Relate North 2025 is an English-language, peer-reviewed symposium. We seek proposals for our online symposium on November 3-4, 2025, that aim to chronicle, document, and critically analyze art, design, craft, and education in the North, including Arctic and near-Arctic regions, which focus on the theme “Lessons of the Land”.
Within this broad theme, we understand that Land is not simply a place one “goes out to.” Instead, we invite presentations that recognize Land as a vibrant and generous teacher—a pedagogy in and of itself. We acknowledge that Land is deeply connected to the creative practices, governance, wellbeing, and worldviews of Indigenous Peoples globally. Moreover, as a political movement, Land represents a critical site for healing, resistance, and transformative change. The connection between human beings and Land transcends borders, resonating universally as an innate bond that every person, regardless of their location, can understand and feel.
How does Land teach us?
To explore this question, we seek proposals that explore visual arts and design projects, traditional and contemporary craft, arts-based research, and educational initiatives from across the circumpolar North that engage with the Land as a teacher. This symposium seeks to share understandings and approaches to both Indigenous land-based education and land-based education more generally, including the interface of interdisciplinary and collaborative pedagogy.
We welcome presentation proposals that critically engage with the theme “Lessons of the Land” and address the following areas:
- Land-based, place-based, and site-specific design, art, research, education, and interdisciplinary projects in sub-Arctic, Arctic, and Northern regions.
- Creative practices and projects that engage with the land rights of Indigenous Peoples in the global North.
- Initiatives that facilitate reconnection to Land in the global North.
- Creative responses to climate-related challenges facing Northern communities.
- Arts education programs or creative practices that foster reciprocal relationships and attune to non-human entities through engagement with the Land.
- Enhancement of kinship, land protection and responsibilities; and the decolonisation of nature through art and design education.
- Projects considering budding relationships to Land amongst Newcomers to the global North are encouraged.
About the Relate North symposiums
The Relate North symposiums explore and share contemporary practices in arts-based research and academic knowledge exchange in arts, design, and visual culture education. Each symposium consists of peer-reviewed presentations. The symposiums engage academic researchers, artists, designers, art educators, and practice-based researchers.
Timeline for submissions and the review process
The organizers invite the submission of a synopsis (abstract) of the proposed contribution (up to 500 words). Please submit synopsis by July 15, 2025.
Synopsis should be emailed to: madelineak@mun.ca and rseifpanahi@mun.ca
Organizers will select abstracts for the symposium by July 30, 2025, and you will be notified through email.
Please note: the book “Relate North 2025” will be published at the time of the symposium. To download previous volumes of Relate North, please follow this link: https://www.insea.org/insea-publications-2-2/
Guidelines for presenters
- When submitting, presenters should bear in mind the overall theme of the series: Sustainable Arts and Design in the Arctic and the North.
- A short author biographical note is also required (maximum 100 words). The proposal should not contain your biographical note but it can be sent in the same file. Please include a contact email address.
- Send text documents in Microsoft Word (.docx) format with low-resolution images embedded in the document to show preferred positions.
Lessons of the Land: New Genre Arctic Art and Land-Based Learning
The symposium is part of the project Lessons of the Land. The project’s overarching goal is to enhance cooperation and partnerships between Canadian and Scandinavian universities within the UArctic thematic network. ASAD encompasses 28 arts, design, and visual culture education institutions. The network carries out activities that integrate Indigenous and traditional knowledge with contemporary academic practices. This collaboration leverages Canada’s expertise in northern Indigenous cultures and fosters a shared understanding of art education’s role in addressing ecological, social, and cultural challenges in the Arctic.
Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador carries out the project in collaboration with University of Lapland, Umeå University, Nord University and Yukon University.
Memorial University’s Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development has awarded $ 40 000 funding for the project from the Global Arctic Leadership Initiative Fund for Indigenous and Northern Collaborative Research and Education Engagement.