As It Melts: Northern Indigenous Artistic Perspectives on Plastics Pollution addresses the presence of plastic pollution in Northern Indigenous communities through the lens of contemporary art research-creation, low waste/low-carbon exhibition making, and art-science collaboration. In parallel to community-monitoring of plastics pollution and on-the-land research, Indigenous knowledge and artistic and cultural approaches, linked with lived and embodied experience of the impacts of plastic pollution, are crucial to the fulsome understanding of the current, ongoing and potential future impacts of plastics pollution, particularly in Northern communities. This project harnesses the power of art to investigate plastics pollution, inform communities and the broader public of its harms, and imagine cleaner, safer, and more sustainable futures for Northern Indigenous Peoples.

Led by Dr. Heather Igloliorte (University of Victoria) and Dr. Kirsty Robertson (Western University) in Partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation, this project brings together Northern Indigenous artists, Indigenous and settler scientists, plastics and arts-based researchers, students, museum professionals, and community members, including Elders and knowledge keepers.