Academic interests
My research interests lie at the intersection of creative, arts-based methodologies, embodiment and the political.
My PhD explores the political potential of artistic spaces created during and after political turmoil and war, from an embodied perspective. Focusing on geographies of Palestinian dance, I examine artistic spaces created in the context of occupation, apartheid and genocide, asking how they are lived, sensed and negotiated through the body. In collaboration with Palestinian dance artists, I work with a variety of research methods, including choreography, dance and curation. The overall project asks what political and social imaginaries the artistic practices generate, what forms of community and solidarity they foster, and how their ethical, spatial and public dimensions can be understood.
Courses taught
- SGO1001 – Innføring i samfunnsgeografi
- SOSGEO4000 – Introduction to advanced research methods
- UTV3091 – Avslutningsemne i utviklingsstudier og bærekraft
- HGO4010 – Qualitative method
- SGO2500 – North/South Development: Energy transitions
Background
I have a bachelor in dance and choreography from Laban, London (2004) and a master in human geography from the University of Oslo (2020). I have worked as an independent choreographer, dancer and educator for 20 years, with a particular focus on international collaborations in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Ethiopia.
Other work experience:
- Senior advisor in the union for Norwegian dancers, Norske Dansekunstnere, 2023-2024.
- Research assistant and coordinator of the Centre on Culture and Violent Conflict at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), 2020-2023.
Awards
- The Winter seminar in human geography's prizw for the most innovative master's thesis, 2021.
- Hans Christian Ostrø's memory award, 2015.
Appointments
- Board member Safemuse, 2024-d.d.
Committee member and secretary of ‘Stipendkomiteen for dansekunstnere, statens kunstnerstipend’, 2014-2018 and 2023-2025.