, and put this in theoretical frames. The Sámi perspective in duodji research In duodji research the aim is not to ind the truth (and you can ask if its even possible to ind one truth), but to translate and understand diferent phenomenon, from the Sámi point of view. Here we can ind a parallel with other indigenous research discussions, where the indigenous voice is needed. By using the Sámi word duodji instead of handicrat or art, I mean we have already assumed a Sámi approach – which involves irst of all going to the source itself (here duodji). By using the term duodji we also launch a discussion on how the term itself was used in the past and the links it has to the contemporary world. My main argument and claim is that if we want to have duodji as a discipline in higher education and research, we need to use the content of duodji itself and the way it works in society as a basis. he building of indigenous knowledge in general deals with such questions as who “owns” knowledge, who uses it and what kind of knowledge is valid. his is a common indigenous challenge that has been elaborated by many indigenous scholars working within the indigenous paradigm (see Balto, 2008; Kuokkanen, 2009; Wilson, 2008 & Porsanger, 2007). In that sense, duodji is one of the narratives in many parallel art stories. his is part of the integration of higher indigenous education and research. Duodji in previous times and today’s praxis In Sámi society artists working with duodji and art have been concerned about Sámi identity issues. Many relate the making of duodji itself with building up Sámi identity today, when duodji in a way is tied to Sámi living and life, that includes both the praxis in diferent levels and personal relations. We can say duodji is all forms of creative expression that require human thought and production, but it cannot automatically be translated to art . In the Sámi language another term dáidda is used that easily can be translated as art. During the Sámi awakening and movement of the 1970s, artists felt a need 63 to join together and ind a proper name for their occupation; as a result, the words dáiddár (artist) and dáidda (art) began to be used. he concept of duodji is used to describe a speciic work that is created by hand and anchored in a Sámi activity and reality (Guttorm, 2010; Dunjeld 2001, see also Sameslöjdstitelsen, 2006). Many objects of duodji carry in them knowledge about the past, they explain people´s relationships to each other, about crating skills and aesthetic sense. Further, the duddjon (the production) relects the knowledge of time, nature and place (Guttorm, 2010). It has also had, and still has, spiritual signiicance and values (Dunjeld, 2001). With regard to árbevierru (tradition), we can see that there are both ethical and moral aspects involved, and the traditions may be ideological or spiritual, and they may be institutional or object traditions; in all these forms of tradition, knowledge is handed down. In árbediehtu there is a spiritual dimension. Grete Gunn Bergstrøm argues that the distinction between traditional local knowledge and traditional indigenous knowledge is precisely a question of emphasis on the spiritual dimension of traditional indigenous knowledge (Bergstrøm, 2001). his means when scholars discuss indigenous traditional knowledge, they also emphasize the spiritual part. Elina Helander-Renvall writes that there is no separation between the physical and spiritual worlds according to the holistic thinking of the Sámi (Helander-Renvall, 2010, p. 45). She claims that reindeer herding culture is animistic in the sense that there are no clear borders between spirit and matter (Helander-Renvall, 2010, p. 44). his spiritual aspect is not necessarily tied to a particular religion, nor a question of faith, but more on how a human being relates her/himself to life and oten nature, and how the human is both a rational and emotional body (with morals, ethics and beliefs). When I talk about spirituality here, it is within the idea that a person has a contemplative approach to life. When duodji had to fulil the needs of everyday life, it was important to be able to obtain materials and to repair and design the item and to use it. Reuse is part of duodji. I can remember from my childhood that when a couple skinshoes were worn out, we took care of the parts of the shoes that were intact, and they were fully processed pieces that could be used for new shoes. In that way, the shoemaking and manufacturing process was simpliied. A duojár (a cratsman/woman) is expected to have knowledge that is common for the Sámi population, or sections of it. he traditions in duodji are oten regarded as common Sámi knowledge, even if the concept is common, or collective, it does not always mean that every single person embodies the knowledge. On the other hand, a duojár can also have liberated him/herself from the local tradition; in that case, he/she helps create a new understanding of both duodji and what it means to be a duojár. We see this in current institutionalized duodji practice, where the individual experience is crucial (Guttorm, 2010). he challenge is to ind avenues to convey essential parts of the traditional skills and knowledge and develop new platforms for knowledge and creativity. It follows therefore that duojárat work more individually and conceptually. Contemporary duodji in a wider perspective? Is it then possible to look at the current duodji from a conceptual perspective? Yes, I would argue, but we will ind many examples of the idea-based handicrats that are based on existing forms and materials. It is possible to talk about conceptual duodji in contexts of works with a certain concept, instead of working with shapes or materials, but it does not mean that it is not valued. Conceptual duodji can be compared with the discussion found in conceptual art and crat. he contents of the concept is the story teller, and so the story tellers part and meaning is the main part, and less importance is put on the formal side of the piece (Veiteberg, 2005, p. 9). Veiteberg means that the content and practise of art is very open, and she asks if the meaning of the art practice has been ‘hollowed out’, so that everything can be itted into the art content. Veiteberg’s main point is to look at what position crat has, and then follow the crat between the design and the art. he concept of arts and crats, must be considered as part of the everyday life, and not separated from it, says Bull (2007, p. 37). Knut Astrup Bull has seen that crats lately have become more relective. Along with relectiveness, the artist participates in a speciic discussion. But as 65 Astrup writes, you cannot through conceptual crats reach what used to be the most important thing with crats, the material and looks; instead the idea or the concept becomes more important (Bull, 2007, p. 63). However, the distinction between conceptual duodji and conceptual crats, is maybe that the technique and material is emphasized in duodji. The everyday life Everyday life, or when life is passing by, in phenomenology, represents “a natural” life and status, and we quietly accept it (Halvorsen, 2005, p. 8). It may also be understood as the world of life. he world of life is experienced living, as we live it. he world of life is pre-relexive and pre-scientiic, and therefore the science has a need for it (Bengtsson, 2011, p. 46). he science is abstracting the world of life, and trying to make it understandable for the mind, but at the same time it is moving away from how we understand the world of life through experiences. Making the Iešvuođat ja Iešdovddut When I was making the Iešvuođat ja iešdovddut installation, I considered which perspectives I wanted to highlight, and I used a phenomenological approach in a broad sense. We exist with our own possibilities, and use all our senses when we use our entire body to receive it (Halvorsen, 2008, p. 10). My irst idea was that the origin of duodji is from the needs of our everyday life. Everyday life cannot only be understood as material subsistence, it is also how a person in everyday life inds time to take a break and relax. Even though we know that it is possible to buy most objects today, people continue to create for themselves. But subsistence can also be understood in the way that the person should manage himself, to be able to take breaks and to relax. When viewing duodji in this perspective, the demands and results from the outside world, that the duojár or the artist needs, that are also visible, and then the duojár´s inner need to relax and to ind her-/himself. his was especially the case for Sámi women, who have a big responsibility for the household and the children’s upbringing. We exist with our own possibilities, and we use all our senses when we use our entire body to receive it (Halvorsen, 2008, p. 10). When I look at what everyday duodji is, I have to re-consider some of the phenomenon. I look at what is made, but at the same time I have to interpret those sides that are invisible, but possible to notice. With a phenomenological spirit I notice the sides in duodji that emerge from hands moving, inspection, and with a sound. From there, following the process of the duodji, where I study how I have solved a duodji idea. I have studied how our mothers and grandmothers managed to balance between all kind of responsibilities, and at the same time had time for duodji, oten because there was a need for it. And I also believe that when they could sit down to knit, sew or make something, they also had a chance to rest and found a place for themselves. Iešvuođat and iešdovddut is my way of exploring what I remember of the women close to me. Here I have created physical art work (ie an installation) (see Figure 3). To reach a certain goal, I opened my own body to the world and in that way obtained pre-understanding, as the phenomenological approach method advices. When participating with an open mind, then it is also possible to understand these phenomena that are being studied (see Halvorsen, 2007, p. 138–152). It has two sides, duodji/art work and relections or studies. he duodji is made for the exhibitions, and the relections and studies for the research. I have used the handknitting as the technique, which is a slow way of making by hand. he knitting I have combined with fabricated objects, which are used bottles that I found or bought in the second hand store. he bottles were made for a speciic function, but I gave them a new identity and the bottles are transformed and become something else. he transformation that I could see in Diane Reynas’ art he Crossing (Lamar, Racette, & Evans, 2010, p. 16). I used as a starting point in my own work and designed it again. 67 Relaxation from everyday life My late mother knitted a lot, and she taught me how to knit. My mother had nine children and had a busy everyday life, when she had to do the chores in the barn, ix and wash the clothes and maintain the hoard of children. When she sat down to knit, she always seemed to be so peaceful, even when she knitted while she was waiting for the soup to boil. But in between, she only knitted when she had a break. She used to whistle and look at the knitting, sometimes she pulled a thread so it became easier to knit, and the knitting sticks made a clicking sound. When she was knitting something complicated, she didn’t whistle, but looked so it stayed straight. In that moment she was knitting, or all her body encountered with knitting. When you relect on duodji, I can see the depth in it. In those moments when the duojár is in a kind of contemplative state of mind, she or he has also reached a stage in the making that can heal. Women like my mother, who had a crat as part of their daily chores, had their altars at the kitchen table, where they could get a moment of deep concentration and contemplation. Gloria J. Emerson writes that working with art can be healing, and when making art, then you move in both linear and non-linear ways (Emerson, 2010, p. 18). She is discussing the relationship between traditional healing ceremonies and healing by art work in her culture that is Diné, Hiprock, New Mexico. She emphasizes that art is not the same as a traditional healing ceremony, because those rituals have certain rules and whole villages, families and people are participating. She uses herself as an example and says that an artist is alone when healing by art. She goes to her lands’ sacred places, to get strength before she goes back to her “kitchen studio” (Emerson, 2010, p. 19). Traditional ceremonies might have special healing places where they gather during the ceremony; Emerson calls it the healing altar (Emerson, 2010, p. 20). Nowadays she can see that a lot of female artists in their area have their kitchen table as a healing altar (a table where they make art). She might not sit down by the kitchen table to heal, but when she igures out an artistic knot, and when that is solved, she feels healed (Emerson, 2010, p. 21). here you can see the diference between a traditional healing ceremony and artistic work, where the artist her-/himself makes her/his own story and goes deeper into the work. Diane Reynas reference piece Diane Reyna’s idea is that a person travels between her homeland and the world outside in a physical way, but the duojár/artist also inds her-/himself in a non-physical world, and I tried to bring that thought into my own work. Reyna searched for her belonging in places, and what she shows with materials and work methods, and I am trying to do that in my work as well. When you put together all these pieces, I created my own installations. Diane Reynas has a sculpture that she calls he Crossing, 2008 (see Lamar, Racette, & Evans, 2010, p. 16), and it is in the project Art in Our Lives. She writes about her own art: “his piece is about the transitional moment when I cross into Pueblo society” (Lamar, Racette & Evans, 2010, p. 16). In the city movement, the values that exist there, where she is a part, in life at the reserve and it’s values and where she also is a part. Diane Reynas sculpture’s basic concept was how she moved between her own home Pueblo country, Taos, which is her native home, and Santa Fe where she also lives and works, but views that as the outside world compared to the reserve where she feels as home. Her art concept starts from the movement she experienced in reality. Her movement is strictly tied to her physical memory, because from her childhood she remembers a roadblock that would stop cattle from crossing certain roads. She used time to igure our what the roadblocks for the cows where like, she tried to ind her own way to express her idea of what kind of physical border there is between Taos and the outside world (Evans, 2010, p. 83). And then she had to decide how she was going to present her story; she examined which materials existed in Taos, her homeland, and what she consider as materials from the outside world (separated from what she felt as her homeland), and that material was a stone that she found. As she says: 69 I think the best part of this piece was traveling to Taos to get the read willow, because the name of Taos is “Red Willow Place”. So I went to Taos to get red willow, and I went with my seventeen –year –old nice to my sister´s land and collected them.hat was the highlight of the piece. I´m very happy that I was able to abstract the concept of the moment of crossing. (Evans, 2010, p. 83) Diane Reyna attracted me on many levels. here are some parts that she highlighted in her own duodji; she uses materials that describe her belonging to certain areas. Red osier trees are not only chosen because they belong to a special area, but because she can get them, due to her social connection (sister and niece). In addition their sacred lakes water these trees. Another part that she highlighted in her work is the distance between her irst home and the place that she also has a connection to, outside the reserve. Her crossing is not only connected to real a crossing, but because she has to live in many realities, as I understand her work. Motion What does it mean to relect on the motion? We meet with our whole bodies new people, and we gain new experiences. Our parent’s generation and our generation’s habits to move are very diferent. hey might have been moving in a smaller area, visiting their neighbours, between winter-, spring-, autumnand summer settlements. heir “studios” or creative rooms were mobile. To day we oten have special studios where we work. But to better understand this mobile workshop, I chose knitting, because knitting you can take along with you anywhere, when you are travelling. My duodje table, or with Emerson’s words, healing altar can be the place where I am for the moment. When Emerson talks about motion, it can, as I understand it be on the mental level. Being here and now is the actual sitting, walking or standing and knitting, while memorizing own experiences and interpret it in the present through the creative process, is a circling movement. When I use the healing term here, then I mean that you can add a feeling that goes deeper inside through the making, even though you may have a practical purpose with it. Before this project I had knitted cases for bottles. Early in the process, I decided that the bottles should have caps, or hats, and for that I used antlers, with some wooden letovers. To be able to it these this pieces together I needed to stay in one place, in the duodji workshop. Figure 1. I looked for a work method that collects thoughts and a task where I could have my lap as the work place, but at the same time ind a work that can encounter with the duodji. Photo: Author. The meaning of the materials combined with readymades As mentioned earlier, materials play a key role in duodji today, even if the art piece is a result of an idea development. In this project I wanted to use materials that we throw away. As I wrote before, I have knitted a lot before, and had lots of balls of yarn that I had collected, in diferent colours and thickness. Some yarns I had kept for years, but I also got balls of yarn from people that had the same collections as I had. For that I collected bottles with diferent shapes, I made cases for them and gave them a new look. I was either given 71 the bottles or bought them in a grocery store. he bottles where transparent, and to colour them or give them their own character, I used diferent knitting decorations. I also used antler, tree and other material letovers from my duodji workshop. But now it should be linked with my knitting, with what should function as a cap or a hat, and what I see as my journey in the result of Iešvuođat ja iešdovddut. Figure 2. Two diferent bottles in the Iešdovddut ja iešvuođat installation, the cases has diferent colours and the knitting technique is diferent. he cap of the bottle to the let is from birch tree burl and antler. he cap on the one to the right is made of antler and plexiglass. Photo: Author. here are 16 diferent shapes that could easily manage on their own, but together they work as a group. I can add one, or remove another, the thought is not that all those 16 bottles are specially chosen. Knitting, ready made objects, antler- and tree letovers function both together and as opposites. Ready shapes, as the bottles that are made in fabrics and are mass produced, and spread all over the world. he production of the bottles is very diferent to how duodji is made, where the cratsman designs, gets the materials and makes it from the beginning to the end, as long as it hand made, then one duodji piece never looks the same as another duodji piece. Figure 3. Iešvuođat ja iešdovddut II. Photo: Author. Knitting might be something that we see as very ordinary in everyday life and knitting is an activity for many. But knitting by hand still has a part that gives a contemplative feeling to the knitter. With my own knitting, I hypothesise that knitting ofers a possibility for people to rest for a moment in the everyday life. A speciic job or what lits a person in their work. he pieces of antler that I used, are both crooked and not compact and they behave diferent when you polish them, crooked antlers get smooth and the less solid antlers get rugged. hat gives the ideas of contrasts. Discussion Many indigenous people’s artists have used idea-based duodji when they have discussed indigenous people’s positions in their experiences in the changing world. In particular the identity questions in artistic processes and outcomes are visible (McMaster, 1998, p. 20). So one can say that the content of an idea can be based on the place that is considered as ones "home place", or the community (Lamar, Racette & Evans, 2010). he present cultural expressions of indigenous people begin from personal experiences and a desire to articulate a cultural self-esteem through products or through the manifestation of personal experiences and forms. 73 Indigenous communities are not homogeneous, and each individual’s feeling of belonging changes in the same way as the situations of people constantly vary in the world. Duodji, as academic subject has historically oten been part of anthropological, ethnological, or in art discussion, but now it is part of the Sámi research. While duodji has been framed within these disciplines, duodji practice has taken place in many of the sámi societies. Practitioners have eventually been afected by the current discussions in duodji, and today we see that we are talking about duodji and can have completely diferent connotations. We have a body that decides how we view the world. With hand making that is very important, but is not only about that fact that we see something and that our skills are embodied in us. It is also the fact of how we can exist in the world while we are there, as Mikkel Tin puts it (Tin, 2011, p. 41). Even though I did not specially work with the traditional concepts in this project, I approached it anyway when I ask what “a sámi everyday life” is. My idea was to catch the contemplative moment that ordinary knitting can carry, by trying to remember in which situations where my own mother was knitting, and by knitting my self in diferent situations and diferent places. hen, on the other hand, I also discuss what it does mean to be in motion, and what it makes with people. Not every one would say that I am continuing the duodj tradition, and that is also true, even though I use techniques and materials that are familiar in traditional duodji. To regard duodji nothing else than cratsmanship is strongly rooted in the distinction between art and not art. I claim that it is possible to compare duodji with what today is called conceptual duodji art, that it is the meaning of the process that counts. I mean that much of contemporary duodji does not have a clear useful goal, but the purpose of the creative action is to take part of the ongoing current conversation. But on the other hand, especially on the Swedish side of Sápmi, the idea of the technique and materials are still the starting point. To approach duodji as conceptual duodji, you have to take the materials and techniques into the consideration because it is rooted so deeply in duodji. But in a wider perspective, and especially when we talk about duodji as an artistic development subjects and activity, it is necessary to reorient this perspective. he belonging and identity from an indigenous point of view are themes that emerge in contemporary works, and have been so for a while, and duodji is part of this. Reynas sculpture is an example on how today´s indigenous artists question and investigate belonging and identity in their artistic work. he theme has been popular for a longer period, but even though you cannot say that the theme is studied by the same method now as before. Visual approach methods do not necessary have to include “sámi features”, but approaches are idea-based, and the results can be ambiguous. In that sense indigenous people contribute with their experience and expressions to the global aesthetic expression and experience. Duodji artists do not live in a vacuum, where you can see a timeline from the past to the present without being inluenced by the world around you, but to present their experience with a standpoint grown from traditions. References Bergstrøm, G., G. (2001). Tradisjonell kunnskap og samisk modernitet en studie av vilkår for tillegnelse av tradisjonell kunnskap i en moderne samisk samfunnskontekst. Hovedoppgave i samfunnsvitenskap. [Hovedoppgave]. Tromsø: Universitetet i Tromsø. Bull, K., A. (2007). En ny diskurs for kunsthåndverket. En bok om det nye konseptuelle kunsthåndverket. Oslo: Unipax. Bull, K., A. (n.d.). Hverdagsvirkeligheten som estetisk arena – kunsthåndverkets kritikk av billedkunsten. Retrieved from http://www.everydaylife.no/pdf/seminar/bull.pdf Emerson, G., J. (2010). Art as Healing, Art as Struggle. In C., C. Lamar, S. F. Racette, & L. Evans (Eds.) Art in Our Lives – Native Women Artists in Dialogue. (pp. 17–26). Santa Fe: Sar Press. Dunjeld, M. (2001). Tjaalehtjimmie - Form og innhold i sørsamisk ornamentikk. Avhandling for dr.art.-graden. Tromsø: Universitetet i Tromsø. Evans, L. (2010). Crossing the Boundaries of Home and Art. In C., C. Lamar, S. F. Racette, & L. Evans (Eds.) Art in Our Lives – Native Women Artists in Dialogue (pp. 71–95). Santa Fe: Sar Press. Guttorm, G. (2010). Duodjáris duojárat – Duddjon ealiha duodgejdigáštallama- Artihkka lčoakkaldat. Kárášjohka: Davvi girji. 75 Kuokkanen, R. (2009). Boaris dego Eana Eamiálbmogiid diehtu, ilosoiijat ja dutkan. Kárášjohka: ČálliidLágádus. Halvorsen, E. M. (2005). Forskning gjennom skapende arbeid? Et fenomenologisk- hermeneutisk utgangspunkt for en drøting av kunstfaglig FOU-arbeid. HiT skrit nr 5/2005. Porsgrunn: Høgskolen i Telemark. Halvorsen, E. M. (2007). Kunstfaglig og pedagogisk FOU Nærhet distance dokumentasjon. Kristiansand: Høyskoleforlaget. Hansen, H. H, Snarby I., Tangen, L., Magne & Tingvoll, T. (2014: Čáppatvuohta ja duohtavuohta – Beauty and Truth. Tromsø: Orkana Akademiske. Helander-Renvall, E. (2010). Animism, personhood and the nature of reality: Sámi perspectives. Polar Record 46 (236) (pp. 44–56). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ingold, T. (2012). Making Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture. London: Routledge. Lamar, C. C. Racette S, F. & Evans, L. (2010). Art in Our Lives – Native Women Artists in Dialogue. Santa Fe: Sar Press McMaster (1998). Reservation X.he Power of Place in Aboriginal Contemporary Art. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilization. Porsanger, J. (2007). Bassejoga čáhci. Gáldut nuortasámiid eamioskkoldaga birra álgoálbmotmetodologiijaid olis. Karasjohka: Davvi Girji. Sameslöjdstitelsen. (2006). DuodjiÁrbiArvet – Handicrat in the Sami Culture. Luleå: Luleå Graiska. Veiteberg, J. (2005). Kunsthandverk Frå tause ting til talande objekt. Oslo: Pax Forlag A/S. Wilson, S. (2008). Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods Halifax, N.S.: Fernwood Publ. 77 REFLECTIONS OF THE PAST: A meeting between Sámi cultural heritage and contemporary Finnish Sámi Tuija Hautala-Hirvioja University of Lapland, Finland Introduction he Sámi are an indigenous people that live in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. his group and the Greenlandic Inuit are the only groups recognized as indigenous peoples in the European Union. he Sámi, numbering about 76,000–110,000 altogether, are in the minority in all four countries (Valkonen & Valkonen, 2013, pp. 2–3; Rensujef, 2011, p. 20). heir language is of vital importance for the existence of the Sámi culture. According to UNESCO’s classiication, all the Sámi languages in Finland are endangered; Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi are severely endangered. here are more than 2,000 North Sámi speakers in Finland, about 300 speakers each of Inari and Skolt Sámi. Two important features related to Sámi culture are handicrats, duodji, and the Sámi costume, gákti. Sámi music, yoik and leudd, and oral stories are also considered criteria for the identiication of Sámi people. (Rensujef, 2011, p.21 & 61; Lehtola, 1997, pp. 10–12). In this article, I discuss the importance of history and cultural heritage for contemporary Finnish Sámi art. he aim is to answer the question: How and why did Sámi traditional aesthetic, ancient mythology and early ine art inluence Finnish Sámi art during the last few decades? My research methodology is based on art history, especially E.H. Gombrich’s ideas that there is no innocent eye and that all representation is based on conventions (Gombrich 1991, p. 21). I also use ideas based on indigenous research methodologies, which appeared in academic writing in the late 1990s. hese methodologies are centred on relationships, e.g., the relationships of individuals within a family, a place and a community. I do not use a strict approach in my analysis, because the aim is also to allow the Sámi art speak with its own voice (Helander & Kailo, 1999, pp. 11–27; Seurujärvi-Kari, 2011a, pp. 31–40). More than 60% of the Finnish Sámi live in cities outside the Sámi domicile area, which comprises the municipalities of Enontekiö, Inari and Utsjoki, as well as the northern part of Sodankylä, and carry on modern professions and livelihoods. he challenge is to preserve the connections to the Sámi domicile area and culture. he family and relatives play an important role in strengthening Sami identity (Valkonen, 2009, p. 19; Lehtola, 1997, p. 8; Seurujärvi-Kari, 79 2013, p. 58). herefore, it is important to place artists in Sámi culture and understand their relationships with family and community. At irst, I study the art made by the Sámi pioneers, because they were a link from duodji to contemporary Sámi art. Next, I introduce the Masi Group, which worked from 1978 to 1983 in Norway. he group had an important role in developing Sámi art, and some members are still active in the art ield. Last, I analyse contemporary Sámi art in Finland and its relationship to Sámi heritage. In Finland, there are 12–14 Sámi artists, and among them I selected four: NilsAslak Valkepää, Tuula-Maija Magga-Hetta, Outi Pieski and Suohpanterror. Rauna Kuokkanen wrote about mental colonisation: people learn what others are thinking about them and adopt these, oten stereotypic, ideas (Kuokkanen, 1999, p. 97). Because the artists represent diferent generations, they grew up in diferent cultural atmospheres with diferent backgrounds. he International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169, which dealt with the rights of indigenous peoples, resolved in 1989 to safeguard the preservation of indigenous peoples’ languages and cultures. he Finnish State recognized the Sámi as an indigenous people in 1995 but has not ratiied the ILO convention (Rensujef, 2011, pp. 24–25). he convention has led to strong debates and political movements in Finland. he key questions of the debates are: What is to be Sámi? Who is Sámi, and who belongs to an indigenous people? (Valkonen & Valkonen, 2013, pp. 2–3). his is another reason to investigate the artists’ position in Sami culture. Hunting, ishing and reindeer herding have historically been the basis of Sámi culture. However, Sámi people today work in various ields of society. Traditionally, Sámi aesthetics and sense of beauty were joined with practicality and expressed in handicrat, duodji, which was irmly connected with the sphere of life and livelihoods. Similar handicrat is again practiced as hundreds of years ago, but the signiicance of duodji as a special Sámi cultural feature has increased. here was no word for this in Western art, and the word dáidda was established as part of the Sámi language as late as the 1970s. his new term borrowed from the Finnish taide (art) and linked it with the Sámi word dáiddu (knowledge/sense). Dáidda includes the diferent ields of visual arts, literature, theatre, dance, cinema and music. (Kjellström, 1981, pp. 8–10; Seurujärvi-Kari, 2011b, pp. 298–299 & 314; Magga, 2010, p. 3; Storm & Isaksen, 2014, p.91; Lehtola. 1997, p. 116; Snarby 2014, p. 16). The pioneers of Sámi art Johan Turi (1854–1936), Nils Nilsson Skum (1872–1951) and John Savio (1902–1938) were the irst widely-known Sámi artists. Sometimes Iver Jåks (1932–2007) also accompanied the early stages of Sámi art. heir works of art are the important examples and inluenced the art of subsequent generations. he publicity they received was contemporary with the Nordic governments’ active assimilation or isolation policy, but also with the Sámi people’s awakening and becoming active. Artistic work and political activity supported each other. If Sámi issues had not been discussed, neither would art have been discussed. It was important to the Sámi for their art to become more prominent and widely known. Art increased the Sámi people’s feelings of solidarity, creating and strengthening their identity. It also became clear that the Sámi were not a primitive relic but a people capable of producing culture and art, who had the right to existence and a language of their own. (HautalaHirvioja, 2014, p. 37). Turi and Skum became famous through their books. Both artists’ roots were in Norway, but because of a border conlict between Norway and Russia in 1852, their families were forced to move to Sweden. Turi and Skum drew and wrote to pass on the traditional knowledge of their people to succeeding generations. hey also wanted to introduce Sámi life and culture to non-Sámi people. One typical feature of their work is that they depicted Sáminess in a realistic way. In Turi and Skum’s work, both the documentation of community life and their personal expression were strongly present and equally important. For this reason, their pictures and texts have both practical and aesthetic dimensions. hey did not attend school and were self-taught artists. (Bergmann, 2009, p. 63; Hautala-Hirvioja, 2014, p. 12; Lehtola, 1997, pp. 116–117). Turi’s book Muitalus sámiid birra (An Account of the Sámi) was published 81 in Denmark in 1910. he book is unique. It is the irst nonreligious book written in the Sámi language by a Sámi person and based on the centuries-old Sámi narrative tradition. he text is complemented by a set of pictures drawn by Turi. He wanted to show in his pictures all the essential things concerning Sámi people’s living conditions and cosmology. His aim was to depict the true nature of things in his pictures by combining diferent areas of life into a single picture. He depicts events simply but precisely and as simultaneously as possible in a manner that is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian reliefs and early northern rock art. (Seurujärvi-Kari, 2011b, p. 314; Lehtola, 1997, p. 116; Hautala-Hirvioja, 2014, p. 16). In 1934, at the age of 62, Skum gave up his reindeer. It was time to draw. He recalled reindeer husbandry during the years of his youth and adulthood, and recorded his experiences and knowledge of reindeer and reindeer herding. He wanted to preserve and pass on this knowledge to younger people. Skum made 98 drawings depicting reindeer herding during the diferent seasons. Skum’s book Same sita – Lappbyn (Lapp Village) published in 1938 as part of the Nordic Museum’s ACTA LAPPONICA 2 Series. (Burman, 2009, p. 275 & 277; Manker, 1971, p. 158; Hautala-Hirvioja 2014, pp. 20–22). he irst trained Sámi artists were the Norwegians John Savio and Iver Jåks. hey depicted what they saw and experienced from an individual viewpoint. hey also bore witness to the modernization of Sáminess. he roots of their art were in old Sámi culture, as well as in modern Western visual arts. he tension and harmony between the two diferent traditions gave a characteristic and versatile nature to Savio and Jåks’ art. Traditions—the traditional way of life, old spirituality and oral stories—were sources of inspiration for them (Solbakk, 2006, p. 144). heir work provided an important model, especially for the Sámi visual artists of the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as for the Masi Group and Nils-Aslak Valkeapää. Savio was born in Bugöyjord on the shore of Varangerjord in Finnmark, but spent his early years in Kirkenes. He was descended from Kven and Sámi people. His parents died in 1905, and his maternal grandparents took care of him and paid for his schooling. In autumn 1920, Savio moved to complete the upper secondary school at private school. At the same time, he made drawings in day and evening classes in the State College of Crats and Design. He became familiar with woodcuts but learnt woodcut on his own (Moksnes Gjelsvik, 2012, pp. 12–13, 26 & 29; Rasmussen, 2006, pp. 29–30; HautalaHirvioja, 2014, pp. 22–23). His woodcuts depicted Sámi people, landscapes, northern villages and seaports. he composition is clear, and as they are black and white, their atmospheres are efective. His landscapes are dynamic. His way of expression contains features of impressionistic momentariness and expressionistic emotions. He contracted tuberculosis and died at the age of 36 (Moksnes Gjelsvik, 2012, p. 144; Hautala-Hirvioja, 2014, pp. 24–27). Jåks´ family lived in Karasjok and was a reindeer herder family. Jåks learnt duodji in his early childhood. In the 1950s, he trained as a visual artist and silversmith in Oslo and Copenhagen. Ater he returned to Karasjok, he worked as a duodji teacher before becoming a full-time artist. Although Jåks had studied Western art, duodji remained an important part of his artistic roots. His drawings and graphic works linked Sámi cosmology and Christian theology (Snarby, 2014, pp. 17–21; Lundström, 2015, p. 9). He used traditional knowledge of spiritual aspects of Sámi mythology, as well as of Sámi history, and the ecological mindset of the Sámi people. His sculpture Silently the thought turns (1998) has a strong link with material based on duodji. It also has references to the sieidis, which were regarded as being holy in the old Sámi culture. Jåks was a bridge builder between duodji and modernism (Snarby, 2014, pp. 17–21; Bergmann, 2009, pp. 112–114; Lundström, 2014, p. 101). The Masi Group: A founder of modern Sámi visual art At the end of the 1970s, the Sámi artist group called the Masi Group (or the Maze group, Máze joavku in Sámi) was founded. In autumn 1978, two young artists, Synnove Persen and Aage Gaup, arrived from Oslo in Masi, a small Sami village, and started to work with local Trygeve Lund Guttormsen. Later, Josef Halse, Bert Marit Haetta, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Rannveig Persen and Britta Marakatt arrived in Masi. he Masi Group was formed because they 83 were both Sámi and artists, and they needed studios ater graduating. hey were proud to be Sámi. One goal of the artist group was to redeine the Sámi identity, which at the time was full of stereotypes. he Masi Group is regarded as the beginning of modern Sámi art. (Bergmann, 2009, p. 88; Lehtola, 2014, p. 127; Gullickson, 2014, p. 13). Active participation of the artists in the Sámi ethno-political movement was something new. In their art work, nature was strongly tied to political meanings regarding the protection of Sámi lands and waters. he Masi Group took an active role in the battle of protecting the Alta-Kautokeino waters. he ight concerning the damming of the River Alta culminated during the years 1979–1981 in hunger strikes and demonstrations. At the same time, in autumn 1979 the artists formed the Sámi art association, Sámi Dáiddacehpiid Searvi. It took place in Finland at Nils-Aslak Valkepää’s home in Pätikkä, which is located on the road between Kaaresuvanto and Kilpisjärvi (Gullickson 2014, p. 13; Lehtola, 2014, pp. 128–129; Lundström, 2014, pp. 102–103). In January 1981, the Alta dispute ended; a police operation cleared the area, and dam construction began. Despite this defeat of the Sámi, the event marked a turning point for the Norwegian Sámi, legally and culturally. It changed Norway’s position on Sámi politics; their attitude became more positive. During 1982–1983 the Masi Group broke up; the artists moved around the Sámi area (Lehtola, 2014, p. 130; Lehtola, 1997, pp. 76–77). Nils-Aslak Valkeapää: An advocate of Sámi culture Sámi arts of the 1970s and 1980s aimed at identifying Sáminess in the contemporary state of transition. he relationship with their own culture was no selfevident truth to the Sámi born ater the wars in the 1940s and 1950s. From the beginning of 1947 and onwards, everyone had to go to school. It was now necessary to construct new schools and establish residential homes for children living farther away. All Sámi children started school, but teaching in schools was based on Finnish values and ideals. he time of evacuation and reconstruction strengthened the position of the majority culture, which was promoted by strong increase in Finnish settlement in the Sámi area. Improvement of traic connections and a irmer administrative hold accelerated the Sámi people’s assimilation (Lehtola, 1997, p. 95; Lehtola, 2012, p. 411; Lehtola, 2000, p. 194). Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (1943–2001) is a representative of the irst modern Sámi generation, who passed the new school system in Finland. Valkeapää is the best-known representative, nationally and internationally, of Sámi culture. He was born in the northwest region of Finnish Lapland during the time when is family was migrating toward the north. Ater the Second World War, his family settled down in the village of Pättikkä. Valkeapää did not become a reindeer herder or a teacher, even though he qualiied as a folk-school teacher at Kemijärvi Teachers’ Training College. It was there that he became familiar with writing, music and the visual arts. In 1966, he started his career as an artist and published his irst record, Joikuja (Yoiks, 1968). He lived in the village of Pättikkä until 1996 and then moved to Skibotn, Norway. here he had a hexagonal Lásságámmi house built according to the Sámi tradition. (Valkeapää, 2012, pp. 110–111; Gaski, 2007). Valkeapää was a reviver of the vanishing yoik tradition, a musician, writer, visual artist, socially inluential person and cultural ambassador of the Sámi. He tried to develop the visual language based on Sámi tradition and old religion. Even the title of the painting At hat Time the Sun Was Always with Us (Figure 1, 1975), from Valkeapää’s early production, conveys a yearning for times past. he composition of the work is similar to the division of a magic drum found in Rome: it has upper and lower segments. (See Pentikäinen, 1995, pp. 128–129.) In his painting, a woman in a Sámi costume, a man and a dog are shown in the foreground, in the lower segment on the ground surface. he background, the upper segment above the ground surface, shows a reindeer, foxes, birds and possibly two gods. Between these two worlds and in the middle of the painting is the big, yellow-orange, human-faced sun, which was one of the most important gods of the Sámi. In older written sources, the sun is the mother of all life, and the Sámi have sun-related stories (Helander-Renvall, 2006, p. 5). he Finnish artist Reidar Särestöniemi was Valkeapää’s friend, and in the summer of 1972, engaged in making Eeli Aalto’s ilm about Särestöniemi; 85 Valkeapää composed the yoik Ná Reidaran mole for the ilm (Aikio & Aikio, 2005, p. 138). he strong colours of the painting, At hat Time the Sun Was Always with Us, come from Sámi culture. he mode of expression may have been inluenced by Särestöniemi’s works, but also from Valkepää’s own experiences and feelings, and the mythic-surrealistic atmosphere shows unity with their forefathers’ world of images and spirits. Figure 1. Nils-Aslak Valkeapää: At hat Time the Sun Was Always with Us, 1975, oil, 100 x 130 cm, Private collection. Valkeapää irmly grounded his art in his own culture. he painting he Dancing Noaidi (1991) is red and has an intensive background. At the bottom, there are mountains with small people, animals and lavvos. A dancing noaidi, a Sámi shaman, with two animal heads on his human body is in the picture’s centre. In the old Sámi religion, the noaidit could go into a deep trance in which they transformed into animal form to be able travel in the spirit world. Perhaps this motif is a picture of shaman journey. In Alta rock carvings, there is a similar igure which probably inspired Valkeapää (Snarby, 2012). he igure, called Human igure, is from the prehistorical period (2700–1700 BCE), and Alta carvings are situated in Finnmark, North-Norway. Valkeapää’s visual world is full of igures and symbols with strong connections to Sámi mythology. With inspiration from ancient rock carvings and sacred drums, he reshaped a visual universe in which igures from the past are brought to life. he most essential topics of Valkeapää’s art were Sámi identity, love, humanity and man’s unity with nature (Seurujärvi-Kari, 2011b, p. 307). Most likely, he was a romantic and wanted to create Sámi imagery in his visual and illustrative arts. Rock carvings