Krista Ulujuk Zawadski
PhD Candidate, Visual Culture
I am an Arctic anthropologist, curator and Inuk researcher who mobilizes an Indigenous research methodology in my work. I participated in the Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA) at the Smithsonian Institution, the Otsego Institute for Native American Art History at the Fenimore Art Museum and am currently working for the Government of Nunavut as a curator.
My interests include Arctic anthropology, museology and collections-based research, with an emphasis on fostering accessibility to collections for Inuit. My current research focuses on the technology behind manufacturing bird bone, ivory and caribou bone needles among Inuit. This is an off-shoot from my previous research on Inuit kakpiit (needle cases). I hope to use these cultural materials as a catalyst to foster engagement between Inuit knowledge holders and younger generations.
Degrees:
MA (Anthropology), The University of British Columbia (UBC)
BA (Anthropology), Carleton University
Selected Publications:
2018 “Kakpiit: Lines of Discovery on Inuit Needle Cases in Museum Collections.” Museum Anthropology, 41 (1): 61-75. https://doi.org/10.1111/muan.12169
2019 Sungaujait: The Links Between Inuit and Venetians. Special online publication with Inuit Art Quarterly. http://iaq.inuitartfoundation.org/product/2019-special-issue-venice-biennale/
2019 Isummiqtauniq: Thought Gifts. Co-authored paper for online Isuma.tv book. http://www.isuma.tv/isuma-book/essays/isummiqtauniq-thought-gift
Selected Conference Presentations:
2019 Decolonizing Research Practices in the Arts Panel. Arctic Arts Summit. Rovaniemi, Finland.
2018 Piliriqatigiinniq: Collaboration in Inuit Art Collections Management, Co-Presentation at the European Registrar’s Conference. London, England.
2017 Discussant. Unexpected Arctic: Material Engagements in the Circumpolar North. 116th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. Washington, DC.
2017 The Nunavut Collection. Presentation at SIMA Symposium, Putting Theory and Things Together: Research with Museum Collections. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
2017 Qaujimanira: Inuit Art as Autoethnography. Presentation at the Entangled Gaze conference, OCADU. Toronto, ON.
2016 Nanivara: I Found It!, Co-Presentation at the Arctic Indigenous Education Conference. Kautokeino, Norway.
2015 Kakpiit: (Re)Discovering Inuit Needle Cases in Museum Collections, 114th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. Denver, CO.
Curatorial Experience:
2019 Echoing the Land. Co-Curated exhibition at Indigenous Art Centre, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC). Gatineau, QC.
2019 Breaking Ground: Freda Diesing, Helen Kalvak, Janet Kigusiuq, Rita Letendre
Four exhibitions produced by Carleton University Art Gallery, National Art Centre. Ottawa.
2018 Nivinngajuliaat from Baker Lake. Exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, November 2018 – May 2019.