This public talk with artist and architect Joar Nango marked the beginning of a joint series of projects and commissions collaboratively produced by AGYU, TBA, and Evergreen. This talk focused on Post-Capitalist Architecture-TV, a thematic video series exploring Sámi architecture created and produced by Nango and Ken Are Bongo. The ongoing series follows Nango traveling across northern Norway in an aging cargo van modified with a wood fire stove and delicate video projection screen made of fish skin. Currently there are 5 episodes, which address a variety of themes such as nomadism and flow, resource economy, and decolonization and architecture. For this presentation, Nango discussed the genesis of the project, its variety show format, his guests and themes, and the series as emblematic of his proliferation of indigenous life and thought, and his relational approach to making artwork.

Joar Nango is a process-based artist, working within the provisional nature of sculpture, performance, and architecture. Embedded in Nango’s approach to artmaking is the proliferation of Indigenous history, people, and ways of life. Nango’s research begins socially and then builds into a sharing of skills and the development of platforms for knowledge sharing. An engagement with Indigenous people in the region he is working is integral to his methodology, learning local histories through interactions with artists, writers, and architects. This process has a materiality that is about accumulating objects and skills that accrue as the artist meets various individuals and gains knowledge of local communities.

Nango is not only an artist, but also an architect, builder, publisher, and host. He lives and works in Tromsø, Norway. He is Sámi, belonging to the Indigenous peoples from Sápmi, the traditional Sámi territory. He has exhibited widely, most recent presenting a large-scale solo exhibition at Bergen Kunsthall, Norway. He has participated in exhibitions at the National Gallery of Canada, Tensta Konsthall, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and Documenta 14 in Kassel and Athens.

Joar Nango’s research and projects through the AGYU were financially supported by ArtworxTO and The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation.