Marek Ranis (PL/USA) an Associate Professor of Art at the College of Art and Architecture, UNC Charlotte; a multi-media environmental artist.

Through film, installation, sculpture, photography, paintings and social practice projects Ranis has been exploring a dramatically changing polar environment, climate migration and the experiences of Arctic Indigenous communities, as well as growing cultural diversity in the Northern regions. He is a recipient of numerous grants, fellowships and residencies, including UNESCO Aschberg Fellowship, American-Scandinavian Foundation Grant and NC Artist Fellowship Award. Ranis presented his work in more than hundred individual and group shows nationally and internationally. His work was recently recognized by United States State Department: his essay about his Arctic experience was included in the book publication Our Arctic Nation as a voice representing North Carolina. Marek is continuing his work in Alaska and Arctic Norway as an artist and a researcher and recently was named a Curator at Large at the Anchorage Museum, Alaska.