in Alta, patterns on shamans’ magic drums, decorations of duodji and drawings by the early Sámi artists Johan Turi and Nils Nilsson Skum were important sources of inspiration to him. Valkeapää’s production shows a traditional, strongly-coloured world combined with symbols known from magic drums, as well as with Turi and Skum’s vast spatiality (Lehtola, 1997, p. 118). he enthusiasm to create your own visual Sámi language must be understood through the Sami people’s experience of mental colonization. For decades, they were considered to be weak, mentally worse than the Finns, and to have disappeared as a people. (Kuokkanen, 1999, pp. 108–109). Duodji: Sámi handicraft as inspiration and part of contemporary Sámi art In addition to Sámi culture and traditions, the Western conception of art, which has become familiar at comprehensive school, as well as through the art world, was a crucial inluential factor. For Sámi artists born in the late 1950’s and the 1960s, it was important to think over their own identities and Sáminess, because they belonged to two diferent cultural spheres. Because the school was far away, many Sámi children had to stay in a residential home during school weeks—sometimes even longer because of frost-damaged roads. In addition, attitudes toward the Sámi could be negative in the schools. Instruction 87 of the Sámi started as primary education in some Finnish schools at the beginning of the 1970s. As late as 1991, Sámi was deined as part of the “Mother Tongue” school subject. It has been possible to choose it as a foreign language in the Finnish matriculation examination since 1980 and as the mother tongue since 1994. Instruction in the Sámi language is given in the primary schools in Utsjoki, and Sámi is taught as a school subject in all schools in the Sámi area and in a few schools outside it. (Lehtola, 1997, p. 88; Jauhola, 1999, p. 89). Tuula-Maija Magga-Hetta (b. 1958) was lucky, because she could go to school in her home village. She is a daughter of a reindeer herder from Vuotso and learnt duodji at home. Now she is a reindeer herder’s wife—but also a teacher and an artisan who lives in Vuotso. Sámi identity is obvious to her. She hopes a new kind of handicrat will be born in addition to traditional duodji, which is tied closely to tradition and is unchanged (Väänänen, 2007). Duodji did not suit Magga-Hetta’s mode of expression and she expanded the handicrat in her irst piece of art, the textile Tiet (Roads), which was designed for the entrance of the Vuotso School at the beginning of the 1990s. Figure 2. Tuula-Maija Magga-Hetta: Máttar-Ahkku, 2002, mixed materials, no measure. Collection of Rovaniemi City. Photo Arto Liiti. he work is large, and the pure colours of Sámi culture create a cross on a black fabric ground. Magga-Hetta continues to practice handicrat; through her textiles, she wants to tell about the northern way of life, Sámi culture, nature and her own experiences as a housewife on a modern reindeer farm. (Räisänen-Ylitalo, 2006, p. 22). Magga-Hetta uses traditional materials. he materials are inexpensive and are found in the everyday life of a reindeer-herding family: bones, horns, sticks, letter pieces and wood. Her art is guided by the principle of sustainability. Máttar-Ahkku (Figure 2, 2002) is an example of the author's desire to honour her ancestors and the earlier duodji-experts. his art work reveals the artist's need to relect on the life of the Sámi and deal with the relationship between man and nature. In 1973, Outi Pieski was born in Helsinki. Her father comes from a northern Sámi family from Utsjoki, and her mother comes from South Finland. he most important place was her paternal grandparents’ house in the village of Dalvadas in Utsjoki. here the Pieski children got to know Sáminess. In Helsinki of the 1970s, Sáminess was not brought out, children did not grow up with Sámi identity, nor were they taught the Sámi language. hey spoke Finnish at home, and their father spoke Sámi only when phoning or visiting his relatives living in the north (Ahvenjärvi & Valkonen, 2014, p. 21). As an adult in 1997, Pieski studied the Sámi language and culture at the Sámi Education Institute in Inari, where she learned duodji. She thinks that duodji gave her a lot as an artist. She studied visual arts at North Karelia Polytechnic (1992–1994) in Imatra and the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts (1994–2000) in Helsinki (Vakkuri, 2009). Pieski thought over her relationship with her father’s home region, the barren wilderness landscape of the Utsjoki area, which she pictured in many paintings. Life seemed to be richer in the north than in a suburb of Helsinki, so it was a natural solution to move to the north. From the middle of the irst decade of the twenty-irst century, Pieski and her family lived in the village of Dalvadas in Utsjoki. Ater moving, the meaning of landscapes changed— they became experiences of the lost but rediscovered home region. his state 89 between two cultures also made Pieski play with identity. She felt herself to be half Finnish and half Sámi. hinking about what kind of Sámi costume she would make for her child resulted in Golden Coat, a Sámi costume made of cofee bags and complemented by a shawl made of bags of sweets (Uusitalo, 2010, p. 74, Ahvenjärvi & Valkonen, 2014, p. 25). In Slush Coat (2006), it can easily be seen that the handicrat tradition is strongly present in her painting art. Pieski has also created public works of art. he latest one is Eatnu, eadni, eana—Stream, Mother, Ground—which was completed in 2012 and is located on the wall of the Sámi Parliament Hall of the Sámi Cultural Centre Sajos in Inari. he wall relief consists of gilded and white gold-plated steel plates. he visual starting point was risku, a brooch used to decorate a female Sámi costume. Rattles made for Sámi children and reindeer hooves decorated with fabrics and stitches are tradition-respecting details. Pieski made this public work and also many paintings as an honour to her Sámi grandmother, handicrat and the way of living of her Sámi ancestors. Figure 3. Outi Pieski: Halo, 2012– 2013. Birch sticks, thread, wood, 500/380 x 200 x 200cm. Photos: let Tuija Hautala-Hirvioja. Right Arto Liiti, Rovaniemi Art Museum. A strong connection between nature and culture can be seen in Pieski’s artwork; it widens into a sense of personality and timelessness. Nature, culture and a work of art seem to be local and completely universal, at the same time. Nuvvos Áiligas, Darkness (2011) and River Teno by Night (2013) have been painted with highly expressive but small strokes on square acrylic sheets framed with tied tassels familiar from silk shawls. Landscapes in these works continue from the front of the eyes to behind them, to memories and shared awareness. his stands out particularly well in works composed of twigs and yarns, such as Halo (Figure 3, 2012–2013). he tied yarns of these works are similar to those in a silk shawl of a Sámi costume. In addition, this work is an honour—or maybe apology—to her grandmother, because she had to cut the tree in her yard in Utsjoki. The ethno-politics of contemporary Sámi art he youngest generation of visual artists spent their childhood and youth in an institutionalized Sámi community. he Sámi Parliament, Sámediggi, was established in 1996. he predecessor of the Parliament was the Sámi Delegation, Sámi Parlamenta, which operated during 1973–1995. he Sámi Parliament is the supreme political body of the Sámi in Finland, and its function is to plan and implement cultural autonomy. It represents the Sámi in national and international relations and manages afairs concerning their position as an indigenous people, as well as the Sámi language and culture. he Sámi Parliament can make propositions, motions and statements to authorities. Cultural autonomy has inluenced the strengthening and development of such Sámi institutions as Siida, the National Museum of the Finnish Sámi, and the Sámi Education Institute. Cultural activities have also received new life. In the twenty-irst century, diferent Sámi festivals, such as the Skábmagovat indigenous peoples’ ilm festival and the Ijahis Idja music festival in Inari have consolidated their positions. he Sámi also have established their oicial symbols, such as the Sámi lag, lag-raising days and national anthem. In the 2010s, modern Sámi culture is dynamic and polyphonic. (Lehtola & Länsman, 2012, pp. 23–25, 31). 91 In Lapland, the Sámi are fervently waiting for Finland to inally ratify ILO Convention No. 169, which deals with the rights of indigenous peoples. Suohpanterror also awaits the ratiication and regards the mining industry as the greatest menace to reindeer herding and the Sámi culture. It ights for the Sámi people’s rights in social media and uploads provoking photos and messages to Facebook. Suohpan is North Sámi and means suopunki, a reindeer herder’s lasso. If you search for this code name on Google or Facebook, a picture of a man wearing a ninja hat and Sámi cap and holding a recoilless rile comes up. On both sides of the rile are the phrases “homeland security” and “reindeer terror.” According to the artist or artists behind the code name, “Suohpanterror wants to ight against/for and rouse people to get interested in what is happening in the north” (Heikkinen, 2013). Two or three pictures attack mining operations; in particular, the Kallak mining project in northern Sweden was strongly protested in autumn 2013. Beowulf, a British company, is planning an iron ore mine in the middle of pasture areas of the Sámi and therefore started test blasting in Kallak, Jokkmokk in summer 2013. he Sámi say it is not a question of one mine only but Sámi people’s right to their own lands. (Kallio, 2013). Suohpanterror seems to continue the ight of the Masi Group in Alta. One of Suohpanterror’s posters (2013), with the text KallakGállok at the top, reminds people that the Sámi are ready for resistance. Behind the picture is obviously a press photo of a demonstration in Alta; in it, the police are coming to clear a protest camp. On the stones in the foreground is the text la elva leve (may the river live), which was the motto of those who resisted construction of the Alta waterway. Suohpanterror’s propaganda or disturbance art has been inluenced by critical Finnish pop art of the 1960s and street art of the turn of the twentieth and twenty-irst centuries. (See www. facebook.com/suohpanterror.) Conclusion From the beginning, Sámi art had a mission to decolonise and correct stereotypes. Johan Turi wrote his illustrated book to get non-Sámi to understand the life and culture of Sámi. He thought that misinformation was the reason for problems between Sámi and Swedish people. Nils Nilsson Skum felt it was important to gather knowledge of traditional reindeer herding for the next generation. John Savio lived during the active assimilation policy and the period of racism. He wanted to show Sámi as strong and healthy as Norwegians. Iver Jåks depicted Sámi spirituality and cosmology and made it acceptable to religious people, because old Sámi stories were considered pagan and sinful. he Masi Group struggled against colonisation with their art and demonstrations. Now visual art has become as signiicant an art form as the literature, music and theatre that relected and developed the new Sámi identity. he Sámi artists in Finland continue to promote decolonisation based on Sámi heritage and the art of earlier Sámi artists. Nils-Aslak Valkeapää developed a visual language and avoided using the conventions of Western ine art. he problem was that the actual connection was severed; there was no continuity from igures of drums or prehistoric rock carvings. At irst, TuulaMaija Magga-Hetta trusted in duodji; it was natural to her. But she felt it, too, limited her creativity. Synnove Persen was a member of the Masi Group, and she is still an active painter and poet. In her opinion, there is no reason to try to avoid the inluences of Western art, because it is the basis of art education. However, it is important for Sámi to study and relate the majority population’s art instruction to their own tradition and identity. Persen also thinks that there is no unique visual language in Sámi art and wonders how an artist can combine old tradition, such as duodji, to form something that is relevant and interesting to a modern audience (Lehtola, 1997, p. 96). Perhaps the youngest generation, such as Outi Pieski and Suohpanterror, who make art during the postmodern period, do not need to think about conlict between Sámi tradition and contemporary ine art. Perhaps for them, the content is more important than style or the way in which it is used. However, there is a need to research the relationship of traditions and contemporary art and also what other media contemporary Sámi artists can leverage to undo stereotypes. 93 References Ahvenjärvi, K., & Valkonen, S. (2014). Avaran maiseman kuvaajat – haastattelussa Outi Pieksi ja Marja Helander [he depictors of wide open landscape – the interviewees: Outi Pieksi and Marja Helander]. Agon. No. 43, 3/2014. Aikio, M., & Aikio, M. (2005). Särestö – taiteilijan koti.[Särestö – an artist’s home] Jyväskylä: Minerva. Bergmann, S. (2009). Så främmande det lika..– samisk konst i ljuset av religion och globalisering. [How strange but similar - Sami art in light of religion and globalization] Trondheim: Tapir akademisk förlag. Burman, E., (2009). Nils Nilsson Skum: Éleveur de rennes et artiste. In K. Andersson (Ed.) L’Image du Sápmi (pp. 273–283). Örebro: Humanistic Studies at Örebro University. Gaski, H. (2007). Nils-Aslak Valkeapää. Lásságámmi. www.lassagammi.no. Updated on 20 June 2007. Gombrich, E. (1991). Art & Illusion. A study in the psychology of pictorial representation. London: Phaidon. Gullickson, C. (2014). he Artists as Noaidi. In C. Gullickson & S. Lorentzen (Eds.), Sami Stories. Art and Identity of an Artic People (pp. 9–33). Stamsund: Orkana Akademisk. Hautala-Hirvioja, T. (2014). Early Sámi visual artists – Western ine art meets Sámi culture. Barents Studies. 1 (1), 11–40. Heikkinen, M-P. (2013). Pohjoisen eturintama. 10 March 2013. Helsingin Sanomat. Newspaper, C10–C11. Helander, E., & Kailo, K. (1999). Ei alkua ei loppua. Saamelaisten puheenvuoro. Helsinki: Like. Helander-Renvall, E. (2006). Silde – Saamelaisten myyttejä ja tarinoita. Rovaniemi: Helander-Renvall. Jauhola, S. (1999). Oma kuva. Merja Aletta Ranttila. Inari: Kustannus-Puntsi. Kallio, H. (2013). Kaivoskapina yhdisti saamelaiset. 1 September 2013. Lapin Kansa Newspaper. Kjellström, R. (1981). Alkusanat. In T.Puisto (Ed.), Samisk konst – Sámi dáidda – Saamelainen taide. (pp. 8–11). Helsinki: Pohjoismainen Taidekeskus. Kuokkanen, R. (1999). Etnostressistä sillanrakennukseen. Saamelaisen nykykirjalli– suuden minäkuvat. In M. Tuominen, S. Tuulentie, V-P, Lehtola & Meri Autti (Eds). Outamaalta tunturiin (pp. 95–112). Osa 1. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland. Lehtola, V-P. (2014). Homecoming of Sámi Artists. Masi group as the initiator of modern Sámi art. In T. Hautala-Hirvioja, Riitta Kuusikko & Jan-Erik Lundström: Saamelaista nykytaidetta. Dálá Sámi dáidda. Sámi Contemporary (pp. 127–130). Rovaniemi: Rovaniemen taidemuseo. Lehtola, V-P. (2012). Saamelaiset suomalaiset kohtaamisia 1896–1953. Helsinki: SKS. Lehtola, V-P. (2000). Kansain välit – monikulttuurisuus ja saamelaishistoria. In I. Seurujärvi-Kari (Ed.) Beavvi mánnát. Saamelaisten juuret ja nykyaika (pp. 185–196). Helsinki: SKS. Lehtola, V-P. (1997). Saamelaiset – historia, yhteiskunta, taide. Inari: Kustannus-Puntsi. Lehtola, V-P., & Länsman, A-S. (2012). Saamelaisliikkeen perintö ja institutionalisoitunut saamelaisuus. In V-P. Lehtola, U. Piela & H. Snellman: Saamenmaa. Kulttuuritieteellisiä näkökulmia (pp. 13–35). Helsinki: SKS. Lundström, J-E. (2015). What is contemporary Sami art and design? Introduction. In J. Cirelli & E. Whang (Eds.) Contemporary Sami Art and Design (pp. 9–11). Stockholm: Arvinius+Orfeus publishing AB. Lundström, J-E. (2014). Decades of Change: Visual Arts in Finnmark, Norway in the 1970s and 1980s. In J. Katajamäki (Ed.) Northern Beauty. Barents Visual Arts in the 1970s and the 1980s (pp. 93–111). Rovaniemi: University of Lapland. Magga, S-M. (2010). Vapauden rajat ja ulottuvuudet. Kirjoittamattomat säännöt duodjin ja saamelaisen muotoilun mahdollisuuksina ja rajoittajina. Unpublished master’s thesis, Giellagas Institute, University of Oulu. Manker, E. (1971). Samefolkets konst. Halmstad: Askild & Kärnekull. Moksnes Gjelsvik, M. (2012). John Savio – hans liv og kunst. Trondheimi: NT-Forlag. Pentikäinen, J. (1995). Saamelaiset – pohjoisen kansan mytologia. Helsinki: SKS. Rasmussen, S. (2006). John Savio og tolkninger av kunst. In H. Johansen, H.Stenvold & A. Dalen Ringheim (Eds.) Fra andehodeamuletter til kongekrabber, (pp. 27–40). Finnmark fylkeskommune. Rensujef, K. (2011). Käsin, sävelin, sanoin ja kuvin. Saamelaiset taiteilijat Suomessa. Taiteen keskustoimikunta, tutkimusyksikön julkaisuja N:o 38. Helsinki: Taiteen keskustoimikunta. Räisänen-Ylitalo, S. (2006). Naisen taiteen tie. Neljän naistaiteilijan kokemuksia ja mielipiteitä taiteen tekemisestä 1900- ja 2000-luvun vaihteen pohjoisessa taidemaailmassa. Unpublished thesis of supplementary minor studies of art history. Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland. Seurujärvi-Kari, I. (2013). Saamelaisdiskurssi, kieli ja valta. Alkuperäiskansaidentiteetin rakentaminen. In P. Virtanen, L. Kantonen & I. Seurujärvi-Kari (Eds.) Alkuperäiskansat tämän päivän maailmassa (pp. 55–84). Helsinki: SKS. 95 Seurujärvi-Kari, I. (2011a). Alkuperäiskansatutkimus, alkuperäiskansaliike ja saamelaiset. Kirjallisuus ja taiteet – sulautumisen uhasta kohti sisäistä elämää. In I. Seurujärvi-Kari, P. Halinen & R. Pulkkinen (Eds.) Saamen tutkimus tänään (pp. 10–55). Helsinki: SKS. Seurujärvi-Kari, I. (2011b). Kirjallisuus ja taiteet – sulautumisen uhasta kohti sisäistä elämää. In I. Seurujärvi-Kari, P. Halinen & R. Pulkkinen (Eds.) Saamen tutkimus tänään (pp. 298–326). Helsinki: SKS. Snarby, I. (2014). Duodji as Sámi experience in contemporary art by Iver Jåks. In H. Horsberg Hanse, I. Snarby, L. Magne Tange & T. Tingvoll (Eds.) Beauty and Truth. Cáppatvuohta ja duohtavuohta. Dialogues between Sami art and art historical research (pp.16–21). Stamsun: Orkana Akademisk. Snarby, I. (2012). Some houghts on Nils-Aslak Valkeapää’s Visual Art. Retrieved from http://www.valkeapaa.no/Portals/0/Vedlegg/Irene%20Snarby%20English.pdf. Published 2012. Troms fylkeskommune. Solbakk, J., T. (2006). he Sámi People – A Handbook. Karasjok: Davvi Girji Os. Storm, D., & Iskasen, K. (2014). Duodji – Dáidda. In M. A. Hauan (Ed.) Sámi Stories. Art and Identity of an Artic People (pp. 91–102). Stamsund: Orkana Akademisk. Uusitalo, J-P. (2010). Lapland – Popland. Taiteilijaseuralaiset populaarikulttuurin kuvaston äärellä. In T. Hautala-Hirvioja & S. Ylimartimo (Eds.) NYT. Lapin taiteilijaseura 20 vuotta (pp. 72–78). Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. Vakkuri, M. (2009). Kaukainen lähde. 1 February 2009. Lapin Kansa Newspaper. Valkeapää, L. (2012). Tuuli Nils-Aslak Valkeapään runojen maisemassa. In V-P. Lehtola, U. Piela & H. Snellman (Eds.) Saamenmaa. Kulttuuritieteellisiä näkökulmia (pp. 110–121). Helsinki: SKS. Valkonen, J. & Valkonen, S. (2013). Leading article. Agon, issues 37–38/2013, pp. 2–3. Valkonen, S. (2009). Poliittinen saamelaisuus. Tampere: Vastapaino. Väänänen, V. (2007). Tuula-Maija Magga-Hetta avartaa saamelaisen käsityön polkua. 18 January 2007 Lapin Kansa Newspaper. 97 A DISCUSSION OF MUSEUM EDUCATION IN THE NORTH: An integrated approach Herminia Din University of Alaska Anchorage, USA Introduction Museum professionals realize that in order to reach audiences, they must communicate in clear and understandable ways. To remain relevant, museums must attract and maintain an active and interested audience. Cities in northern nations share a number of similarities and diferences. A comprehensive understanding of changes and perspectives in the Arctic can be achieved through museum practice by exploring comparative aspects of environmental issues, indigenous cultures, historical contexts, and scientiic discoveries. An integrated approach is to involve multiple methods in the context of museum education practice. Talboys (2011) mentioned in the Museum Educator’s Handbook that an integrated approach “should derive from the museum’s collection and should be concerned with exploring the creation and use of the artifacts, as well as coming to an understanding of the social and historical environment.” he chapter uses irst person qualitative relections and museum exhibits as discussion points to support the argument that an integrated approach will help learners and visitors to gain a deeper connection of the topic and have a meaningful museum experience. It discusses why this approach in the context of museum education is relevant, and then addresses pedagogical approaches in educational programing focusing on how to connect issues related to the North. Why integrated museum education is relevant At the beginning of the 20th century, the German philosopher Walter Benjamin (1935), along with others of the Frankfurt School such as heodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer (1944) had both concerns and an appreciation for new possibilities arising from the mechanical age. Benjamin and his colleagues could hardly contemplate the digital world that extends across geographic, political borders and ideological borders today. A central idea in Benjamin’s writing—and one that is highlighted in today’s discussions of digital media—is one of authenticity. Authentic learning has become an important element of the museum experience. It means providing authentic contexts to collection objects. 