Dr. Anne Hemkendreis

Curriculum Vitae

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 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.

Anne’s MSCA-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, Anne’s 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.