Join us on our photographic journey into Arctic research and culture

• Wanna learn more about the project?: link
• Querés sabes más sobre el proyecto? link

My name is Florencia. I'm an Argentinian photographer living in El Paso, Texas. During the past eight years I have worked in the editorial industry shooting celebrities and luxury lifestyle publications (link). I’ve been granted the beautiful and unique opportunity of traveling to and documenting the Northern-most city of the United States. This Summer I’ll be attached to a multidisciplinary team of researchers, scientists and technicians working in this part of the frigid tundra in their efforts to better understand the shifting landscape that climate change has brought about. This is quite a departure from my usual line of work. My training in photography, both fashion and documentary, has provided me with an atypical skill set, which I consider an effective language to dialogue with my contemporaries.

Situated well above the Arctic Circle, Barrow Alaska is an epicenter of scientific research and home to the Iñupiat people who have thrived in this harsh land through a continued cultivation of their traditional subsistence lifestyle.
The aim of this project is to put a human face on not only the massive amount of research being done in one of the most heavily funded research areas in the US but also to put into perspective the first hand effects of climate change on the native community. Exploring the connection between the hard work being done by the men and women of Arctic science and the impacts of climate change on identifiable human experience is the key for deeper awareness of our future.
Polar regions are hit the hardest by climate change thereby affecting the welfare of the arctic communities. Rising temperatures, declining snow cover, thawing permafrost, rising sea level, retreating Summer sea ice and eroding coast lines are but some of the trends being observed by scientist in Arctic. Climate change is not an abstraction in Barrow, it is a fact of daily life. What happens here affects all of us.

By way of the University of Texas at El Paso and headed by Dr. Craig Tweedie, the Systems Ecology Laboratory (SEL - link / BAID - link) boasts a roster including Biologists, Environmental Scientists, Engineers and Computer Scientists. The lab is drawing on a legacy of historical research in Barrow to determine how tundra ecosystems respond to climate warming, studying and quantifying coastal erosion and creating an infrastructure for information and data sharing between researchers. As their work builds upon the collective body of research in Barrow, it's also used to help local communities in land management and decision making.
Being the first team member from the art community, I’m proud to document and experience the arctic with this multifaceted team during the 2015 field season.

Photography and video play a core role in the understanding of an issue this expansive. Images hit us in the gut, they aid us to gain a better understanding of matters that could easily seem overwhelming and distant if experienced as mere statistical analysis, graphs or scientific terms. Your support will make all this possible.

With your help I will successfully be able develop my project. Everything gathered here will go the production of the final pieces, camera gear and polar clothing.

Join me in this adventure, let's do this!

The images and video resulting from this experience will be part of the following projects:

• A multidisciplinary exhibition (photo, video and mapping installation) to be placed at The University of Texas at El Paso.
• A self published book & ebook.
• Photos for scientific publications, educational material and press for the project.
• Online journals and social media contents, as I will manage both my personal accounts and the official ones.
• Video pieces related to climate change, featuring the Iñupiat people and scientists for online release.
• An Archive of image and video files of the 2015 field season to be used by the Systems Ecology Lab and shared with collaborators.

Supporting further exposure of this project and strengthening its educational reach, Dr. Craig Tweedie, Dr. Cathy Wilson (Los Alamos National Laboratory) and I will be contributors representing the activities in Barrow for ''Climate Prisms’ a Bradbury Museum of Science project headed by artists, Francesca Samsel. (link & link). Climate Prisms will provide users with insight into the science and implications of climate change. It is an interactive and self-guided system of threads through artistic, literary and scientific presentations. This project includes a permanent exhibition in The Bradbury and two nomadic systems traveling traveling to venues within U.S. and beyond.