99 Museums are charged with the care, preservation and interpretation of real objects—whether that object is a seal gut parka, a totem pole, a baleen basket, or other cultural artifacts. Experiencing objects has deined museums for centuries, and provides context and history, ofering meaning through understanding its relationship to the world. Authentic learning experiences make information meaningful to audiences. In order to be authentic, the environment in which learning takes place must also be meaningful. As Brown, Duguid, and Collins (1989) stated, “Activity, concept, and culture are interdependent. No one can be totally understood without the other two. Learning must involve all three.” Museums provide an ideal setting for such experiences. Visitors want to shape and share the experiences in their lives, including museum experiences. Pine and Gilmore (2011) discussed such movement from a service economy to an “experience economy” in which consumers are seeking memorable and transformative experiences rather than services and products. Rather than being “served” as is oten discussed in terms of the public, visitors want to participate, and to have transformative, memorable experiences. In the context of museum practice, the integrated approach in the following discussion provides learners and visitors an authentic experience by direct encounters with collection objects. It connects them by providing links to historical, cultural, scientiic context and multiple viewpoints for a comprehensive interpretation and understanding. It is a ‘learner centric’ approach. Over ive years, Monica Garcia-Itchoak, former Director of Education and Interpretation at Anchorage Museum and now Executive Director of Alaska Museum of Science and Nature in Anchorage and I worked closely on various educational projects together. We used the integrated approach as a guiding principle when planning and designing museum educational programs. Here is her relection during a conversation in March 2015 on why integrated museum education can be so important especially in the North. She said: Historically, museums have been creative think tanks, drawing upon collections, exhibitions, and curators to create authentic experiences. Today, museums use the term “engagement” rather than “education” when developing visitor experiences. Museum educators help create individual experiences while pointing out underlying concepts and content with an ever-changing exhibition schedule. I remember one of the irst ield trips as an art teacher to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago with students, parents, and caregivers. As part of an organization teaching about animal habitats, I began to discuss the ield trip agenda and the participants’ roles and responsibilities, when I noticed the students on the bus were on one side with their hands and faces pressed against the windows. One student looked at me and asked, “Which ‘ocean’ is that?” I realized that these students had never seen Lake Michigan. I told them that the Great Lakes are the largest body of fresh water in the world. And decided to spend the irst part of our ield trip sitting in the sun, smelling the freshly cut grass overlooking Lake Michigan and having a conversation. I was incredibly humbled by that experience. It reminded me that our role as educators is to step back, provide opportunities, teach in the moment, and share through meaningful and thoughtful exchanges. At the heart of museums are the stories we share. In today’s everchanging world, museum educators are integrated into the early planning stages of exhibitions. Educators work with exhibition designers to provide multiple points of engagement for visitors with diferent interests and learning styles, all with the goal of creating a distinct, immersive educational experience. Museums are reinventing themselves to be relevant to a contemporary culture. hey are becoming more inter-generational and interdisciplinary. Such reinvention allows museum educators to re-conceptualize spaces, layer concepts, and encourage critical thinking. hrough visuals, wall labels, hands-on interactive, video, and other methods, an individualized experience for the visitor can be created. 101 A number of experiences have shaped how I approach learning in museums. he irst example comes from the Field Museum in Chicago, where I worked as the manager of Teacher Professional Development and Strategic Partnerships. Early on, we were involved in the development of he Evolving Planet exhibition. his exhibit took ive years of planning and implementation. It encompasses 24,000 square feet, and featured 2,200 unique fossils, animated videos, and hands-on interactive displays presenting the story of evolution. When visitors walked into the exhibit, a large map guided them through the ive mass extinctions that occurred in history. When exiting the gallery, a red-digital clock ticked down the number of species that have gone extinct, and the four main causes—obviously humans—are one of the four. To reconnect visitors to the spectrum of life on earth, and a simple quote can be seen on nearby wall by Charles Darwin (1895) “ … from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” Museum educators played a pivotal role in many of the decisions including a map, a clock, and other visual cues such as quotations that led to this presentation. A second example is from he American Museum of Natural History in New York. Museum educators developed teaching tools and programs for the exhibition Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids. Mythical creatures are a medium of cultural interaction, as they relect attempts to explain the natural world and oten take shape in human, cultural imagination. In the exhibition, visitors learn how cultures keep mythic creatures alive through art and literature. Since this exhibition focused on mythic creatures on water, land, and air, it provided opportunities for teaching, learning and connecting to other museum exhibits and collections. he intersection of art, culture, history and science is the core to creating an integrated educational experience through curriculum, guided investigations, online resources, and a variety of public engagement. Due to the seamless collabora- tion among curators, scientists, exhibit designers, and educators, the exhibit provided the visitor an integrated experience. he third example is Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: he Dena’ina Way of Living, an exhibition organized by the Anchorage Museum which presented aspects of the culture and history of the Dena’ina Athabascans, the indigenous culture occupying the region of Southcentral Alaska. A project team consisting of curators, collection managers, exhibition designers, and educators, in collaboration with an advisory board, worked for several years to create an integrated learning experience. he exhibition included ilm, life-size recreations, images, hands-on learning stations, audio, and more than 160 artifacts on loan from museums across Europe and North America. Many of the interactive and immersive experiences were discussed with educators to create a variety of teaching and learning opportunities that were integrated into the design concept. Visitors were irst greeted with a life-size Figure 1. Dena’ina Family Dinner, Multimedia Display in Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: he Dena’ina Way of Living. Photo: Anchorage Daily News. 103 diorama depicting a contemporary ish camp. A long-house was constructed where students or visitors could sit and listen to stories told by Native elders. Visitors could also join a Dena’ina family dinner through a video projection, or try to speak the Dena’ina language through learning speciic words for the anatomy of a moose, an important subsistence resource. Local botanical specimens were placed near a traditional bear gut skin parka to create a teaching moment. A bear gut skin parka had a darker band sewn among lighter gut skin band, illustrating the bear’s diet of blueberries. Elders relected, “his was because the bear ate too many blueberries.” Design and the juxtaposition of objects provided an opportunity to connect oral history and artifacts. All these examples relect the intention of our professional practice. When combining curatorial decisions and educational interpretations upon facts, narratives, concepts, and experiences, it maximizes opportunity for visitors to make meaningful connections for life-long informal learning. By interacting with original objects and stories embedded in museum exhibits, cross-disciplinary educational content could lead to new ways of maximizing a museum’s public value. Hence, a museum experience is no longer an insolated event but to make meaningful connections. It is why an integrated museum education is so applicable today. Designing an integrated museum experience Museum professionals know that the museum experience begins long before the visitor enters the museum building itself. Visitors learn about museums from others, from billboards and brochures, radio and television, and, of course, the Internet. hey begin to formulate ideas and responses to their experience before they encounter the exhibition or collections. hey relect upon their childhood experiences in museums if they have visited these insti- tutions before. Falk and Dierking (2000) pointed out that visitors carry their experiences with them long ater the actual visit to the museum, oten making connections or seeing relationships months or even years ater their encounter with the physical collections. herefore, the following section uses several exhibits curated and created by the Anchorage Museum as examples to further discuss its curatorial decisions, pedagogical methodology, and connection to community public outreach. he Anchorage Museum’s guiding mission is to connect people, expand perspectives, and encourage global dialogue about the North and its distinct environment. hrough the intersection of art, culture, history, and science, the Museum seeks to create a rich understanding of the human experience. It is committed to the people of Alaska by providing a forum for the voices of the North and to create an authentic learning experience with the visitors. Several recent exhibitions and programs illustrate this intersection: • In 2015, the Municipality of Anchorage marks its centennial. To recognize the anniversary, the Museum has organized a series of exhibitions to explore the multiple aspects of the growth and future of the city. City Limits examines how Anchorage’s global position has shaped the community culturally and economically. It highlights how Anchorage’s population has changed over decades to become the ethno-racially, culturally and linguistically diverse community that it is today, with more than 90 languages spoken in the Anchorage School District. Arctic Ambitions: Captain Cook and the Northwest Passage examines the legacies of Cook’s northern voyage, including the impacts of its legacy on indigenous life. On Sea Ice looks at the interactions between people and the sea ice of the Arctic. It considers Arctic ice as a “culture scape” for polar indigenous people, and the political and economic dimensions of a changing Arctic. 105 • In 2014, Arctic Flight examined the history of Alaska through the development of aviation. Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: he Dena’ina Way of Living featured over 200 Dena’ina objects to tell Dena’ina history and culture through art, music, storytelling, re-created settings and hands-on activities. Riskland: Remembering the 1968 Earthquake marked the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake that looked at the devastating event scientiically and historically, including the reconstruction eforts that followed, and Alaska’s earthquake preparedness today. As museum educators, we use these exhibitions as extended classrooms. hey tell the rich stories of Alaska’s past while exploring life in the North today and envisioning a future full of possibility. In order to design an integrated museum experience, a variety of customized pedagogies are developed for each of the exhibitions, and consideration is given to the time of year, duration of the exhibition, narrative and content, interactive, label copy, object lists, and the intended audience. For example, a wide range of programs and tools were created including: • Evening for Educators where teachers are invited into the museum to work with educators on customizing ield trips and providing essential time to begin before, during and ater-museum visit planning. • An Educator Guide was created for each exhibit with main themes, essential questions, vocabulary, interesting facts, downloadable worksheets, and connections to other galleries and online resources to help teachers succeed in accessing the content and at the museum with their students. In addition, museum educators with expertise in art, culture, history or science design and create interdisciplinary learning experiences through 45- or 90-minute guided student investigations in the gallery and back in a museum classroom, deepening the connections and relevancy—adapting and modifying to meet the needs of the students’ interests. Self-guided experiences are also encouraged on any ield trip to help teachers and students construct new understanding individually or as a group—this is just as important as a museum-led experience such as a docent led tour. hese exhibits provide museum educators with strong cross-disciplinary content to maximize museum-learning experiences for all ages and backgrounds. When applied, an integrated approach involving collection objects, stories, contents, and multi-disciplinary connections provides more powerful and deeper meaning for museum learners. However, can it lead to new ways of maximizing a museum’s public value? Outreach and partnerships with universities and educational institutions provides opportunities to extend a museum’s oferings beyond its walls. he following mini case studies with colleagues from Norway demonstrate the role of university collaboration in extending a museum’s public value through exhibitions and public programs. Gyre: From Anchorage Alaska to Nesna Norway In February 2014, through University of the Arctic ASAD (Arctic Sustainable Art and Design) hematic Network, faculty members in art education and natural sciences departments, Mette Gårdvik, Wenche Sørmo, and Karin Stoll from Nesna University College in Norway traveled to University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) to be a part of the Winter Design Project. he faculty presented a public lecture, and organized a snow sculpture workshop about the Norwegian education system and the environment. During the visit, the faculty toured the Anchorage Museum and visited the Gyre: he Plastic Ocean exhibition, which explored the relationship between humans and the ocean in a contemporary culture of consumption. he exhibition combined art and science to bring a global problem into perspective. he work of more than 25 artists from around the world was featured. he faculty members were inspired by the exhibit and planned to do something similar in their home community of Nesna, Norway related to 107 Figure 2. Pam Longobardi, Dark and Plentiful Bounty, mixed media, 2014. As seen in Gyre: he Plastic Ocean at the Anchorage Museum, Photo: Chris Arend. marine debris. Subsequently, they were awarded a grant application to launch a project titled “Sea Monsters Conquer the Beaches: Marine Litter as Material in Site-speciic Art.” Marine debris is a problem for both humans and animals. Trash has been found in large quantities in the Arctic coastal areas and constitutes an additional burden on wildlife. Fisheries, aquaculture and tourism are important to the Norwegian coastal culture. he goals of the project included: (1) increasing knowledge of marine debris and engagement of the community to clean local beaches; (2) developing a location-based educational project for elementary student teachers and primary school/kindergarten by focusing on sustainability and aesthetic methods; (3) giving the participating individuals ownership of the problem and knowledge of how to rectify the situation; and (4) ensuring that garbage collected is handled in a sustainable manner to reduce the amount of micro-plastics in the ocean. hey used a practical aesthetic approach to an unaesthetic problem by collecting trash on the shoreline at Helgeland in Northern Norway. In the fall of 2014, the educators began working with children from kindergartens and primary schools in the local community as well as student Figure 3. Site-speciic art using collected beach litters created by kindergarten children. Photo: Mette Gårdvik. teachers at Nesna University College. his efort will continue until June 2015. Most remarkable is that inspiration gained by visiting a museum exhibit in Anchorage could so signiicantly impact their eforts. Undeniably, person-toperson encounters create synergies and closer bonds not only between individuals, but also within the general community. Another example here is through institutional partnership and collaboration to illustrate how an integrated approach could inluence knowledge and experience. Circumpolar Expressions and Identities: Sámi Stories Sámi Stories: Art and Identity of an Arctic People was curated and created by the Northern Norway Art Museum and Tromsø University Museum as a part of the bicentennial celebrations of the Norwegian Constitution. he exhibit debuted at the Northern Norway Art Museum and traveled to New York City and Anchorage. All the works in the exhibition have one thing in common— they portray themes about Sámi history, politics, religion and society. he Arctic landscape creates a backdrop for the narratives. 109 Figure 4. Sámi Stories: Art and Identity of an Arctic People exhibited at the Anchorage Museum from Feb 5 to May 10, 2015. Photo: Herminia Din. To increase a museum’s public value, a one day symposium hosted by the Art Department on the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) campus initiated the opening of Sámi Stories exhibit. Collaboration with the University was an essential part of extending the outreach. he symposium ofered in-depth perspectives on Sámi history, identity and visual culture. It reached a broader audience including college students and faculty who otherwise may not have visited the exhibit. Several students responded that seeing the show ater attending the symposium made a signiicant impact and was most meaningful. Additionally, comparative aspects of the Sámi and Alaska Native cultures were explored in a cultural exchange. he four Alaskan participating artists were Ron Senungetuk, Alvin Amason, Sonya Kelliher-Combs and Susie Bevins-Ericsen. All of these artists have Alaska Native background. Britta Marakatt-Labba and Aslaug Juliussen were the participating Scandinavian artists. he discussion focused on materials linked with culture, community and place, art education, political issues, the diferentiation between male and female roles in the culture and culture speciic expressions. Environmental concerns were also addressed, mining in Alaska versus mining in Sápmi. he artists also discussed their use of traditional materials in new ways and how they associate materials with home and memory. Moreover, artists also discussed how materials are used to serve as commentary on social issues. he symposium provided a means especially for UAA students to better understand such complex issues existing not only in Alaska but also in other indigenous communities of the North. Most importantly, it was an integrated learning experience provided by combining an exhibit, a daylong symposium, and a hands-on workshop. Most importantly, through face-to-face meeting opportunities, it connected artists, researchers, and educators in discussions of emerging issues. One student relected, “he bond between the northern peoples remains strong and this symposium helped strengthen those bonds.” Other students described the symposium as “thought-provoking,” “incredibly informative,” and “eye opening.” Here are some of their relections, I think going to the exhibition changed the way I thought about the pieces by seeing them in person. I particularly responded to the woodcut prints of John Savio. As a printmaker I appreciated the work that he made. I also responded to the large format woodcut with the accompanying blind embossment. he image in the symposium did not do justice to the scale of that piece. Walking through the gallery I was impressed by the scale of the print. Creating a woodblock print at that size is no easy task and to print one blind without any ink was interesting. hese were the works I responded to the most.—W.D. Looking back I think I learned quite a bit about the Sami people and their culture, as well as other indigenous peoples in Alaska. All of the native artists talked about the struggle their people face when challenged with expansion in their country or region, land development, and loss of parts of their culture. he Alaska native artists talked 111 about their battle with the expansion of Americans into their land in the past, and the many problems that it caused, including the slow disappearance of their languages and culture, and alcoholism. he Sami artists who attended also spoke of loss of culture and language, as well as their reliance on reindeer. In fact, the two Sami artists both featured reindeer in their art in one way or another. Overall, the Symposium and the Sami Stories exhibit at the Anchorage museum were informative and impressive. I enjoyed learning about other cultures and their artworks connection to the land, and I hope to learn more about the Sami people through research. —V.M. I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the symposium. I went into it expecting to be bored and disinterested with the material especially since it was so distant to me emotionally and physically. he parallels that were drawn from Sami to Alaskan Native Cultures post WWII were pretty amazing. hey shared a lot of the same fall out with their government inluences. Sami culture was prevented from speaking their natural tongue and were forced to speak the national language of the country they resided much like how the Alaskan Natives were forced to speak English instead of their own languages. Education also forced the minority identities aside and promoted the ideals and teachings of the majority. he type of oppression that the Sami were subject to was easy to relate because of my own education background, which is primarily Alaskan. hrough out my primary education we were constantly learning about the oppression Alaskan Natives experienced, especially since those who experienced it were still alive to talk about it. Overall I was pleasantly surprised with my Sami Stories experience. I think it helped open my eyes to view artwork that I wouldn’t necessarily ind any interest in and give those exhibits another chance. By doing so I might ind connections to my history and experience to expand my own artistic reach. —E.C. I found the Symposium to be a wealth of inspiration for me personally. he best part of the weekend came in the form of an open format discussion between the Sami artists and Alaska Native artists, and the attendees of the symposium. he candid discussion provided me with some insight on the artists’ and their respective communities. —J.B. he symposium concluded with a hands-on workshop. he idea was to followup the theme of culture-based materials from the artist panel discussion. Participants made Sámi style key chains using materials from Sápmi, reindeer leather, mica, along with thread and felt in the national Sámi colors, blue, red, yellow and green. Mica, kråkesølv in Norwegian, is oten used as a decorative element on Sámi clothing, purses and accessories. he use of mica can be traced far back in time and is commonly found in Northern Norway. It is used as a cheap substitute for silver and appears like small shiny ornamental Figure 5. Sámi Handicrat Workshop during Symposium, Feb 27, 2015. Photo: Charis Gullickson. 