My research and teaching raise questions around the social, ecological and material sustainability of human action, and the role of design therein.
I am the Arctic Six Chair of Arctic Food Citizenship, exploring how food practices and traditional Indigenous knowledges can foster Environmental Citizenship—the ability to act as an agent of change while balancing personal and systemic responsibility to create meaningful impact in the Arctic. My research sits at the intersection of practice and policy, spanning scales from the microbial to the embodied and lived, extending to territorial and planetary concerns. It challenges the notion that humans exist independently of the nature that sustains us.
My expertise lies in embodied ways of knowing, being, and doing. My research is largely experimental, using participatory, sensory, multibeing, and co-creative methods to explore how direct, material engagement with what is at stake can inspire new ways of thinking. Through this approach, I support others in developing alternative responses to contemporary crises—practical, actionable possibilities for the future that can be implemented today and hold meaning for those directly affected.
At UMU, I lead the Sympoietic Research Collaboratory, and conduct pedagogical research to reimagine the role of design in the twenty-first century. This includes using food as a methodology, engaging in participatory research through design, working within multibeing contexts, with policy and public authorities.
My work challenges the conventional view of designers as makers of products, artifacts, or services, instead positioning them as facilitators of relationships and dependencies—acting lightly and leveraging participatory design methods to help others build their own agency. In particular, my research, teaching, and methodological development are deeply rooted in foodas both subject and object, exploring its experimental potential in health, societal transformation, and systemic change.
In addition to my role at UMU, I hold a professorship at the University of Southern Denmark.