LAX LAB is a creative laboratory directed by Dr. Emma Arnold at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo in Norway.
What is a creative laboratory? Good question. LAX LAB is a space of academic experimentation and an attempt to develop a model of ‘creative action research’. LAX LAB is a platform for empirical and theoretical research, including a visual urban ethnography of climate activism in Oslo. It also entails arts-based research and artistic practice, from a performance travelling from Oslo to London by train to artistic activist interventions in the city. Planned activities will involve students and the public, reach across disciplines, and will explore the work of a broad selection of artists working on social, activist, and climate themes.
LAX LAB takes its name from a fishy double-entendre. It is inspired by the anadromous fish the salmon (laks in Norwegian), who must swim against the current to ensure its survival. It can also be understood as a reference to dominant approaches to climate change, which have been woefully inadequate or lax. We must move against the flow sometimes if we want to effect positive social change and transformation.
For more information on Emma Arnold’s work, please consult her personal website. For more information on the AdaptationCONNECTS project led by Professor Karen O’Brien, please consult the project website.