Artists/ Researchers/ Collaborators
Paula Gerstenblatt
Paula Gerstenblatt is an artist and Professor of Social Work, University of Southern Maine. She is a pioneer in arts-based research in social work and maintains a studio practice focusing on painting, drawing and collage. She has received two National Endowment for the Arts grants for her community work, and the Maine Jewish Museum in Portland, ME recently featured a one-person exhibition of her collage portraits. As part of Maine-Greenland Collaborations, Dr. Gerstenblatt led community-based collage workshops at the Long Island, ME Community Center (USA) and the Qaqortoq Museum in South Greenland. Additionally, she contributes her expertise in qualitative research and phenomenology to the project.
Jan Piribeck
Jan Piribeck is an artist and Emerita Professor of Art, University of Southern Maine. She has a long-standing interest in the potential for art to communicate complex narratives about environmental change. Her studio practice combines painting & drawing with digital media, and her community work includes organizing public treks to observe and record sites of ecological significance. As part of Maine-Greenland Collaborations, she led a public walk on Long Island, ME (USA) and organized treks in the Kujataa region of South Greenland. The Long Island event was offered in conjunction with Platform Projects/Walks, a series of artist-led walks focusing on local ecologies. Professor Piribeck contributes her knowledge of art, visual design and digital media to the project.
Scientists/ Researchers/ Collaborators
University of Southern Maine Faculty
PI: Firooza Pavri, Department of Geography-Anthropology
Co-PI: Matthew Bampton, Department of Geography Anthropology
Co-PI: Vinton Valentine, Department of Geography-Anthropology, Director of USM GIS
Research Assistants/ Collaborators
University of Southern Maine Students
Elizabeth Chalmers (School of Social Work)
Samantha Comeau (Departments of Art & Geography-Anthropology)
Wynne Cushing (School of Social Work)
Dianna Farrell (Applied GIS Certificate Program)
Megan Jones (School of Social Work)
Matt Keith (Department of Art)
Lisa Luken (Leadership Studies)
Izzak Onos (Muskie School of Public Service)
Sadie Russell (School of Social Work)
The work described in this website is part of a larger interdisciplinary research initiative that includes the following collaborators from the departments of Anthropology-Geography, Art, Social Work and the Geographic Information Science (GIS) Lab.