Paper short abstract:

In the wake of increased activity in the Arctic-Atlantic gateway comes a growing sense of 'Arcticness.' Based on art, promotional material and ethnography in Iceland and Greenland this paper looks at how Arctic identification is practiced and incorporated in the everyday life of mobile people.

Paper long abstract:

Arctic awareness and identification is crucially dependent on the movement of people. Increased activity in the Arctic-Atlantic gateway has been driven by the acquisition of routes, markets, territory and natural resources but also the pursuit of social capital within new communities. In the West Nordic context a relevant question is how mobile people drive or adapt to this mobility and heightened sense of 'region'. With Iceland's growing High North rhetoric, and some common ground with its geographical neighbours Greenland, Norway and the Faroe Islands, an sense of 'Arcticness' is emerging. Iceland's official Arctic strategy has culminated in the current emphasis on an Arctic coastal status and West Nordic cooperation. Meanwhile actors within tourism, advertisement, arts and popular culture have long since begun to cultivate, capitalize and appropriate the aesthetics and images of the High North. Transnational encounters may also involve exoticised representation of the peripheral and colonial. Based on art, promotional material and ethnography in Iceland and Greenland this paper looks at how Arctic identification is practiced and incorporated in the everyday life of mobile people.