About
Melanie Sarantou is a Research Fellow at the University of Lapland's Faculty of Art and Design, specializing in arts-based research and social design within marginalized communities. She coordinates the Arctic Design Lab for the DESIS Network and leads projects like the European Commission-funded AMASS initiative exploring art's role in addressing societal challenges in Europe's margins. Her work investigates concepts of marginality shaped by geographic remoteness and migration, with fieldwork in the Arctic, Namibia, Russia, and South Australia.
Key projects include the TRUST project (2022–2024) focusing on indigenous cultural heritage digitization and the Profi 2 initiative (2016–2020) advancing Arctic art and design research. She has organized international workshops such as 'Entanglements South-North' (2022) and co-edited special issues on non-human communication in Frontiers in Communication.
Her research intersects bioart, transformation design, and decolonizing methodologies, with outputs spanning exhibitions, conference papers, and editorial contributions. Media engagements include Nordic Art Review features on bioart labs and collaborations with First Nations fashion initiatives like Country to Couture.
