Art Professor Represents North Carolina in U.S. Department of State’s “Our Arctic Nation”

Associate Professor of Art Marek Ranis’s essay, “North Carolina and the Sublime North: An Artistic Interpretation of the Arctic,” has been published by the U.S. Department of State on the blog site “Our Arctic Nation,” an official U.S. Arctic Council Chairmanship initiative. “Our Arctic Nation” seeks to publish 50 essays, one from each state of the Union, over a 50-week period. Ranis’s essay represents North Carolina and is the 41st essay of the series.

In his essay, Ranis narrates the story of his growing fascination with and knowledge of the Arctic and the profound changes the region and its peoples face as a result of climate change. For more than a decade, Ranis has created a diverse body of artistic work informed by a global investigation into climate change in the Arctic, conducting research during residencies in Iceland, Greenland, and Alaska. Most recently, he presented his research at the 2016 Arctic Circle Assembly, held in Reykjavik, Iceland, in October 2016. The Arctic Circle Assembly is the largest international gathering on the Arctic, bringing together governments, universities, think tanks, corporations, indigenous communities, and other organizations to address challenges facing the Arctic. The essay, “North Carolina and the Sublime North: An Artistic Interpretation of the Arctic,” presents examples of Ranis’s wide-ranging artistic explorations, including works that link North Carolina to the Arctic region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is the current chair of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum created among Arctic States in 1996. According to its website, the program for the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council has three focus areas: Improving Economic & Living Conditions for Arctic Communities; Arctic Ocean Safety, Security & Stewardship; Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change.