Abstract
Places constructed as peripheral are not passive recipients of global processes and issues. Instead, these places of political and geographical isolation become centers of transformation, adaptation and creativity—sometimes by necessity. The Arctic is at the center of extreme forces—called to respond before the impacts of change reach more central urban places. In the North, change and adaptation is a constant. Creative and Indigenous voices represent place and resilience, rather than a response to art itself. The Anchorage Museum presents the periphery as center as a method of decolonization, empowering the voices of Indigenous artists and communities, acknowledging language and the land, and affecting traditional definitions of research, scholarship and knowledge. We feature artists and projects that embody histories, highlight spiritual and environmental knowledge, serve as boundary markers between home and outsiders, convey information from local knowledge of topography and memory, embrace natural and social connections, link present to past, and outline an understanding of place. We look at decolonization through creative production within networks of mobility and exchange. Putting this decolonization into practice is discussed with co-presenters Marek Ranis, artist and professor from the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Bodil Kjelstrup from the Northern Norway Art Museum in Tromso, Norway.
Presenters
Julie DeckerDirector/CEO, Administration, Anchorage Museum, Alaska, United States Bodil Kjelstrup
Anchorage Museum Marek Ranis
University of North Carolina Monique Maye
Columbia College Chicago
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Decolonization, Periphery, Topography, Place, Memory, Practice, Knowledge, Creativity
