9:00 am–5:00 pm Alaska Time, each day

ARCA (Arctic Urban Green Spaces and Climate Adaptation) is a Belmont Forum consortium project consisting of social and natural scientists and artists from George Washington University (USA), University of Vienna (Austria), Nansen Environmental Research Center (Norway) and International Arts and Science Institute (France). Our main research question is: “How can biocultural heritage embodied in Arctic urban green spaces and natural landscapes serve as a resource for climate adaptation?” We combine the methods of social anthropology, climate science, remote sensing, human geography, arts and community engagement to co-create publicly accessible and place-specific science and arts products. The social anthropology team based at the University of Vienna is focusing on the role of local and Indigenous ecological knowledge and human-nature relations embodied in urban green spaces and landscapes in environmental adaptation and cultural resilience. Our ethnographic research sites include Anchorage in the USA and Kirkenes in Norway. Together with research partners and local communities, our team co-organizes co-creative workshops, including presentations, artistic interventions, a survey and discussions.

The workshop in Anchorage will gather researchers, museum professionals, practitioners from the fields of education, urban planning, housing, transportation, and arts. It aims at engaging the local and Indigenous communities of Anchorage and the area in public discussions and in an art creation process addressing the role of natural and cultural heritage (with a focus on urban green spaces and infrastructure) in climate adaptation. On the first day, a project introduction and a series of presentations will be followed by a focus group discussion, a participatory mapping exercise and an art performance. The second day’s program will feature talks about the role of Indigenous and local arts in research, cultural representation and climate adaptation in Alaska. It will end with a public art project leading to creation of art object(s) to be transferred to a local organization or to the city of Anchorage.

Please register by October 2.

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Alaska Sea Grant accommodation and code of conduct

Alaska Sea Grant is committed to providing safe and welcoming environments for all who participate in activities, meetings, or events. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made at least five business days in advance to sea.grant@alaska.edu. Participants and organizers of Alaska Sea Grant-sponsored activities are supported by the Alaska Sea Grant event code of conduct.