ZOË KOIVU, JUNIOR RESEARCHER
Zoë Koivu (MSc Human Geography, Regional Planning, Arctic Tourism, and Multidisciplinary Arctic Studies) is a doctoral researcher practicing with proximity as she explores how attuning can lead to transformation, particularly through multispecies encounters in the lakeshore forest outside her home in Rovaniemi, Finland. Propelled by curiosity, intrigue, and an inherent appreciation of colour and beauty, Zoë follows the seasonal spiral of the Arctic Circle through presence and (i)photography to focus and frame her noticings of the day (or night) and to hone her relational attention, feelings of awe, and sense of wonder. Zoë considers her multi-year daily journey as a lived example of in situ travel, a term she coined to explain travelling in place, through time, being hosted by the seasons with their continual flow of change, contrast, and related human and more-than-human affordances.
Zoë is an active cohort member of the Gifts from the Sentient Forest Project (2024-2025). She is also a member of the Sustainable Naturecultures and Multispecies Future (SuMu) research group, and her main job is University Teacher at the U/Lapland Language Centre.
Zoë’s recent debut photo exhibition with the Gifts from the Sentient Forest Project presents her multispecies encounters collections: The Surprising Magnificence of Ripening Bilberry Bottoms; Sundew Greeting from the Heart of Lapland; and The Plurality of Oneness, three small picture books: Vibrance, Intrigue, and Resonance.
Contact: zoe.koivu(a)ulapland.fi