In September 2024, I traveled to Kinngait, Nunavut, Canada for a community consultation visit as part of a new interdisciplinary research project titled ‘From the Floe Edge: Visualizing Local Sea Ice Change in Kinngait, Nunavut‘, funded by the British Academy. This project is a partnership led by Dr. Isabelle Gapp, an art historian at the University of Aberdeen. Through cataloguing art produced by the community over the past few decades, analyzing satellite and climate data of local climate change, and conducting interviews with local artists, we aim to investigate how sea ice change both influences and is represented in Inuit art produced in Kinngait. To do this, we are partnering with the West Baffin Co-op, which runs an internationally recognized art studio in Kinngait and is famous for their annual print collection showcasing the work of local artists.

During our initial visit, we met with West Baffin Co-op leadership to discuss our project plans and had the opportunity to spend time in the studio observing and speaking with multiple local artists. We also explored the community to get a better sense of the local environment, and developed plans for upcoming research including interviews, visits to art archives, and analysis of satellite data.

Kinngait is a stunning and very unique place, a community of ~1500 people on a small island off the coast of Baffin Island. I look forward to returning for further research, especially when ice and snow cover the landscape!