113 disks on traditional costume, belts, purses and wallets. Touching and feeling the reindeer hide added another dimension to the learning experience. Why “hands-on” experience is critical to the integrated approach when designing a museum learning experience, is illustrated in the following student’s relection: I had an opportunity to take a workshop on the art and crat of making a Sami style key chain. Packets consisted of all the necessary items to make the key chain. It included a reindeer thimble as well as felt and colored yard and thread. his small token brings back a remembrance of the plight of the Sami people that I will always treasure. he instructor was warm and able to tell the signiicance of the colors and the design as it related to their culture. his daylong event that started at UAA and ended at the Anchorage Museum opens the door for more collaboration between circumpolar peoples. his is a good way to keep in touch with our neighbors. We can learn a lot from each other. —S.B. Challenges facing museum education in the north hrough exhibitions and integrated educational programs, these allow both museums and their visitors to experience collections in new and diferent ways. Museums must be leaders in developing new approaches to these interactions, and see these opportunities as a means to evolve from teaching institutions to learning institutions. More importantly for museums in the North, connections to the environments, animals, sciences, places, nature, history, cultures, languages, ways of living, tools, traditional practices, and more are an integral part of knowing and understanding. Museums in the North should choose to take an active role by providing an integrated approach in its daily practice. By providing direct encounters with collection objects, stories, cultural and historical contexts, environments, multiple perspectives, or through informal and collaborative exchanges, it empowers our visitors to informed selection and combine them with their own ideas and experiences, and create a unique sense of ownership of the museum and the circumpolar region. Forging and facilitating new interactions with visitors takes time and commitment. Similar to developing successful in-person learning experiences and programs, an integrated learning will require a great deal of programing, adaptability and lexibility. In particular, it takes a signiicant efort to work collaboratively among museum staf and colleagues from outside institutions. It needs to cultivate new professional relationships to work together to create an integrated museum experience. It is no longer an authoritative curatorial decision but incorporating educational expertise and interpretation, linkages to multiple disciplines and perspectives should be the whole. Further, such efort requires adequate staf time allocation and demands appropriate institution infrastructure. Essential is a long-term institutional commitment to engage in integrated teaching and learning, as well as teambased exhibition development and educational programing. Museums need to consider the rich possibilities that an integrated approach can ofer. hough an investment of time and resources must be made, the challenges and opportunities it presents can truly energize the entire museum community in the North. Ultimately, each individual and each institution should consider the path that is best suited for its own situation, goals, and mission. A good museum experience is no longer happening within the museum walls but from outside as well. Conclusion Integrated experiences allow visitors to build personal connections to museum content, a constructed learning. he process of creating and implementing authentic educational programs has demonstrated the value in the multiplicity of museum experiences that can occur—online and in-person, personal and public, individual and collective. A dual focus toward the learner-centric approach in museum education and integrated learning are compatible trends especially when dealing with issues in circumpolar regions. We are all 115 connected. Museum education has embraced interactive conversations with visitors and has evolved from a singular voice to comprehensive engagement. Educator’s expertise is essential. By fostering a collaborative professional practice among museum staf, and using an integrated approach to educational programs, it can ultimately create deeper and more meaningful experiences for all visitors, which extend a museum’s public value. References Adorno, T. & Horkheimer, M. (1944). he Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. Retrieved from https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/adorno/1944/ culture-industry.htm Benjamin, W. (1935). he Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Retrieved from https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin. htm Brown, J., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational Researcher, 18 (1), 32–42. Darwin, C. R. (1859). he Origin of Species. Retrieved from http://darwin-online.org.uk/ content/frameset?itemID=F373&viewtype=side&pageseq=1 Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: he Dena’ina Way of Living, Anchorage Museum, Sept 15, 2013 through Jan 12, 2014. Retrieved from https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/ exhibits/denainaq-huchulyeshi-the-denaina-way-of-living/ Falk, J., & Dierking, L. (2000). Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning. Alta Mira Press. Garcia-Itchoak, M. (2015, March 15). E-mail and personal interview. Gyre: he Plastic Ocean, Anchorage Museum, Feb. 7th through Sept 6th, 2014. Retrieved from https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/exhibits/gyre-the-plastic-ocean/ Mythic Creatures, American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved from http://www. amnh.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/mythic-creatures Pine II, J., & Gilmore, J. (2011). he Experience Economy. Harvard Business Review Press. Sámi Stories: Art and Identity of an Arctic People, Feb 27 through May 10, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/exhibits/sámi-stories-art-andidentity-of-an-arctic-people/ Sea Monsters Conquer the Beaches: Marine Litter as Material in Site-speciic Art. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/ykax_m3xpmjy/copy-of-marine-littering/ Talboys, G. (2011). Museum Educator’s Handbook (3rd ed). Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. he Evolving Planet, he Field Museum. Retrieved from http://www.ieldmuseum.org/ at-the-ield/exhibitions/evolving-planet UAA Winter Design Project, Retrieved from http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/ blog/22085/ University of Arctic ASAD hematic Network. Retrieved from http://www.uarctic.org/organization/thematic-networks/arctic-sustainable-arts-anddesign/, and http://www.asadnetwork.org 117 ARCTIC DESIGN WEEK: A forum and a catalyst Timo Jokela University of Lapland, Finland Päivi Tahkokallio Tahkokallio Design+ Introduction he ield of design is undergoing a rapid change. Designers discuss the change within the ield of design, but increasingly the discussion includes political and business agents (homson & Koskinen, 2012). In the European political discourse, design is seen primarily as supporting the developmental policy of the European Union and as a part of its innovation activity (European Commission, 2013). In Design Finland—A National Design Program (2013) design is considered a part of innovative activity and therefore aimed at strengthening competitiveness. Discussion about the changing role of design was boosted by the status of World Design Capital (WDC) given to Helsinki in 2012. he city of Rovaniemi and the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland collaborated with Helsinki during the WDC year and carried out a programme focusing on national and international collaboration. he Arctic Design concept was launched and developed between 2012 and 2014. In order to implement the project, a number of partners needed to work together including research and education at the university, the local business community and agents of creative industries (WDC 2012 HelsinkiRovaniemi Project). One of the most high proile forms of extensive cooperation between the partners was the Rovaniemi Design Week organized for the irst time in 2009. In 2013, the event was renamed Arctic Design Week (ADW). he main organizers (the City of Rovaniemi and the University of Lapland) justiied the change of name on the fact that the title Arctic Design Week illustrates the goals, methods, and internationalization objectives of the week more accurately and also connects ADW with the Arctic discourse in other ields. he event, which is held annually in the middle of February, is a diverse operation that includes exhibitions, seminars, workshops, and participatory events with a focus on Arctic design. In this chapter, we describe the goals and give examples of actions that took place when the partners were developing ADW together (University of Lapland, City of Rovaniemi, and business partners, particularly enterprises in 119 creative ields). We also consider some of the impacts of the collaboration to get a better understanding for future development of ADW. he data we used included the annual feedback about the event and its production including partner and participants’ observations. he chapter also summarizes the results of three reports the authors have been involved with either as writers or as members of the focus group. he three reports are: interviews with the key persons involved in the ADW process (Leutola, Narbrough, Oförsagd & Tahkokallio, 2015); second, a pre-report about the Expert Centre of Arctic Design by the University of Lapland (Alakärppä, Honka, Piekkari & Rontti, 2015) and third the pre-report of the Arctic Science, Art, and Business Park produced under the supervision of the City of Rovaniemi. The brand of Arctic Design and Art becomes clearer he underlying aim of ADW is to promote and develop the notion of Arctic Design. he concept of Arctic design was discussed in public for the irst time in 2010 when the role of the City of Rovaniemi’s cooperation with World Design Capital 2012 Helsinki was negotiated. he concept of Arctic design was the contribution of northern design to the international political, economic, and environmental discussion about the Arctic that had clearly become livelier. In the beginning, the concept aroused some suspicion and was oten connected with an aesthetic exploitation of the North, the perception of the Arctic as exotic or, conversely, with the utilitarian exploitation of the natural resources. he WDC 2012 Helsinki-Rovaniemi project (2012– 2014) included over 280 design productions and projects that strengthened the notion and ‘brand’ of Arctic design (Lillberg, Jerndahl, Orjasniemi & Nukarinen, 2014). Since 2010, the concept of Arctic Design has evolved and matured to the point that it is now more widely understood and accepted. According to key partners and scholars (Jokela, 2013; Jokela, Coutts, Huhmarniemi & Härkönen, 2013; Miettinen, 2012; Miettinen, Laivamaa & Alhonsuo, 2014; Miettinen & Tahkokallio, 2014, Tahkokallio, 2012) Arctic design should be understood as actions aimed at increasing well-being and competitiveness in the northern and Arctic areas. Arctic design combines art, science, and design for solving the particular problems of remote places and sparsely-populated areas. Methodologically and thematically, research in Arctic design is connected to user- and community-centered design (Miettinen et al., 2014), social design research (Manzini, 2014), design thinking (Brown, 2008), wicked problems (Kolko, 2012) and community- and environment-based applied visual arts (Jokela et al., 2013). Understanding and paying attention to the Arctic circumstance, custom and livelihood, northern culture and an international outlook form the core of Arctic design. Expertise in Arctic design means the ability to recognize, analyse, and solve challenging problems following the principles of sustainable development. Practice in Arctic design, including applied visual art, takes into account factors such as natural resources and culturally sustainable development while respecting indigenous knowledge (Jokela & Coutts, 2014; Jokela, Hiltunen & Härkönen, 2015b; Hardt, 2012). Arctic design develops forms of creative work and entrepreneurship suitable to the Arctic area and supports innovative activity to advance the competitiveness of the area. In addition to design entrepreneurship, the economic value of art is increasingly recognized. he recent Arctic Human Development report by the Nordic Council of Ministers (Larsen & Fondahl, 2014) notes that production, marketing, and consumption of northern art seems to be a growth market. his makes discussion on collaboration of design and applied visual arts timely (see for example, Jokela et al., 2013). According Miettinen et al. (2014) research and developmental work related to service design and the service industries in the public sector and ields of adventure travel and industry are especially important in Arctic design. Service design in collaboration with applied visual art and art education opens up new opportunities for northern social and economic wellbeing. he growing ield of service design has a lot in common with communitybased art education and applied visual arts, such as using design tools and methods to allow the active participation of end-users in processes. Both service design and applied visual art have a strong links to the strategic 121 research priorities of the University of Lapland. (Jokela, 2013; Miettinen & Tahkokallio, 2014; Tahkokallio, 2012.). Arctic design combines the expertise of local agents with a strong international network that can introduce and implement new methods across the Arctic area. Furthermore, specialists in Arctic design can apply expertise to other similar conditions outside the Arctic area. Simultaneous with the development of ADW, the importance of the Arctic area has signiicantly increased globally, which has encouraged the inclusion of strategic design in discussion of the role of Arctic design (Tahkokallio, 2012). The Arctic Design Week: An interchange of partners’ goals Since 2009 the Arctic Design Week has, on the one hand, provided a forum to promote Arctic design every year, for example student or faculty research projects in the Faculty of Art and Design, in enterprise and the public sector, or critical discussion about the entire concept. On the other hand, ADW has been a catalyst in helping to create innovative experiments and encouraging results. he Arctic City of Rovaniemi has deined its strategic goal, which is to strengthen its position as one of the most important Arctic cities internationally. One expression of this goal is, for example, the cooperation agreement of May 2015 between the City of Rovaniemi, University of Lapland, and Lapland University of Applied Sciences. he aim is to turn Rovaniemi into the national and international capital of Arctic expertise (Lapin Kansa, 2015). he aspiration appears justiied because of the wealth of Arctic expertise, including local enterprises of various ields, about the Arctic circumstances, as well as the education and research expertise at the University of Lapland and Lapland University of applied sciences. Arctic design is a key part of this expertise. According to Tahkokallio and Oförsagd (2015) Arctic design can have a role in the branding of the city, and at present it plays a part in the marketing communications of Rovaniemi. Being so closely identiied with Arctic design is expected to strengthen the image of Rovaniemi as a modern city. Arctic Design Week fundamentally supports local design enterprises in order to gain more customers nationally and internationally. hese comments were gleaned from interviews with the experts of the city’s commerce, industry and strategic city planning. Rovaniemi Regional Development Agency, which is an enterprise charged with developing the business life of the City of Rovaniemi, has actively participated in the organization of ADW. Over the past seven years, the organization still considers the original goal of creating a forum to bring forward design expertise in Lapland valid. he main goal of the Arctic Design Week remains to be a meeting place and forum for networking. he remit of Rovaniemi Regional Development Agency is primarily to serve enterprises. According to the agency, ADW has to serve as a forum to launch new products and services, and networking has to enhance business. he Arctic Design Week provides a place to introduce the most signiicant outcomes of Arctic design and to actively network locally and internationally (Tahkokallio & Oförsagd, 2015). he development of Arctic design is closely aligned with the strategic priorities of the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland, based on the entire university’s research on the Arctic and change in the North. he purpose is to develop the Faculty of Art and Design into the international centre of Arctic design and applied visual art expertise. Arctic Design Week is considered a natural forum to introduce results from the Faculty of Art and Design, and to be the most important local setting for that purpose. ADW aims to enhance understanding of Arctic design among the faculty, and the event also strengthens the international importance of the local. herefore, ADW can also be viewed as a pedagogical forum related to both design and art education and that supports innovation, collaboration and participation (Jokela, 2013). The participatory methods of the Arctic Design Week From 2009 to 2015, Arctic Design Week has provided diverse cooperation projects with a number of stakeholders. From the beginning, ADW has searched for new ways to test and develop participatory design processes. Co-design and participatory methods are, according to Bason (2010), at the 123 core of modern design thinking and their signiicance in the production of innovation has been recognized both in enterprise and in the public sector. he irst design week focused on city dwellers. Ever since then, participatory design methods have formed a part of the service design projects and projects with enterprises in which city dwellers participate during the week. he purpose of the participatory methods has also been to remove the elitist stigma design has had in the eyes of city-dwellers and entrepreneurs (Tahkokallio & Oförsagd, 2015). Participants and users with diferent backgrounds bring a variety of viewpoints and ideas to the design process to help decision-making. he importance of this becomes clear when the object of development is a challenging target, area, or service that should serve equally well diferent kinds of users, such as city dwellers. Creative dialogue between participants that is supported, for example, with ethnographic methods, visualizations, or citizens’ experiences makes it possible to create shared views and picture new solutions. Another important reason is that co-design methods make the realization of a concept, service, or strategy easier. When partners are committed to the design from the beginning, it is easier for them to engage with the realization as well. Bason (2010) emphasizes the importance of this especially when planning innovation for the public sector and notes that the initial brainstorming should, indeed, be considered as the very irst phase of the realization. he participatory projects that have taken place in ADW have highlighted diversity, collaboration between university students and design professionals in addition to cooperation between enterprises and organizations in the public sector. Such projects have focused, for example, on city planning, entrepreneurial operation or public services. hey have employed collaborative development, end-users’ (i.e. city dwellers) participation in the co-design process, fast and iterative development, and active visualizations of phases; design thinking supporting all these elements. he projects have oten proceeded from the discovery phase to the deinition phase and development and utilization phases, as described by Miettinen and Koivisto (2009). he discovery phase refers to multisided analysis, charting, and information collection about the theme or object to be developed. In the deinition phase, the information gathered is analyzed and evaluated, and factors directing designing are identiied. Numerous new solutions are created and tested, and the best solution is eventually selected in the development phase. In the utilization phase, the service is brought to practice. Typically, this process is multi-professional and the users participate in its every stage. Running a city is becoming more of a continuous co-design process, engaging with diferent stakeholders and exploring new solutions together instead of only focusing on eicient administration (Eskelinen, García Robles, Lindy, Marsh & Muente-Kunigam, 2015). 