Mapping New Genre Arctic Art

The article presents the concept of new genre Arctic art and examples of contemporary art, performances and media productions covering Arctic themes such as resource politics, nature conservation and sustainability. Examples are selected from Norway, Finland, Canada and Russia. The term new genre Arctic art is based on concept of new genre public art introduced by the artist-writer Suzanne Lacy in 1900s to define socially engaged and socio-political public art that involved participatory aesthetics. To some extent, new genre Arctic art follows the strategies of socially and environmentally engaged art in line with international contemporary art. Anyhow, in this article we focus on explaining how new genre Arctic art promotes cultural continuity and pride and possess the agency to hold and revitalise Indigenous and northern knowledge. The selected cases show how artists can empower community members and participants of performances in participation in discussion on resource politics and nature conversation.