Projects

The Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) aims to empower local citizens of the North via open and free media, communications and sensing technologies. API is the brainchild of artists Marko Peljhan and Matthew Biederman with collaborators Nejc Trost, Samo Stopar, Andrej Bizjak and August Black together with Miha Bratina and Ziga Testen. It is an international non-profit group of individuals and organisations, including HMKV (Germany), Projekt Atol (Slovenia), C-TASC (Canada), Lorna (Iceland) and The Arts Catalyst (UK).

Arctic Perspective highlights the cultural, geopolitical and ecological significance of the Arctic and its indigenous cultures. In collaboration with the people of Igloolik, Kinngait, Iqaluit, Mittimatalik and Kanngiqtugaapik in Nunavut, Canada and other Arctic communities, artists and architects are devising a mobile media and living unit and infrastructure, powered by renewable energy sources. The unit will be used by Inuit and other Arctic peoples for creative media production such as film-making, communications and monitoring the environment, while moving, living and working on the land. The exhibition includes architectural models of winning designs from the Arctic Perspective open architecture competition by Richard Carbonnier (Canada), Catherine Rannou (France) and Giuseppe Mecca (Italy), with photographs, videos and maps from the project.

The API project website is at www.arcticperspective.org, giving details of the process of the project, including the team's visits to Igloolik and Foxe Basin, the open architecture competition, and the construction of the prototype unit.

Arctic Perspective Exhibition

21 May - 30 September 2010
Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London, UK

The Arctic Perspective exhibition at Canada House will show specially commissioned architectural models of the winning entries from an international open design competition for the mobile unit, which received more than 100 entries from over 30 countries. It will also showcase documentation of the project's development, including photographs and films from the team’s trip in summer 2009 made with Igloolik elders and Isuma TV, re-visiting former settlements around the Foxe basin. Winning unit architectural designs by Richard Carbonnier (Canada), Catherine Rannou (France) and Giuseppe Mecca (Italy) will be displayed. Presented in conjunction with the London Festival of Architecture.

18 June - 10 October
HMKV Phoenix Halle, Dortmund, Germany

A large-scale exhibition of the Arctic Perspective exhibition will be held at HMKV in Dortmund, Germany, in the framework of European Capital of Culture RUHR 2010 and the international media-art conference ISEA 2010.

Discussion event -
Contemporary Nomadism: Autonomy & Technology in the North

20 May 2010, 4.30 - 6.30pm

Introducing the international project behind the Arctic Perspective exhibition, a panel of artists, academics and architects explore its cultural, historical and political contexts. The Arctic Perspective Initiative aims to support a thoroughly contemporary nomadism via open and free media, environmental monitoring and communications technologies. Panel: Marko Peljhan, artist and instigator of Arctic Perspective Initiative, director Projekt Atol (Slovenia), David Turnbull, science sociologist (Australia), Richard Carbonnier, architect (Canada), Inke Arns, curator, artistic director HMKV (Germany). Chair: Michael Bravo, Scott Polar Research Institute (UK/Canada)

Places are limited for this free talk event and must be booked in advance on this site.

Check out the blogs: metamute, British Libaray America's Collections blog

Publications

A series of publications, covering key ideas in the various fields: architecture, circumpolar culture, open source technologies/remote sensing, are also being produced.

Cahier No. 1: Architecture (ISBN 978-3-7757-2679-5) is now available - order online here

Cahier No. 2: Landscape (ISBN 978-3-7757-2680-1)

Cahier No. 3: Geopolitics & Autonomy (ISBN 978-3-7757-2681-8)

Cahier No. 4: Technology (ISBN 978-3-7757-2682-5)

Support

API is supported by the European Commission Culture 2007 Programme, City of Dortmund, Federal Centre for Civic Education, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, City of Ljubljana, Arts Council England.

Partners

Arctic Perspective Initiative
HMKV, Germany
Projekt Atol, Slovenia
C-TASC, Canada
Lorna, Iceland
The Arts Catalyst, UK