24-hour design competition produces concepts for a real development One example of the participatory design processes is the 24h design competition organized as a part of the design week and arranged in 2009-2012. he competition concept was created for the Rovaniemi Design Week by Päivi Tahkokallio from Tahkokallio Design+. he purpose of the competition was to produce innovative concepts to develop areas that the City of Rovaniemi pointed out. Areas participating as the developmental targets in the competition were the so-called Christmas Triangle (the area of Rovaniemi Airport, Santa Claus Village, and Santa Park) in 2009, Ounasvaara, a major recreational area in 2010, and the business district of Eteläkeskus in 2011. In 2012, the target was to develop the street- level small-scale stores in the centre of Rovaniemi in cooperation with the City of Helsinki as a part of the WDC 2012Helsinki-Rovaniemi project. he 24h design competitions were organized as a competition between four design teams. Each team consisted of a local enterprise representing the theme of the competition, students of art and design from the University of Lapland, representatives of users or city dwellers, and a professional design enterprise. he design professional’s task was to lead its team through the extremely fast design process in the competition. During the period: 2009– 2011, the wider audience assessed the results and an expert panel together 125 with the audience in 2012, evaluated and selected the winner from concepts that were created through the intensive, 24-hour-long design processes. he primary goal of the 24h design competition was to introduce the possibilities of design in the development of various city areas and bring out the beneits of participatory design. An important goal was also to create new kinds of cooperation between enterprises of various ields, design enterprises, the university, and users of the concept under development. From the students’ point of view the competition provided an opportunity to relect on how, and if, a designer can afect social or political change, like Heller and Vienne (2003) have pointed out. hese goals were achieved to some extent. he concepts created by the teams were innovative and interesting, but it proved to be challenging to have the requisite city authorities engage in the design process and all partners to engage in continuing with the work. he purpose was also to provide university students of art and design with opportunities to cooperate with local enterprises and some of the best Finnish design agencies. Evaluations showed that students appreciated these opportunities, and they were especially pleased with the opportunity to work with outstanding design professionals and enterprises. hrough involving the best Finnish design enterprises in the competition, the concept has clearly improved Rovaniemi’s brand as an interesting design city, particularly in the design world. Good Life in Villages design competition provides better services to residents In the Arctic Design Week of 2015, a new model of the 24h design competition was carried out in cooperation with a hydro power company, Kemijoki Oy, from Rovaniemi. Päivi Tahkokallio from Tahkokallio Design+ Oy introduced the concept to Kemijoki Oy. he design competition provided Kemijoki Oy with a way of implementing its corporate social responsibility programme. he theme of the competition was Good Life in Villages, focusing on the challenges that villages situated by the Kemijoki River face as their population ages rapidly. Four villages were invited to take part in the competition: Autti, Hirvas, Juujärvi, and Oikarainen. Each village cooperated with a team consisting of university students of art and design, students from other faculties of the University of Lapland and from various departments of the Lapland University of Applied Sciences. Corresponding teachers from these higher education institutions also participated in the process. Villagers and the student teams worked for a month at deining ‘good life’ and the services needed for a good life, from the viewpoint of each particular village. During the Arctic Design Week, the design process ended with the inal visits to the villages and an intensive 24-hour design sprint culminating in the chosen service concept enabling ‘good life’. During this inal phase, each village and its student team were supported and lead by one of the best Finnish design enterprises. he village of Autti, which won the competition, came up with a service concept in which the village was seen as a hidden treasure that could be found and developed through the villagers’ participation and at their own pace. he service concept of ‘Oikarainen as a Route’ aimed at supporting the villagers’ active participation in neighbourly help with an internet-based application. he service concept of Hirvas focused on the development of a village hall— either physical or internet-based—that would increase the villagers’ sense of community in this growing village. Elderly inhabitants of the village of Juujärvi designed a service concept aimed at making access to distant social and health care services easier. An international expert panel chose the winner of the competition. he Good life in Villages design competition received positive feedback from all the participants in the process. For the supporter of the competition, Kemijoki Oy, the experiment of using design thinking was a step into the unknown. It provided the company with plenty of new information about its important operating environment, namely the life and hopes of the villagers living by the Kemijoki River. For most of the students, the competition was, thus far, the only multi-professional project bringing together students from various ields, and the cooperation was regarded as challenging and arduous but rewarding. he corresponding teachers from the university of Lapland and 127 the university of applied sciences provided similar feedback. Villagers participated in the project with great enthusiasm and the number of participants increased as the project went on. We assume that many students and villagers created a strong, long-lasting relationship. However, even a month-long project cannot reach the inal goal. It is possible to create a good service concept but turning it into an actual usable service requires much longer-term development. At the moment, the service concepts are introduced to the city oicers and various interest groups, continuation projects are under development, and funding channels are sought. In this phase, Bason’s (2010) notion of the earliest possible participation of the interest groups appears crucial. he more complicated the process is and the more interest groups are involved, the more important early participation becomes. Arctic Design Show as a pedagogical learning environment ADW has also provided a channel to employ project pedagogy emphasizing the cooperation and interest group skills of the faculty of art and design (Jokela, 2013; Jokela, Hiltunen & Härkönen, 2015a, 2015b). A Design Show event has become a central learning environment, and every year it brings together expertise from the various disciplines in the faculty, combining studies of design, media, applied visual arts, and art education as a visible part of the Arctic Design Week. So far, the concept of Arctic design has been deined in a very concrete way as it has linked the wide expertise of the faculty of arts and design with winter art and snow and ice building (see Jokela, Härkönen & Yliharju, 2014). In 2012, the Design show took place right at the centre of Rovaniemi, in an environment made of snow, ice and light based on a parking area. During ADW, this Arctic Snow Room environment provided a place to organize fashion shows, documentary shows, design exhibits, and workshops combining art, dance and new media. An active environment was created aimed at children including snow sculptures, lights and animation projections. he environment was designed as part of the Lapland Snow Design project (see Jokela, Härkönen Figure 1. Outdoor Design Show at Arctic Snow Room environment 2012. Photo: Antti-Jussi Yliharju. & Yliharju, 2014), and it was realized by the Faculty of Art and Design from the University of Lapland together with the Lapland University of Applied Sciences. he City-Hotel, the Regional Development Agency of the City of Rovaniemi, BRP Finland, and Flatlight Films all supported the project. he Arctic design concept was further developed and, in 2013, the Design Show took place on the shared yard between the science centre Arktikum and Pilke. At that time, Lumotion Design Show introduced clothing design, and the snow environment built on the yard provided a phenomenal world of sound and light as well as a unique experience of the strong Arctic wind. he exhibit brought together all students’ Arctic design expertise from the Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland. he world made of snow and ice 129 Figure 2. Lumotion Design Show. Snow, ice and light environment made by Lapland Snow Design project. 2013. Photo: Antti-Jussi Yliharju. was designed by experts from art education, industrial design, interior and textile design, and realized in cooperation with Lapland Snow Design project. Students of audio-visual media culture and graphic design created the visual image of the show. he event was executed in cooperation with agents and enterprises of various ields. Students of the Lapland University of Applied Sciences and the Arctic Power department, who provided the event with an Arctic cold testing laboratory, participated in the construction. Results and impacts Collating the annual feedback and reports provided the authors with the chance to analyse not only the actual impact of ADW but also to identify the challenges and possibilities of developing further collaboration. he University of Lapland and the City of Rovaniemi share the view that Arctic design is of strategic importance. Arctic Design Week has, for its part, Figure 3. Dance theatre Solu at Arctic Fashion Show. 2014. Photo: Timo Jokela. supported the development of this view, enabled multi-professional dialogue and introduced methods of participatory Arctic design. he City of Rovaniemi perceives Arctic design as a part of the wider ield of Arctic expertise on which the aspiration of Rovaniemi’s place as a strong Arctic city can be based. Arctic design is also seen as a major strength in the creation of the Rovaniemi ‘brand’ and in marketing of the city. At the same time, the possibility that interest in the Arctic might fade is seen as a risk from the viewpoint of the city’s marketing communication. For the University of Lapland and especially the Faculty of Art and Design, Arctic design and art provide a framework for fulilling the strategy priority of research in Arctic and northern change. Arctic Design Week, has been a remarkable forum to introduce students’ projects from the Faculty of Art and Design. Exhibitions and the Design show have been at the core. In addition to courses included in the curriculum, students have organized their own exhibitions and events. However, the most signiicant fact is that ADW has provided students and teachers with a learning environment outside the university where various actors come together. In addition, the participants learn collaborative skills needed in the design and 131 art ields for example, multi-professional cooperation, and communicating and marketing of their own expertise. Arctic design has been included in the new curriculum at the University of Lapland and in international networking. A further goal is also to develop international research projects related to Arctic design. Results of the analysis highlight the needs of local stakeholder groups to develop Arctic design and to take expertise to the streets to support innovation development. Results show that local enterprises are interested in making use of the university’s design and art expertise and knowledge and that there is also a need to develop concrete cooperation with education institutions. he creative ields and design-intensive enterprises consider the lack of the most up to date technological knowledge a critical obstacle to business improvement. Similarly, from the point of view of the research and developmental funding of the university, it is clear that the ongoing funding instruments of the Horizon 2020 Programme necessitate that enterprises participate in the realization of research projects. To do that, the interests of research and economic life have to come together, active cooperation and interaction right from the planning phase of research projects is essential. he results also show that the university is expected to connect with the development of various areas of businesses more tightly than before. Future steps Further development of Arctic Design Week as a forum of introducing Arctic design outcomes and as a catalyst for generating new design thinking is a challenge for planning. In the Sharing Experience Europe (SEE) network project (2012–) consisting of 11 European partners, design thinking is seen as a stimulus for innovation in the public sector (Design for Public Good 2013). Applying design thinking and design methods can be described as ‘steps of a ladder’. On the irst step, a public sector organisation participates in the design project, oten a service design project, randomly and without integrating design as a part of the organisation’s operation. On the second step, the organisation itself now has some design expertise and design methods are employed more systematically. On the third and inal step, design has become strategic and design methods are used, for example, in the creation of politics. Design professionals oten serve as facilitators and enablers of multi-professional work in these processes. For now, the aforementioned multi-professional, participatory design projects realised during Arctic Design Week are mainly examples of the irst step of using of design in the public sector. Future Arctic Design Weeks should aim at supporting organisations and enterprises to reach the next levels. he university’s view is that new information about Arctic design should be better employed in societal decision-making and development of enterprises. Simply stated, from the university’s point of view, Arctic design has real impact when research results from Arctic design inluence societal decision-making or enterprises and when education produces Arctic design experts who earn their living as entrepreneurs or as employees in enterprises. A key task for the university is to engage in research that will support societal decision-making and discussion. he distribution of information in a constructive manner to various target groups, including enterprises and citizens, is a challenge that also requires pedagogical expertise. From the perspective of the Arctic Design Week, it means that it is necessary to further strengthen art and design and related research, and their interaction with the wider socio-cultural environment. he goal of Arctic Design Week has to be to get the highest decision-making level of society to participate in the forums of the ADW. Within the Faculty of Art and Design, ADW has to some extent emphasised industrial design, and therefore the inclusion of other ields of training is justiied and timely. he university should also motivate other faculties, such as the Faculty of Social sciences, to participate in ADW more actively. ADW can serve as a forum for multidisciplinary discussion and interdisciplinary projects. Similarly, more agents of the cultural life of Rovaniemi should be motivated to participate in ADW. 133 Conclusion Forthcoming Arctic Design Week events can be considered both forums and catalysts. Events encourage enterprises and the public sector to ‘climb the steps of the design ladder’, eventually reaching the highest step. he development of methods and strengthening of multidisciplinary cooperation are shared challenges for the City of Rovaniemi, University of Lapland and other stakeholder groups including the business community. he city, the university and enterprises must look for solutions to proceed from the lowest to the highest step on the ‘design ladder’ and this requires collaborative design and long term, strategic, planning processes. References Alakärppä, I., Honka, T., Piekkari, J. & Rontti, S. (Eds.) (2015). AMOK esiselvitysraportti. Arktisen muotoilun osaamiskeskus – esiselvityshanke [Expert Center of Arctic Design – pre -report]. Rovaniemi: Lapin Yliopisto. Bason, C. (2010). Leading Public Sector Innovation. Co-creating for a better society. Poole: Policy Press. Brown, T. (2008). Design hinking. Harvard Business Review, June 2008, pp. 84–92. Design for Europe project (2014). Website. Retrieved from http://designforeurope.eu/ about-us. Design for Public Good. (2013). Sharing Experience Europe, SEE Publication. Published in collaboration between Design Council, Danish Design Centre, Aalto University and Design Wales. Design Council, UK. Retrieved from http://www.designcouncil. org.uk/sites/default/iles/asset/document/Design%20for%20Public%20Good.pdf Eskelinen, J., García Robles, A., Lindy, I., Marsh, J. & Muente-Kunigam, A. (2015). Citizen-Driven Innovation. A Guidebook for City Mayors and Public Administrators. he World Bank and European Network of Living Labs. Retrieved from: https:// openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/21984/Citizen_Driven_Innovation_Full.pdf?sequence=9 European Commission. (2013). Implementing an Action Plan for Design-Driven Innovation. Commission Staf Working Document. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/ enterprise/policies/innovation/iles/design/design-swd-2013-380_en.pdf Hardt, M. (2012). he story of the frozen ice or the art of sustainable design in the Arctic. In P. Tahkokallio (Ed.). Arctic Design - Opening the Discussion, (pp. 54–59). Publications of the Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland Series C. Overviews and Discussion 38. Rovaniemi. Heller, S. & Vienne, V. (2003). Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility. New York: Allworth Press. Jokela, T., Coutts, G., Huhmarniemi, M. & Härkönen, E. (Eds.) (2013). Cool – Applied Visual Arts in the North. Publications of the Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland. Series C. Overviews and Discussion 41. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland. Jokela, T., (2013). Engaged art in the North: Aims, methods, contexts. In T. Jokela, G. Coutts, M. Huhmarniemi and E. Härkönen (Eds.), Cool – Applied Visual Arts in the North, (pp. 10–21). Publications of the Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland. Series C. Overviews and Discussion 41. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland. Jokela, T., Hiltunen, M. & Härkönen, E. (2015a). Art-based action research – participatory art for the north. International Journal of Education through Art. 11 (3), pp. 433–448. Jokela, T., Hiltunen, M. & Härkönen, E. (2015b). Contemporary Art Education Meets the International North. In M. Kallio-Tavin and J. Pullinen (Eds.) Conversations on Finnish Art Education, (pp. 260–279). Aalto University publications series Art+Design+Architecture 5/2015. Helsinki: Aalto ARTS Books. Jokela, T., Härkönen, E., & Yliharju A-J (Eds.) (2014). Snow Design in Lapland – Initiating Cooperation. Rovaniemi: Rovaniemen painatuskeskus. Jokela, T. & Coutts, G. (2014). Preface. In T. Jokela, & G. Coutts (Eds.), Relate North – Engagement, Art and Representation, (pp. 6–12). Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. Kolko, J. (2012). Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving: A Handbook & A Call to Action. Austin Centre for Design. Retrieved from: https://www.wickedproblems.com/ Lapin Kansa (2015). Rovaniemi tahtoo olla opiskelijan kotikaupunki. Article in newpaper May 27 2015. Larsen, J.N. & Fondahl, G. (2014). Arctic Human Development Report. Regional Processes and Global Linkages. TemaNord 2014:567. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. Leutola, J., Narbrough, M., Oförsagd, J. & Tahkokallio, P. (2015). Arctic Design Week 2015. Loppuraportti. Rovaniemen kaupunki, elinkeinojaosto: Rovaniemi Lillberg, P., Jerndahl, T., Orjasniemi, M. & Nukarinen, A.-M. (2014). Arktista muotoilua 103 000 kilometriä. WDC2012Helsinki-Rovaniemi -projektin loppuraportti [103,000 kilometers of Arctic design. he inal report of WDC 2012 135 Helsinki-Rovaniemi project]. Rovaniemi: Pohjolan Painotuote Oy. Retrieved from http://wdc2012helsinki-rovaniemi.blogspot.i/p/arktista-muotoilua-103-000-kilometria.html. Manzini, E. (2014). Making hings Happen: Social Innovation and Design. Design Issues, 30 (1). pp. 57–66. Melander, C. (2015). he Design Ladder. Danish Design Centre website. Retrieved from: http://ddc.dk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Design-Ladder_en.pdf. Miettinen, S. (2012). Service design, radical innovations and arctic wellbeing. In Tahkokallio, P. (Ed.) Arctic Design - Opening the Discussion, (pp. 28–33). Publications of the Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland Series C. Overviews and Discussion 38. Rovaniemi. Miettinen, S., Laivamaa, L., & Alhonsuo, M. (2014) Designing Arctic Products and Services. In T. Jokela and G. Coutts (Eds.), Relate North – Engagement, Art and Representation. (pp. 104–126). Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. Miettinen, S. & Koivisto, M., (Eds.) (2009). Designing Services with Innovative Methods. Publication Series of the University of Art and Design Helsinki B 93. Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio Academy of Design, Taitemia 33. Keuruu: Otava. Miettinen, S. & Tahkokallio, P. (2014). Arktisesta muotoilusta kansainvälinen kilpailuetu. In S. Miettinen (Ed.) Muotoiluajattelu [Arctic design as an international competitive advantage. Design thinking]. (pp 164–169). Tampere: Teknologiateollisuus ry. Muotoile Suomi - Kansallinen muotoiluohjelma [Design Finland – National design program]. (2013). Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö, Erillisjulkaisut. Retrieved from https://www.tem.i/iles/36278/Muotoile_Suomi_spreads.pdf Tahkokallio, P. (Ed.) (2012). Arctic Design - Opening the Discussion. University of Lapland. Publications of the Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland Series C. Overviews and Discussion 38. Rovaniemi. Tahkokallio, P. & Oförsagd, J. (2015). Arctic Design Week ja Arctic Design Year. Luonnos jatkosuunnitelmaksi. Rovaniemi: Rovaniemen kaupunki, elinkeinojaosto. homson, M., Koskinen, T. (Eds.) (2012). Design for Growth & Prosperity. Report and Recommendations of the European Design Leadership Board. DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/ enterprise/policies/innovation/iles/design/design-for-growth-and-prosperityreport_en.pdf WDC2012 Helsinki-Rovaniemi Project Website: Retrieved from http://wdc2012helsinki-rovaniemi.blogspot.i/. 