/ interdisciplinary artist, scholar, and writer passionate about how art and the creative actions of everyday citizens transform city and society
speaking engagements and event organisation
I have presented at conferences in Montréal, Sherbrooke, Toronto, Vancouver, and Waterloo in Canada; Tallinn in Estonia; Hildesheim in Germany; Bergen, Drammen, Lillehammer, Oslo, Stavanger, Tromsø, and twice on the train between Oslo and Bergen in Norway; Coimbra and Lisbon in Portugal; New York City and San Francisco in the United States; as well as virtually.
I have given talks at academic institutions and conferences as well as many public and non-academic spaces including: Agency for Cultural Affairs at the Municipality of Oslo, Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture, Nuart Festival, environmental youth organisation Spire, Subvertising Norway, and more.
I have also organised, co-organised, and led a number of events hosted at various locations in Norway, abroad, and online, including at: Domus Bibliotheca, Literaturhuset, Nuart Festival, University of Oslo, Urban Creativity Conference in Portugal.
events
2023. Art of climate/change exhibition
Co-organised with University of Oslo Library
University of Oslo Library
Oslo, Norway
2023. Climate change book club: Moon of the Crusted Snow
Co-organised with University of Oslo Library
University of Oslo Library
Oslo, Norway
2023. Kunst i mellomrom — Art in/between Spaces Seminar and Workshop
Organised in collaboration with Street Art Oslo
Domus Bibliotheca, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2020—2023. LAX LAB climate fiction book club
International, online climate fiction book club discussing climate change through works of fiction
2018. Panel session on Norwegian approaches to curation of street art
Co-organised with Laima Nomeikaite and Nuart Festival, supported with grant awarded by the Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA)
Urban Creativity Conference
Lisbon, Portugal
2016. Roundtable discussions on street art between local and international artists, curators, municipal and regional stakeholders for Nuart Plus academic programme
Co-organised with Nuart Festival
Tou Scene, Nuart Festival
Stavanger, Norway
2023. Public book launch for Tim Cresswell’s book of poetry Fence, with introductory lecture on the Norwegian Arctic by political geographer Berit Kristoffersen
Literaturhuset
Oslo, Norway
2023. Seminar for graduate student course in Global Environmental Change with invited guest speakers eco-artists Oslo Apiary
Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
invited talks
2024. ‘Art + activism = ARTIVISM’, introductory talk on artivism and moderation of panel of artists: Direct Action Theatre, Diana Burkot, and Thomas Østbye
Kunstfest Vol. 5: Artivism
Østfold Internasjonale Teater
Fredrikstad, Norway
2024. ‘Climate Fiction and Narrative Imaginations’, in conversation with Liisa-Rávná Finbog
Discursive programming for exhibition Corpus Infinitum
Munch Museum
Oslo, Norway
2023. ‘Finissage: Art of climate/change’, in conversation with Professor Karen O´Brien
University of Oslo Library
Oslo, Norway
2023. ‘Urban artivism: The art of creating social change’
Place Cartier Adult Education Centre, Secondary I English
Montréal, Canada
2023. ‘Climate change book club: Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice’, in conversation with Dr. Liisa-Rávná Finbog and Søren Mortensen
University of Oslo Library
Oslo, Norway
2023. ‘Changing approaches to graffiti and street art in Oslo’
Kunst i mellomrom — Art in/between Spaces Seminar and Workshop (organised in collaboration with Street Art Oslo)
Domus Bibliotheca, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2023. ‘Artistic activist research and the climate crisis’
'Kulturrikets tilstand | Kultur, aktivism og ytringsrom’
Kulturytring Drammen
Drammen, Norway
2023. ‘Policing protest and photography in the city’ (extended version)
Department Seminar
Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2023. ‘Policing protest and photography in the city’ (abridged version)
Norwegian Winter Seminar in Human Geography
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2022. ‘Artivism: The art of creating social change’
International seminar ‘Conscious Transformations to Sustainability: What does it take'
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2022. Invited respondent for DOCTALKS presentation ‘Moral and political implications of urbanism’ presented by Vladan Kkement from Czech Technical University, Prague
Organised by DocTalks, ETH Zurich (Switzerland), University of Basel (Switzerland), McGill University (Canada), Harvard University (United States)
2021. Presenter and panellist for discussion: ‘The interplay between non-violent resistance/civil disobedience and democracy’
Event organised by Centre for Peace Studies, University of Tromsø
Tromsø, Norway
2020. 'Art + activism = ARTIVISM'
2020 SDG Conference Bergen Train organised by the Centre for Environment and Development (SUM) at the University of Oslo
On the train from Oslo to Bergen, Norway
2019. 'An introduction to photography and theory-building'
Research in Human Geography Seminar
Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2019. 'Love and rage! Oslo to London by train (and back)' in session 'Embodied knowledge: How can the arts deepen the scope of academic engagement?'
