Episode 6: Narsaq International Research Station - Who Defines "Progress"?

Testing Grounds

Please note: this episode features brief mentions of suicide, alcoholism and violence.
What does “progress” mean in an age of climate crisis? Who should define it? And how can the process of defining it be made more inclusive and democratic?
Narsaq International Research Station (NIRS) is NAARCA’s Greenlandic partner. It’s an independent non-profit research platform with a focus on cultural and scientific research in South Greenland.
In this episode, Lise Autogena, an artist and founder of NIRS, outlines some of the tensions at play in Narsaq, and in Greenland more broadly. Here, the climate crisis is dramatically disrupting people’s ways of life, and simultaneously opening up opportunities for the exploitation of globally-prized natural resources. Indeed, the community of Narsaq is itself at the centre of a fierce dispute over a proposed mine.
Lise introduces us to our contributors, filmmaker Inuk Jørgensen and community psychologist Peter Berliner. In different but overlapping ways, Inuk and Peter are both engaged with exploring visions of “progress” in a Greenlandic context. They explore how Inuit values can help make the process of defining progress more inclusive, respectful and productive.
Find out more:
Narsaq International Research Station (https://www.narsaqresearchstation.gl)
Siunissaq (http://siunissaq.gl)
Contributors:
Lise Autogena, Artist, Professor, Director of Art, Design and Media Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University and founder of NIRS (https://www.autogena.org)
Inuk Jørgensen, filmmaker (https://www.inuks.dk)
Peter Berliner, Professor of Arctic Community Psychology, Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland (https://uk.uni.gl/find-employee/department-of-social-work/peter-berliner)
Credits: Testing Grounds is produced and edited by Katie Revell and includes original music by Loris S. Sarid and artwork by Jagoda Sadowska. With thanks to Alex Marrs and the rest of the NAARCA team.
Contact us: naarca.art/contact-us
Who we are: Art Hub Copenhagen (Denmark), Artica Svalbard (Norway), Baltic Art Center (Sweden), Cove Park (Scotland), Saari Residence (Finland), Skaftfell Art Center (Iceland) and Narsaq International Research Station (Greenland).
Thanks for listening!