137 WALKING ART: Sustaining ourselves as arts educators Valerie Triggs, University of Regina, Canada Rita L. Irwin and Carl Leggo The University of British Columbia, Canada First published in: Triggs, V., Irwin, R. L. & Leggo, C. (2014). Walking art: Sustaining ourselves as arts educators. Visual Inquiry: Learning and Teaching Art 3(1), 21–34. Figure 1. Untitled by Rita L. Irwin & Valerie Triggs (2010). step, step, step, step pause pause between the trees listen to the echo of silence hear the wisdom of the elders step, step, step, step pause pause along the path breathe the breath of life receive the whispers of others (Irwin 2013) 139 he history of humans on earth is one of walking, of migrations of peoples and of cultural and religious exchanges that took place along intercontinental pathways. In both past and present, people have derived sustenance from the land, guided by the seasons and the cyclical movement of crops and livestock, by a desire to communicate with other communities and by the necessity of a method of orientation on intractable landscapes with only the horizon line for direction. Walking was at one time the only means capable of modifying the environment and continues today, to be an aesthetic method of making oneself feel at home on the earth. Perhaps it is because walking is our oldest act of creation (Careri, Pla, Piccolo, & Hammond, 2002) that contemporary artists in the past century have experimented in such a wide variety of ways with walking as a means to create new types of art. he curatorial statement for a current exhibition called “Walk On” at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland, UK, claims that in considering land art, conceptual art, street photography and the essay-ilm, “much of the important art of our time has been created through an act of walking”. In this paper, we explore the ways in which walking seems to stimulate a social awareness at the level of the body, an instinct for the body’s strategic nerve impulses preparing the body for relating to the world. Walking as an art practice, is a way of reminding the self that perceptions are made before conscious awareness of a particular sense and may also “mobilize new structures of forethought out of which can arise new ideas” (hrit, 2008, p. 38). In particular, by means of walking, we consider the sustenance provided by perception’s access to the social world of relational aliveness. Sean Watson (in hrit, 2008) describes a contemporary interdisciplinary turn towards vitalist ways of thinking and Nigel hrit (2008) traces current interest in forms of living enquiry, to practices themselves that ofer “a heightened sense of involvement in our involvements” (p. 66). In combination with other factors that he identiies, hrit argues that walking is one of several current immersive practices that produce a new form of vitalism that is a stance to feeling life both by grasping it and by feeling an attunement with it. In art practices such as walking, the sense and recognisability of things does not lie in conceptual categories in which we mentally place them but in the positions and orientations of walking which our postures address (Lingis, in hrit, 2008, p. 67). In this line of thought, walking constitutes the walker and the path walked will be perceived in however it lures a body’s posture, which changes according to the path upon which one inds oneself walking. his requires a shit in traditional understandings of perception and how knowledge is made. his shit suggests that human bodies are sustained because of their “unparalleled ability to “co-evolve with things” (hrit, 2008, p. 10): to insert themselves “sotly and luidly” into the “universe’s wild and free unfolding” (Kwinter, in hrit, 2008, p. 11) through the morphogenetic capacities of everyday moments. We are three a/r/tographers: (artists, researchers and teachers), with a belief that our everyday living is also a creative practice. A/r/tography is a practice based research methodology within the arts and education (Irwin, 2013) that is not only a way of continuous enquiry into the work of artmaking, research and teaching, but also a practice of sensitizing methods and bodies to feelings of afecting and being afected: continuous events of perception. Practices, according to hrit (2008), can be understood as “material bodies of work that have gained enough stability over time, through for example, the establishment of corporeal routines and specialized devices, to reproduce themselves” (p. 8). We believe that the potent aterlife of one artmaking practice activates responses that recalibrate other creative practices, continually manifesting new hybrids of artmaking, research, pedagogies and of also, ways of inhabiting the earth. We have recently engaged in a year-long enquiry of walking alone or with our respective companions. In coming together occasionally as well as ater the fact, we have considered how the paths walked and the walking of the paths, have sustained us as arts educators as well as revitalized the paths walked. We also came together to make more art and to let the art events of poetry, photographs, soundscapes and markmaking extend, intermingle and stimulate further discussion and ideas. Because a/r/tography’s commitment in its beginnings (Irwin & deCosson, 2004) was to a living enquiry, we feel that 141 its work must augment our living and its practice must refresh our frequent exhaustion. Rather than gathering data, this particular a/r/tographic study explored events of perception that might ofer relief from the rush of an informational world. Our enquiry sought experience in full-bodied perception to sensitize ourselves to feeling life as potential, in continuous successions of evaluative repositionings that yet feel their own “onlow” (hrit, 2008, p. 5). he aim of this essay is to communicate the ways in which we experienced a rising awareness and interest in mobility and the proliferation of aesthetic practices, and felt individual sustenance as arts educators, through a walking enquiry. In this study, each of us walked regularly our chosen paths. Rita Irwin’s walks were through the forest behind her home near Paciic Spirit Regional Park: over 700 hectares of forest encompassing the tip of the Point Grey peninsula in Vancouver, Canada. he winding paths were built in the 1980s in the shadows of old growth cedar, hemlock and Douglas ir and amidst the abundant undergrowth of salmonberry, huckleberry and dogwood bushes, on a carpet of moss and lichen. At the time of this a/r/tographic enquiry, Valerie Triggs also walked the forest paths of the Paciic Spirit Park but carried recent memories of the indelible light of Saskatchewan’s short grass prairie and its scent of midsummer dust and sage. Carl Leggo walked along the West Dyke trails in Steveston, an historic and still active ishing village on the south rim of Richmond, a city on Lulu Island, a river delta island, just south of Vancouver. he West Dyke trail is beside what is named the Sturgeon Banks, a 21,000 acre estuary where marsh grasses grow and over which a million birds migrate annually. Carl walks the dyke with his three preschool granddaughters who are teaching him the wonders of walking as enquiry. We invite you to share in a bit of our experience through the included poetry and visual images. We invite you to remember your own experiences of walking, to breathe deeply, to slow down, to be in this moment, to enjoy this experience with us through our art and by considering our enquiry into shiting conceptions of art practice and perception. We hope to invoke, evoke and provoke our shared enthusiasm for the arts and for learning to live sustainably in the world. Walking that listens to light: Attending to perceiving’s onlow According to Canadian social theorist Brian Massumi (2002), all artmaking is an event of perception. He is not referring to classical empiricism where things don’t exist outside of any particular perception and in which perception is oten equated with the sense of sight. Perception is not a purely visual experience occurring to a passive relector of reality. Seeing requires our bodies rather than just our ield of vision. Massumi explains that while the optical apparatus may be isolated in anatomical dissection, it never functions in isolation. Recent scientiic research extends the interconnectedness of a body and its perceivings (Provencio, 2011) indicating that bodies feel light rather than sense it. Furthermore, in responding to light, moving bodies cannot be separated out from movement’s capacity for transformation. his is the way vision can relay into the kinesthetics of a sense of movement and “how kinesthesia can relay into touch” (Massumi, 2002, p. 4). To see, therefore, is also to enfold the body’s feeling of the real abstraction of potential. We sense ourselves alive and we perceive through the aliveness. Carl Leggo (2007) writes: Listening to Light once upon a time I saw light, counted colors, combed dictionaries for modiiers, coined countless adjectives to name light in poems, held in dark memory, but I knew always the light I saw was the visible light only, its visibility rendering invisible the places where light begins, where it goes, since the whole wild experience of seeing seems to stop with the irm earth 143 but now I walk daily the dike that writes a thin line between Lulu Island and the Fraser River, and tune my skin to listen to light’s lyrical lilt, sung in sun-washed, moon-drawn, shadow-scribed lines, resilient, resonant, measured without end Tuning one’s skin to listen involves a sense of aliveness of a body relating to the world at a particular moment. his sense of aliveness has a shape or feel, a singular quality; Matthew Lipman (1967) calls it a self. A body and its self are its perceivings. Separately, there is “no action, no analysis, no anticipation, no thing, no body” (Massumi, 2002, p. 95). he embodied assemblage of the self as an event of perception is a site of feelings of capacity for renewal. What is most important is the sensation of the “margin of undecidability accompanying every perception” (Massumi, 1995, p. 98) and the feeling that there are things in the world that matter to us, that we feel we can go places and do things in relation to them. Simon O’Sullivan (2001) cites Felix Guattari in describing how artmaking’s access to new materials of expression involves “a process of reordering our selves and our relation to the world” (p. 5) and this is an aesthetic function. For many artists, this aesthetic function of renewing the self in relation to the world, is the ultimate aim of art. In the poem below, Carl Leggo inquires into learning the aesthetics of the shape of aliveness. Light Lines with winter’s end, silver birches stand along the parallel borders of the highway, bare, lean, awash in late aternoon light, like a topsy-turvy sea of vertical waves, iterable far beyond even keen eyesight like Charlton Heston in Cecil B. DeMille’s dazzling miracle commanded the parting of the Red Sea, the highway is a charcoal line that divides and deines the tangled wilderness in a text that invites and deies perspective the birches hold light like Chinese lanterns, and I want to learn how to breathe light, and hold its scent long in memory, to hear light seep into stone, to taste savoury light on the skin, to know the language of light like I once stood in a Richmond gallery surrounded by Rita’s art, her imagined trees and light rendered with heart and hand, till now I linger, once again, face to face with the limits of language, and wonder how Rita would evoke the silver birches full of spring light, and I wish for the artist’s ways of knowing, want only to write the lines of light I have witnessed so you can know how light dances up a storm beyond words We found we were in agreement regarding our experiences of having a heightened multi-modal sensitivity to the places in which we walked, which manifested through our practices of walking. Rita Irwin writes in her journal: Walking has heightened my sensitivity to the aurality of physical spaces. I experience the qualities of space not only by seeing but also by listening… I hear the cathedral-like height of the trees, the deep 145 spaces between the trees, and the movement of the trees on a still day. he audible attributes of walking in the forest reach beyond a predisposition for seeing and enlarge the experience through attentive listening, through mindfulness.(2010) Echoes of becoming: Walking in attunement Massumi (2002) claims that vision gives more back to reality than it is given; what is actually seen is overseen, involving added ingredients to experience, bits of the past that the body remixes and feels as the relational aliveness of future. Perception itself is an aesthetic experience involving always already “multisense pastness” (p. 155). Massumi ofers examples of habitually unperceived things that happen throughout the day, such as variations in angle, illumination and colour, endogenous retinal irings, voluntary eye movements, etc. Alongside a body’s constancies and unities of perception, these other movements persist constituting vision that makes use of a qualitative world to be generative of reality. In her walking practice, Rita Irwin used her camera to explore the movement of her body amidst the trees and light. She allowed her breath to move the camera image, documenting the lifespan of a ‘breath in movement’ and traced its path into the blur of the forest. One of the photographs of her Liminal1 Lights series is included below. In her journal Rita recorded her thoughts: Walking faster, walking slower: how does it change my perception? Using my camera as if it were a paintbrush I stroke the air and picture the in-between. Curious, I try diferent qualities of stroking the air. What lies in between this time and space? My breath. We all need to 1 Liminality is a movement that cannot be spatialized; its essential character is always in a state of becoming. Liminality is derived from the Latin word for threshold, a point beyond which a sensation is almost too faint to be perceived yet cannot but be felt by bodies in the midst of already moving through such experiences. Figure 2. Untitled by Rita L. Irwin (2009). breathe deeply to feel intensely alive. hrough the abstractness of these images I explore the concreteness of the breath of life by further understanding the breath of the image, the breath of my body creating the image, and the sweet breath of mindfulness within my body creating the image. (2010) Rita’s experimentation explored the measure of an event of perception with the aesthetic experience of her walking body movement. hrit describes a similar desire for presence that escapes a “conscious-centered core of self-reference” (p. 5) and he cites Hans Ulricht Gumbrecht in an exclamation that echoes the expression of Rita’s art: “Rather than have to think, always and endlessly, what else there could be, we sometimes seem to connect with a layer in our existence that simply wants the things of the world close to our skin” (Gumbrecht in hrit, 2008, p. 5). Sometimes our bodies are starved for the feel of percep- 147 tion’s integrating functions that entangle us in the world, especially when we are bombarded with understandings of perception and the making of knowledge as uncomplicated one-to-one correspondences, rather than necessarily aesthetic experience. In continuing her exploration with bodily perception through other photographs in her series, another image from the Liminal Lights series is included as well as an additional journal entry by Rita. Figure 3. Untitled by Rita L. Irwin (2009). As I walked and paid particular attention to the forest, to being in the forest, to learning in the forest, I found myself thinking about something I have always found curious about time and space. When I have lown in propeller driven airplanes, I have always been fascinated by the fact that when the propellers are still, we can’t see what is behind them, but when the propellers move quickly, very fast, we can clearly see what is behind them even though we can no longer see the propellers. Movement propels another kind of experience within our environment. By slowing down and paying attention to the particular in my forest walks I was able to reimagine how changing my movement in the forest might allow me to see beyond that which I had taken for granted, seeing another perspective of my experience. (2009) Rita’s study of walking and her memory of other experiences of movement echo an observation that Albert Michotte (in Massumi, 2002, p. 282) irst brought to scientiic investigation: we never register only what is in front of our eyes. We view objects partially occluded by other objects, yet we experience them as complete. Michotte describes how perception ills itself in as “amodal completion” and claims it is the very mechanism of object perception. Amodal completion is not so much an illusion as a “functional mode of hallucination” (p. 282): added reality. Other studies indicate that perception is not so much about “illing out” things that are missing but rather about “inding out” (Pessoa, hompson & Noë, 1998). his movement is both real and abstract using both local and nonlocal information. Massumi describes actual form and its abstract dynamic as two sides of the same experience; inseparable, fused dimensions of the same reality. he activity of seeing double extends an object to an event. Neuroscientist Rudolfo Llinás (2001) describes this as “simultaneity of activation” (p. 250) which is the way organisms become capable of more complicated movement and walk in attunement with the rest of the moving world. By binding in time fractured elements of reality we receive perceptual unity so that everything in one moment seems as one event, occurring right now. Humans are the best example of the way the totality of every moment is held in suspension as we integrate ourselves in resonating qualities and binding of segmental functions into a composite. Llinás describes the process as kinesthetically imaging an organism as a whole to itself, in other words making something new of the world coming in, sustaining itself through feelings of capacity for inhabiting a place in the world. 149 Rita’s recollection while walking, of her perception beyond the propeller blades might be a useful example of the way in which the body’s integrating enquiry compensates when it experiences too much repetition of the same with not enough physical contrast. he beginning of the stimulus that she describes, involving the propeller blade movement, is identical to the end of the stimulus. To ensure reliability in this absence of contrast Pessoa et al. (1998) argue that the only way a body retains reliable estimates is by combining the information across the series of “scenic contrast-responses of interest” creating a composition of the recursive durations of contrasts beyond that the of the propellers. In the situation of repeated sameness, sensitive perception makes an image that feels more than the absence of vibrating tension available in the lack of physical contrast. We are, ater all, organisms with the desire to live and time and space are not just objects of perception; they are factors in one’s capacity to be sustained on the earth. Seeing depends on fusions between vision and other senses, especially touch and hearing all of which must be indexed to movement. When our natural navigational abilities begin to fail, in “repetitive, data-depleted landscapes with few sight-markers” (Macfarlane, 2012, p. 79), we begin to feel and think signiicantly diferently. Rather than being starved by disuse in cases of increasing standardization, perception draws not only from what is immediately in front of it but involves aesthetic feelings that mark capacities for the ongoing of life, holding us to our current paths by feeling their degrees of openness. Conjunctions that smudge: Walking with all of our relations In walking, multidimensional movement cannot be spatialized; its essential character is always in a state of becoming. his means that one experience always recedes into other experiences and simultaneously we feel anticipation and remembrance, approach and withdrawal, recovery and loss. Because most of our action is re-action, hrit (2008) claims this imposes on us, enormous evaluative demands for social awareness, a good education reason, we feel, for proliferations of art practices designed to augment the foundational aesthetic feelings in perception. Additionally, in the midst of perceptive events, time and space do not register a simple quantitative detainment. At every instant Massumi explains, there is some kind of stimulus arriving through one sense channel or another, each modulating an earlier stimulus before it becomes “what it will have been” (2002, p. 196). he “recursive durations” meld together, “a relational time-smudge” (p. 196). With no deining point of inception, there is only “an ininite multiplication of recursively durational emergent awarenesses, madly smudging each other” (p. 196). Walking as an art practice seems to ofer a certain awareness of this creative tension in which bodies have to continually renegotiate their relations and make selections from felt potential. he integrative and augmentative events of perception are entire experiences of reality but they are never felt as complete wholes towards balance or towards an equilibrium (Massumi, 2002). Rather, they are always leaning towards their own potential for diference, always sensitive to something else just now on the horizon. Carl expresses an awareness of this lure to feel an issuing into, and from, in a desire to go where he has not been: Somewhere I have never travelled I want to be a verb, since for too long I have been written a noun only, but no longer satisied I want to name endlessly, be the verb’s verve like Rita and Valerie’s art, poetry pushes at edges into spaces where language refuses clarity, coherence, composition, even comprehensibility, amidst literally ininite alliterative possibilities like holograms, the part in the whole, rhizome connections in the earth, 151 the sheer certitude of everything spilling and spelling out in fractal inevitability as poems refused to be consumed, preclude easy access, even a ready location for readers who are invited to ind, if they can, their positions for responding in a tantalizing textualizing as poems invite the words to low around the reader, even in and through the reader who must surrender the desire to hold the text in place, must carry the memory of mystery and sit the fragments like hypertextual links to somewhere untracked to other places like e.e. cummings, somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond Carl refuses to abstract perception from the moment, seeking instead to sensitize his body to its issuing into and from each moment, in his walking art. Valerie Triggs explored how walking as an art practice helps with the evaluative tasks that hrit (2008) describes bodies making before conscious awareness. She wanted to experiment in terms of a body’s feel for capacities to believe and be touched by knowledge in ways not already determined. Rita invited Valerie to work into and on top of the series of Liminal Lights images that she created. Returning to the forest Valerie collected leaves of skunk cabbage and bog mud hoping to transduce the smells and sounds of the forest into a kind of paint. She wanted to add her own markings of forest paint and pastel “sotly and luidly” into the still unfolding potency of the Liminal Lights series: perhaps a meditation on the lyrical link between one moment and the next, the visible and invisible evidence of previous human interaction, and the way in which the same movement that invents a problem is also its solution. One of the series worked on collaboratively is ofered below and another is inserted at the beginning of this article. Figure 4. Untitled by Rita L. Irwin & Valerie Triggs (2010). In walking, the conjunctions of becoming and vitality always move together. Where we have not yet been is part of where we are going and somehow walking old routes delivers us repeatedly to the contemporary while the energies and shapes of local places change the luminosity of the potential traced on their pathways. Carl Leggo has written elsewhere about the way the earth carries the deep echoes of light’s rhythms.2 His poem that follows expresses a/r/tographic thinking towards conjunctions, where the potential of one art practice is felt in the relational perception of another. 