The Meaning of Ice: Co-production of knowledge and community action in a changing Arctic
Drawing on experience from over two decades of close collaboration with Inuit communities in the Arctic, Dr. Fox will illustrate the powerful ways our understanding of the changing Arctic climate can be advanced when we link Inuit knowledge and visiting science. She will use examples from community-led research, land-based programs, and harvesting to show how co-produced knowledge, Inuit self-determination in research, and supporting community-based action are fundamental to addressing climate and environmental challenges in the Arctic and beyond. Dr. Fox will centre Arctic weather and sea ice in the story, and connect to the works of her colleague, friend, and photographer Robert Kautuk, whose photography exhibition accompanies this year’s lecture.
This event has limited capacity. If attending in person, please RSVP by Monday December 5th. Should you register and no longer be able to attend, please contact Vesti Powell.
Event Program:
In person or online Tuesday, December 13, 2022
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. | ART Exhibit (in person)
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | Public Lecture (in person and online)
About the 2022 TD Walter Bean Professor
Dr. Shari Fox is a Senior Research Scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Director of the Ittaq Heritage and Research Centre in Clyde River, Nunavut. For over 25 years, Shari has been working alongside Inuit on collaborative environmental research and action in the Arctic. She is dedicated to research that centres Inuit knowledge and together with Inuit, works on many local to international-scale research initiatives. A decade-long project she co-led with a team of Inuit, “The Meaning of Ice”, won the 2018 inaugural International Mohn Prize for, “outstanding research related to the Arctic”. She was named an International PEW Fellow in 2019, has been a leader in several national and international climate assessments, and was shortlisted for the 2022 Shackleton Medal “in recognition of her work linking Indigenous and scientific knowledge systems”. Dr. Fox holds bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of Waterloo, a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder, and completed a postdoc at Harvard University.
About the 2022 TD Walter Bean Photographer
Robert Kautuk is a photographer based in Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), NU who uses drones and Digital SLR cameras to document stunning views of his community in the Canadian Arctic. Kautuk’s use of technology provides a special look at rarely seen moments, activities and landscapes that are not accessible or possible to capture using conventional cameras. In addition to his own practice, Kautuk is also a regular contributor to Nunatsiaq News. He works in IT for the Ittaq Heritage and Research Centre and is a noted contributor to northern mapping projects. Through Ittaq, he also actively partakes in knowledge sharing initiatives, including Picturing Arctic Moder-nity: North Baffin Drawings from 1964 (co-organized between the Agnes Etherington and the Canadian Museum of History, 2017), an exhibition and accompanying website with interviews and video clips that underscore the importance of cultural heritage to contemporary Inuit communities. Kautuk has been featured in many publications including Inuit Art Quarterly and their guide on photography called Views from the North (Art Toronto, 2018), as well as in Up Here, and Above&Beyond.
About the 2022 TD Walter Bean Moderator
Johanna Wandel joined the GEM in 2008 having worked on previously on high impact climate change adaptation research studies in Canada. Her research examines the critical relationship between humans and the environment and specifically addresses vulnerability and adaptation assessments in relation to climate change.