Beyond Oil 2019 Conference Train
Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation at University of Bergen
On the train from Oslo to Bergen, Norway
2019. Panellist for discussion on Oslo and the European Green Capital Award
Master course in Sustainable Urban Transformations
Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2019. Host and moderator for panel debate 'Vi kan bedre’ on Norwegian national identity and subverting outdoor advertising
Subvertising Norway, Off the Wall Gallery
Oslo, Norway
2018. ‘Photography as creative geographical method for the study of urban aesthetic politics’
Doctoral trial lecture
Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2018. ‘Aesthetics of zero tolerance’
Sociology Seminar
Department of Sociology and Human Geography
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2017. ‘Aesthetics of zero tolerance’
Public talk PechaKucha format (15 images, 25 seconds each) for Norwegian environmental youth organisation Spire’s event on the right to the city
Oslo, Norway
2017. ‘From rights to the city to politics of the city: Graffiti and street art during Québec’s ‘printemps érable’’
Public lecture for Nuart Plus, on the theme ‘Power in the public sphere’
Stavanger, Norway
2017. ‘Aesthetics of zero tolerance’
Lecture for internal seminar on street art for Oslo’s new Action Plan on Street Art
Kulturetaten, Oslo kommune (Cultural Affairs, Municipality of Oslo)
Oslo, Norway
2016. ‘Women’s right to the city’
Public lecture for Nuart Plus, on the theme ‘Right to the city, Dada, and Utopia’
Stavanger, Norway
2015. ‘Exploring urban exclusion through graffiti and street art’
Lecture for administrative staff’s summer party
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2015. ‘Street art and urban sustainability’
Lecture for breakfast seminar on street art organised by Stakkars oss
Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DOGA)
Oslo, Norway
2013. ‘Issues of exclusion in graffiti and street art in Montréal’
Public lecture organised by Foreman Art Gallery
Bishop’s University
Sherbrooke (Canada)
2010. 'Art and environmental discourse’
Lecture to postgraduate course ‘Art and Globalism’
Faculty of Fine Arts (Studio Arts)
Concordia University
Montréal, Canada
conference presentations
2022. ‘Photography, composition, and the activist city’
Session ‘Art & creative practice’ [invited]
Storbykonferansen, Oslo Metropolitan University
Oslo, Norway
2020. 'Gold foil and angels on the streets of Berlin: Art/photography and climate activism'
Royal Geographical Society — Institute of British Geographers annual international conference, session ‘Photography and the city: New approaches, methodologies and practices' [invited]
London, United Kingdom — Postponed due to pandemic
2020. 'Revealing/concealing/appealing through artistic photography of the climate activist movement'
International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA) conference, on the theme 'Visualizing social change: Seen and unseen'
Dublin, Ireland – Cancelled due to pandemic
2020. 'Oslo to London by train: An academic, artistic, and climate activist performance' (Film/virtual presentation)
American Association of Geographers (AAG) annual meeting, for session 'Voices from the field — Research on the climate crisis'
Virtual low-carbon session. – Withdrawn due to pandemic
2019. 'Crossing lines: Climate activism, Extinction Rebellion, and disrupting the city through non-violent direct action'
Storbykonferansen, Oslo Metropolitan University
Oslo, Norway
2019. 'La olja ligge — Let the oil be! Oil and the aesthetic politics of climate activism in Oslo'
Beyond Oil 2019: Deep and rapid transformations, Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation at University of Bergen
Bergen, Norway
2018. ‘Zero tolerance policy as curation’, part of the panel ‘Street Art Curatorial Practices: Lessons from Norway’ organised by Nuart Festival in collaboration with SAUC and funded by the Office for Contemporary Art Norway
‘Changing times: Tactics and Resilience’, Street Art and Urban Creativity Conference
Lisbon, Portugal
2016. ‘Photographic explorations of graffiti and street art in Norway’
‘Visualising Sustainability: Imagined Futures’, annual conference of the International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA), Lillehammer University College
Lillehammer, Norway
2016. ‘Get lost! Psychogeographic and photographic explorations of graffiti and street art in Norway’
Association of American Geographers (AAG) annual meeting
San Francisco, USA
2015. ‘Public art and student protest: Graffiti and street art during Québec’s ‘printemps érable’’
6th Nordic Geographers’ Meeting, University of Tallinn
Tallinn, Estonia
2014. ‘Aesthetics of zero tolerance: Exploring the prioritisation of urban space through graffiti and street art in Oslo, Norway’
Ecological Challenges Conference, University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
2014. ‘Graffiti and street art in Norway: Linking policy to urban aesthetics in Bergen, Oslo, and Stavanger’
8th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research, University of Hildesheim
Hildesheim, Germany
2012. ‘Psychogeographic explorations of street art in Montréal, Canada’
Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) annual meeting, Wilfred Laurier University and University of Waterloo
Kitchener/Waterloo, Canada
2012. ‘The art/science divide and the role of visual art in environmental discourse’
Environmental Studies Association of Canada (ESAC) annual meeting, Wilfred Laurier University and University of Waterloo
Kitchener/Waterloo, Canada
2012.‘Geographies of street art: Created for and by the public’
Association of American Geographers (AAG) annual meeting
New York City, USA
2012. ‘Implications of the art/science divide on environmental problem-solving’
Eighth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
2011. ‘The role of art in environmental discourse’
Balance unBalance 2011: [Arts + Sciences x Technology = Environment / Responsibility], Concordia University
Montréal, Canada
2011. ‘Sustainability implications of invasive lace, guerilla crochet, yarn bombing, and other textile graffiti in public spaces’
Animation of Public Space through the Arts: Innovation and Sustainability, University of Coimbra
Coimbra, Portugal
2011. ‘An environmental perspective on craft, craftivism, and the handmade movement’
Staging Sustainability 2011: Arts, Community, Culture, Environment, York University
Toronto, Canada
I am available to give talks related to my research interests and expertise, as well as to participate in panel discussions. I also have experience organising, hosting, and leading events. Please reach out at emma @ emmarnold.org for any potential speaking events.