2 Light Echoes, Carl Leggo 153 Conjunctions while I once sought the whole I only ever found holes because I can never tell a whole story, I seek fragments since I am an incomplete sentence I seek communion with others like the possibilities of conjunctions ghosts are everywhere, everywhen as they call us eagerly to connect like bridges that lean on light with invitations to walk in places where we have been but never been conjunctions invite us to know interconnections, even if our eyes are dim Despite sometimes dim and weary eyes, walking art has generated for us, feelings of capacity for aesthetically integrating our knowing and our methods and practices into a world already underway. While we agree with Barbara Kingsolver (2002) that “the way of inding a place in this world is to write one” (p. 233), walking art also reminds us of Wendell Berry’s (1990/2010) observation that “any poem worth the name is the product of a convocation. It exists, literally, by recalling past voices into presence” (p. 89). In tuning our skin to listen as we walked and became aware of a self creating new footprints on old landscapes, we revitalized the paths with new images, new sounds, and new poetry. We also felt with Flann O’Brien (in Robert Macfarlane, 2012) that one’s “feet on the road makes a certain quantity of road come up into you” (p. 53). With that particular quantity of road and the singularity of an experience of light integrating enculturated body, walking art ofers the sustenance of a body’s potential for remaking the path. We hope this research essay ofers insights and sparks new discussion and ideas on walking as art and other immersive art practices that might stimulate a social awareness in research, teaching practices and epistemologies. Our interest is also in coming alongside other arts educators to augment more sensitive perception that might help in discerning integration of the very changes in which we are immersed. We exist because we feel capacities of integrating with the earth. When we are exhausted, a transformational expectation is really not as desirable as feeling sustenance for the transitive and in fact, the sustenance of feelings of relational aliveness continually remake the self. hat’s the joy, Richard Wagamese (1997) explains, of “living inhabited lives – the recurrence of the profound in the ordinary” p. 248). Lastly, we want to emphasize the importance of collaboration between practices and people, past and present. Gathering together even in asynchronous ways augments the resonation of ideas and allows others to iniltrate, intervene and inform opportunity towards the sustenance of feeling the potential in our simultaneous “inding out” and inhabiting the paths we journey. If aesthetic feeling sensed in passing, is the way in which bodies make knowledge and organize experience, it seems reasonable to strengthen and develop such embodied perception through proliferating art practices with communities of artists who listen to light, and who are interested in experimenting with walking sotly and luidly in the midst of a world already underway. 155 References Berry, W. (1990/2010). What are people for? Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint. Careri, F., Pla, M., Piccolo, S. & Hammond, P. (2002). Walkscapes: El andar como práctica estética [Walking as an aesthetic practice]. Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili. Irwin, R. L. (2013). Becoming a/r/tography. Studies in Art Education, 54 (3), 198–215. Irwin, R. L. (2004). A/r/tography: A metonymic métissage. In R. L. Irwin & de Cosson, A. (Eds.) a/r/tography: Rendering self through arts-based living inquiry (pp. 27–38). Vancouver, BC: Paciic Educational Press. Leggo, C. (2007). Listening to light. stonestone, summer 2007 (n. p.). Retrieved from http://stonestone.unbc.ca/archives/summer2007/authors/leggo/listening.html Llinás, R. R. (2001). i of the vortex: From neurons to self. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Lipman, M. (1967). What happens in art? NY: Irvington Publishing. Kingsolver, B. (2002). Small wonder. NY: Harper. Massumi, B. (1995). he autonomy of afect. Cultural Critique, No. 31, he politics of systems and environments, Part II. (Autumn, 1995), 83–109. Massumi, B. (2002). Parables for the virtual: Movement, afect, sensation. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Macfarlane, R. (2012). he old ways: A journey on foot. London, UK: Penguin. O’Sullivan, S. (2001, December). he aesthetics of afect: hinking art beyond representation. Angelaki: Journal of the heoretical Humanities, 6(3), 125–135. Pessoa, L, hompson, E. & Noë, A. (1998). Finding out about illing-in: A guide to perceptual completion for visual science and the philosophy of perception. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 21, 723–802. Provencio, I. (2011, May). he hidden organ in our eyes. Scientiic American, 55–59. hrit, N. (2008). Non-representational theory: Space, politics, afect. NY: Routledge. Wagamese, R. (1997). A quality of light. Toronto, ON: Doubleday. 157 VISUAL ESSAY Cross cultural meetings and learning in an Art Biennale Maria Huhmarniemi University of Lapland, Finland Severomorsk Rovaniemi Luleå Figure 1. X-Border Art Biennale was an international art exhibition that was shown simultaneously in three cities in three countries: Luleå in Sweden, Rovaniemi in Finland and Severomorsk in Russia. All artworks dealt with the theme of ‘borders’. 159 he themes of borders and border crossings were studied from many angles. he 48 artists, who had been selected from 500 applications, presented issues and questions about borders and lack of them. For example, physical and mental borders, and outsiders and insiders. Artists who came to the Biennale from across the globe highlighted their own cultural backgrounds and the difering political situations in and around their home countries. Artists came to set up the exhibition themselves. In Rovaniemi, students of the University of Lapland worked with teachers to help in the process. For a period of 10 days before the openings, an intensive space was developed for cross cultural meetings and learning. Figure 2. Japanese artist Tokio Maruyama talking with the students. Figures 3.–4. Tokio Maruyama made a performance ‘Geographical Movement’ at the exhibition opening in Rovaniemi. he drilled holes in the wall present nuclear power stations and nuclear waste repository. Photos: Marko Junttila. 161 he exhibition spread to several exhibition halls and outdoor sites in Luleå, Rovaniemi and Severomorsk. here were also public artworks, some permanent and some temporary, and some artworks were presented as Internet art. he project also produced a catalogue, which was then printed as newspaper, book and published as a website (Sikström & Lestander, 2013; X-border ,2013). Moreover, the project nurtured new networks between the artists and project administrators, these being the most important result in fulilling the aim of the project. Figures 5.–7. he Firefall murals in Luleå, Rovaniemi and Severomorsk by Carolina Falkholt were some of the most visible results of the project linking together the three cities. Web-based technologies were used to connect the three exhibition venues and to reach new audiences. At the exhibition venues, there were virtual windows in the form of digital screens. Visitors were given an opportunity to view the exhibition halls in each country and to communicate with visitors in these art galleries. Visitors were also encouraged to share their thoughts in the Biennial blog (Of the borders 2013). his was done with a tablet, which enabled the bloggers to attach pictures of the works that they were commenting on. hus, the Biennale blog acted as a virtual guest book where engendered feelings, reactions and interpretations of the works were documented. Art Education to Bridge Cultures Art exhibitions can serve as learning environments, and contemporary art can be used as the focal point for an antiracist curriculum (Cahan & Kocur 2011, p. 4). In addition, interpretation of art utilises knowledge about the social and cultural background of the works and can integrate knowledge (Eland, 2002, 163 164–167). he X-Border Biennale included several art works that highlighted cultural diversity and cultural identity in the region and elsewhere. hese artworks were used as a base for learning from other cultures and to respect the diferences as in multicultural education. here was also contemporary art from the region, for example Sámi contemporary art. he study of such art can support students´ understanding of their own place in history and thus enhance multicultural and socially activist education. Moreover some of the workshops aimed to open up new dialogues within the cultural groups in Rovaniemi. As Fernando Hernández states, we live in multicultural society in which art education should be used to increase interculturalism (Hernández, 1999). Art education took place in each exhibition venue of the X-Border Biennale. here were community art projects, pedagogical workshops and guided tours in the exhibition and outdoors. (Huhmarniemi, Härkönen & Jokela, 2015.) Several pedagogical workshops were ofered to schools in Rovaniemi. Children from kindergartens, comprehensive schools and high schools were able to familiarize themselves with the exhibition by guided tours and thematic workshops. he events made the themes of the artworks easier to understand among locals as well as tourists. In this essay I present three art Figure 9. Photo: Marko Junttila Figures 10.–12. As an artist, Heidi Hänninen was happy to take part in X-Border Biennial's art pedagogy program and was glad to see the results that were resonating with the mural made by Biennial's artist Carolina Falkholt. 'Maybe Rovaniemi will be the new Berlin one day', said the artist. Photos: Heidi Hänninen. 165 education projects carried out by artists and art education students from the Department of Art Education of the University of Lapland. Artist and art teacher, Heidi Hänninen, ran a street-art workshop called ‘Neighbour-secrets’. In the workshop, the young people of Rovaniemi got to know Cyrillic alphabets by using sprayed 'code language' straight onto public walls in Rovaniemi's city centre. In the workshop, a variety of stereotypes and experiences concerning Russia were discussed and these ideas were legally painted in four locations. For many of the participants, this workshop was their irst real encounter with the Russian language, culture and life. Most of them had never visited Russia, even though they might have had schoolmates and close friends who were part-Russian. here were also few participants who had their own Russian roots, so they had learnt the Cyrillic alphabet at home. he workshop gained good publicity and young people took part eagerly. Artist and art education student Aino Mäntyvaara created the 'houghts about Border' project in which the visitors to the exhibition were photographed. he non-stop workshop produced one more installation for the exhibition. Figures 13.–14. Passport-style photos formed an installation with short notes of those visitors. he installation by Aino Mäntyvaara. Photos: Pilvi Keto-LeBlanc. Figure 15. Street art in the workshop by Soia Waara. Photo: Soia Waara. Community artist, Soia Waara, and her artist-partner, Stig Olav Tony Fredrikson, carried out workshops in which they invited town folk to participate in art walks to see the public art of the Biennale and make their own temporary artworks. Soia Waara relected that these happenings gave the local community glimpses into contemporary art, and a chance to be part of an aesthetic process. One result of this raised the question 'whose space is the city?' Encountering issues like segregation and wellbeing in a broader sense, the pedagogical strength of the method brought exciting perspectives to the artists and participants. 167 New Horizons project he X-Border Art Biennale was one part of the New Horizons project. he New Horizons project (2013–2015) aimed to strengthen cultural collaborations in the Barents Region by a large cultural program including contemporary art, workshops for young people and choir collaborations. he project was funded by the European Union, program Kolarctic ENPI CBC. he program strengthened people-to-people and civil society contact at the local level. Actions in the educational and cultural ields, as well as enhanced cross-border contacts, aim to promote local governance and mutual understanding, and to improve people's knowledge of history and cultural heritage. he program also aimed to impact identity building towards a strong and positive northern identity by celebrating the great variety of cultural traditions and languages, and the existence of indigenous peoples in the Barents region. he X-Border Biennale took place as one of the irst activities in the New Horizons project in the summer of 2013. Since then, the political relations Figure 16. Tokio Maruyama: ‘Geographical Movement’ Photo: Marko Junttila between Finland and Russia, as well as Sweden and Russia, have changed. here are discussions on the Ukraine crisis, sanctions against Russia, propaganda, an information war and a psychological war. Russia has conirmed its military strength in the Arctic region, where it has started to use military bases again. Today, the situation in Ukraine also throws a shadow over northern and Arctic cultural cooperation. herefore, the theme of the X-Border Biennale is more topical than we could have imagined at the beginning of the project. As Dan Lestander, one of the curators of the exhibitions, stated: ‘Arranging an art biennial brings knowledge, culture, art and understanding across the borders. It's important to continue the collaborations in order to bring the citizens of Barents together, not divide them. Art is the best border opener I know.’ References Cahan, S. E. & Kocur Z. (2011). Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education. In E. Joo, & J. Keehn II. (Eds.) Rethinking Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education, (pp. 3–16). New York: Routledge. Eland, A. D. (2002). Art and Cognition. Integrating the Visual Arts in the Curriculum. New York: Teachers College. Hernández, F. (1999). Cultural Diversity and Art Education: he Spanish Experience. In D. Boughton & R. Mason, (Eds.) Beyond Multicultural Art Education: International Perspectives (pp. 103–113). New York: Waxmann Publishing Co. Huhmarniemi, M., Härkönen, E. & Jokela, T. (2015). (Eds.) Learning Xperiences – Art Pedagogical Approaches in X-Border Biennial. (pp. 14–16). Rovaniemi. Of the borders (2013). Retrieved from http://x-border.tumblr.com/. Sikstörm C. & Lestander D. (2013). X-border Art biennial. Göteborg: Göterborgstryckeriet. X-border (2013) Retrieved from http://www.x-border.info/. 169 Contributor Details Herminia Din is professor of art education at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Author or coauthor of ive books and over 20 peer- reviewed journal articles, she has presented at national and international conferences and consulted with numerous organizations. She specializes in distance and online learning for museums, and emphasizes using enhanced media for interpretation. She holds a doctorate in art education from Ohio State University. hdin@uaa.alaska.edu Glen Coutts is a Professor of Applied Visual Arts and a Docent at the University of Lapland. He was Reader in art and design education at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow until April 2010. He writes regularly about issues in art education and is currently Vice-President of the International Society for Education through Art and Principal Editor of the International Journal of Education through Art. glen.coutts@ulapland.i Tinna Gunnarsdóttir is an adjunct at Iceland Academy of the Arts, department of Design and Architecture. She has been a freelance product designer based in Reykjavik, Iceland since 1993. Her work has been exhibited all over the world in numerous Art and Design exhibitions. tinnag@lhi.is Gunvor Guttorm is Professor in duodji (Sámi arts and crafts, traditional art, applied art) at the Sámi University College in Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino in Norway. She is currently rector at the Sámi University College. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in duodji at Sámi University College level, both practically and theoretically. She has written several articles about how the traditional knowledge of sámi art and craft is transformed to the modern lifestyle. gunvor.guttorm@samiskhs.no Tuija Hautala-Hirvioja PhD has been professor of art history at the Faculty of Art and Design at University of Lapland since autumn of 2004. Her research concerns Northern art and culture and Finnish contemporary art, particularly within the framework of Wihuri Collection. Before becoming a lecture at the University of Lapland she was a curator at the Aine Art Museum from 1986 to 1995. Hautala-Hirvioja has written several articles, books and catalogues on her research ield. tuija.hautala-hirvioja@ulapland.i Maria Huhmarniemi is a university lecturer in University of Lapland, Faculty of Art and Design. She worked as one of the coordinators in the X-Border Art Biennale. maria.huhmarniemi@ulapland.i Rita L. Irwin is Professor of Art Education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She is also Past President of the International Society for Education through Art and is a Past Chair of the World Alliance for Arts Education. She is best known for her work in expanding how we might imagine and conduct arts practice based research methodologies through collaborative and community-based collectives. rita.irwin@ubc.ca Timo Jokela is Professor of Art Education and Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland. He is leader of the Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design, University of Arctic. Jokela works actively as an environmental artist and community artist, often using natural materials and the cultural heritage of the North and the Arctic as a starting point for his works. He has been responsible for several international and regional art-based research projects in the ield of art education, visual art and design. timo.jokela@ulapland.i Dr. Carl Leggo is a poet and professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada. His books include: Growing Up Perpendicular on the Side of a Hill; Come-By-Chance; Lifewriting as Literary Métissage and an Ethos for Our Times (co-authored with Erika Hasebe-Ludt and Cynthia Chambers); Poetic Inquiry: Vibrant Voices in the Social Sciences (co-edited with Monica Prendergast and Pauline Sameshima); and Sailing in a Concrete Boat: A Teacher’s Journey. carl.leggo@ubc.ca Antti Stöckell is an artist and art educator in Rovaniemi, Finland. He has been a university teacher in art education at the University of Lapland, faculty of Art and Design, since 2008. As a postgraduate student he is working on his doctoral thesis about using art as a tool for processing experiences of environmental changing in mining projects. antti.stockell@ulapland.i Päivi Tahkokallio is Founder and CEO of Tahkokallio Design+, a Finnish design thinking and strategic design agency. Päivi, with her 25 year long track record on social design, is one of the irst master minds behind arctic design, helping i.e. the city of Rovaniemi to partner up with Helsinki, the World Design Capital in 2012, and was the catalyst in the inclusion of arctic design in the national Arctic Strategy of Finland. Päivi is the chair of the Design Committee at the Lapland Chamber of Commerce, and a member of Ornamo Board. She became Fellow of RSA, Royal Society of Arts in Great Britain, in 2013. paivi@tahkokallio.i Valerie Triggs is an Assistant Professor of Art Education at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan. Her research interests explore the methodological implications of aesthetic practice as a condition of learning, a force for social organization and as a way in which new reality is added to the world. Additional research has focused on the role of the school advisor in school practicum settings. Contributions include publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as book chapters in several edited books. valerie.triggs@uregina.ca 171

Log In

Relate North: Art, Heritage & Identity

Relate North: Art, Heritage & Identity

Related Papers

RELATED PAPERS