Ekaterina Sharova, M.A.

What’s the work that you do?

I started Arctic Art Forum, which has been a place for reclaiming history and identity since 2016. I was born and raised in Arkhangelsk, Russia, and reside now in Norway. I have also worked as an artistic project manager and educator for many years. I am currently a Doctoral researcher at the University of Lapland. I am interested in how design and art practices can produce knowledge. My PhD focuses on how knowledge and meaning are produced through these practices, and how this relates to questions of power and representation, with focus on the High North and indigenous communities.

What keeps you going?

Arctic history is something I own and embody, I was born in the North and it’s in my body. I came to Tromsø as an exchange student to study literature in 2004 – which was a result of Barents collaboration. This collaboration was initiated by Thorvald Stoltenberg as an investment in peaceful relations with a challenging neighbor, Russia. In 2022, this collaboration stopped. I want peace in the North. I know there are many knowledge gaps, everywhere – I want to contribute to produce more knowledge, and thus, more mutual understanding.

What’s your message to the world?
Knowledge is constructed by people who have power. Mostly men. I am sure that in the light of climate change and conflicts we need to know more about each other, listen to the stories of Indigenous people, respect animals and nature, consume less and share more.