artists of the Arctic

The Tunirrusiangit exhibition in the Art Gallery of Ontario showed us the power of Inuit contemporary art. Now many artists have partnered with the British Museum in Arctic: Culture and Climate to show us that their vision, talent and culture thrive in today's world.

Cutting up seal, making a kayak by Lucassie Tukalak, 1985
Soapstone print

The Arctic: a culture and climate in crisis

Long ago people knew something was going to happen to this earth. How they knew it, I don't know. An Elder mentioned in the 1940s that this climate is going to change. They meant climate change. – Martha Snowshoe, Teetl'it Gwich'in

beautifully illustrated catalogue published to accompany the British Museum exhibition Arctic: culture and climate

Home to rich cultures for nearly 30,000 years, the Arctic is far from the inhospitable hinterland it's often imagined to be. If you haven't yet, please carve out some time to watch the British Museum curators Amber Lincoln and Jago Cooper for a special online tour of the #ArcticExhibition.

They celebrate the resourcefulness of Arctic Peoples, explore 30,000 of creativity and ingenuity, and address the unprecedented pressure that dramatic loss of ice and erratic weather caused by climate change are putting on Indigenous Communities.

curators tour of #ArcticExhibit

What happens in the Arctic will affect us all and this exhibition is a timely reminder of what the world can learn from its people. The dramatic loss of ice and erratic weather caused by climate change are putting unprecedented pressure on Arctic Peoples, testing their adaptive capacities and threatening their way of life.

From ancient mammoth ivory sculpture to modern refitted snow mobiles, the objects in this immersive exhibition reveal the creativity and resourcefulness of Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic. Developed in collaboration with Arctic communities, the exhibition celebrates the ingenuity and resilience of Arctic Peoples throughout history.

Magnetic North: Voices from the Indigenous Arctic

It tells the powerful story of respectful relationships with icy worlds and how Arctic Peoples have harnessed the weather and climate to thrive.

pop art of Nicole Heere

Here are some fun images and humorous renderings of some iconic images by graphic artist Nicole Heere. 

her pop art

Catch it while you can - as her site warns - Note: Nicole Heere will be phasing out all pop art. What is displayed on the website is the remaining pop art inventory. 

on Instagram

That's just too bad - a good thing gone too soon. 

plant | as life form & life force

As fall gives way to winter and colder temperatures here in the northern hemisphere, wonder | wander | world longs for the lush green warmth our tropical bones much prefer. 

To soothe us we turn to The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and The Cosmic Tree - an online project of the Camden Art Centre.

The Botanical Mind at Camden Art Centre

This new online project brings together digital commissions, podcasts, films, texts, images and audio in an expanding archive that will be updated and added to regularly over the coming weeks.

Drawing on indigenous traditions from the Amazon rainforest; alternative perspectives on Western scientific rationalism; and new thinking around plant intelligence, philosophy and cultural theory, The Botanical Mind Online investigates the significance of the plant kingdom to human life, consciousness and spirituality across cultures and through time.

a trans-generational group exhibition moved online due to COVID

It positions the plant as both a universal symbol found in almost every civilization and religion across the globe, and the most fundamental but misunderstood form of life on our planet.

Humanity’s place in the natural order is under scrutiny as never before, held in a precarious balance between visible and invisible forces: from the microscopic threat of a virus to the monumental power of climate change.