Anne Hemkendreis

Kort om meg

Dr. Anne Hemkendreis is an art historian whose work bridges visual culture, environmental humanities, and science communication. She is currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellow at the Greenhouse Centre for Environmental Humanities at the University of Stavanger, Norway, where she investigates Sámi cosmologies and sustainability conflicts in the Arctic through interdisciplinary research. Her second book, forthcoming with Transcript in 2027, examines the revival of Romantic aesthetics in contemporary ecological art, with a particular focus on Arctic landscapes. She is also the editor of Communicating Ice in Popular Art and Aesthetics (together with Anna-Sophie Jürgens, 2024) and a range of other publications exploring the intersections of art, environment, and climate. A member of both the German Young Academy and the Young Academy for Sustainability Research, Anne actively co-curates exhibition projects, including Infinity, Emptiness, Liveliness at the Planetarium in Hamburg (2025) and Tracing Human Relations at the Medical Historical Museum in Berlin (2026/27). When not at her desk she enjoys to perform aerial arts in the demanding environments of the Circumpolar North, exposing herself to the distinctive landscapes she studies.

Dette forsker jeg på

The project "Sámicosmologies: Exploring Indigenous Knowledge Cultures and Practices of Star-Gazing" offers increased understanding of Arctic Indigenous cosmologies as a form of environmental knowledge and traces their significance for communities in times of environmental crisis. With a special focus on traditional Sámi cosmologies and Sámi contemporary art, the goal is to explore and trace the appearance of human and non-human protagonists within Indigenous stories and their resonance in present-day artistic practices. While star-related narratives of the polar night provide an important entry point into these cosmologies, the project is not limited to them; rather, it seeks to examine how such stories and motifs travel, transform, and gain meaning across cultural and geographic contexts. Special attention is given to the transnational and transcultural relations between Scandinavia and Germany, where the reception of Sámi art and cosmologies opens up spaces for dialogue on environmental knowledge, decolonial critique, and cultural memory. Sámi artists today draw on traditional storytelling figures—migrating between the celestial and the earthly, the human and the non-human—to address both the troubled histories of cultural suppression and the pressing realities of climate-affected regions. These figures stress the urgency of rethinking how humans relate to nature and, at the same time, provoke speculative futures in which nature is regarded as a non-human subject. By situating Sámi cosmologies within broader European discourses on art, ecology, and environmental justice, this project demonstrates how Indigenous knowledge—especially when mediated through art—can play a vital role in transforming humans’ perspectives on nature, while also fostering transcultural connections between Germany and Scandinavia.

Akademisk bakgrunn

I am currently working as a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Stavanger, Norway, within the European Horizon program, based at The Greenhouse – Center for Environmental Humanities and collaborating with the Arctic University of Tromsø and the Sámi Center for Contemporary Art in Karasjok. Since September 2024, I have been a member of the Young Academy for Sustainability Studies at FRIAS, University of Freiburg, and since March 2024 a member of the German Young Academy (Leopoldina and BBAW). From May 2024 to May 2025, I was Research Associate at the Graduate School 2132 “The Documentary: Excess and Privation” at Ruhr University Bochum and submitted my habilitation thesis (second book) in 2024. From April 2022, I have been Senior Lecturer at the Humanities Research Centre of the Australian National University in Canberra and was editor of the peer-reviewed online journal w/k – Zwischen Wissenschaft und Kunst / Between Science and Art. Previously, I worked as Research Associate at the Collaborative Research Center 948 “Heroes – Heroizations – Heroisms” at Freiburg University (2020–2024), held a fellowship at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg (2020–2021), and was active as a physical theatre artist and lecturer at the University of Arts Berlin (2017–2019). I completed my doctorate summa cum laude at Leuphana University Lüneburg in 2013, where I also received an award for Outstanding Early-Career Researchers, following a Master’s degree in Art History with distinction from Ruhr University Bochum in 2010 and Bachelor studies at the same institution. I have taught at Freiburg University, the University of Arts Berlin, and Leuphana University, focusing on art history, philosophy, and interdisciplinary approaches linking arts and environmental humanities. Last but not least, I am usually busy with curating exhibition projects such as "Liveliness, Emptiness, Infinity" at the Planetarium in Hamburg (2024) and "Tracing Relations: Dem Menschlichen auf der Spur" (Medical-History-Museum Charité, Berlin, upcoming).