For millennia, the reindeer herding Nenets have been an inextricable part of the landscape of the Yamal (“The End of the Earth” in their language) in the Russian Arctic. According to many scientists, they have been incredibly resilient. They have weathered many environmental and social changes, from swings of the climatic pendulum between warming and cooling periods, to periodic social upheavals coming from the rule of Russian Tsars, the Communist dictatorship, and the chaos of Soviet collapse. Through it all, the Nenets managed to adapt in a way that has kept their culture not just alive, but thriving. Their resiliency arises in large part from their ability to continue annual reindeer migration over hundreds of miles from the southern winter pastures to the summer northern pastures by the coast. But new significant pressures have arrived to their homeland in the form of a boom in gas and oil production and accelerating climate change. — Gleb Raygorodetsky


Artist Bios
-
Evgenia Arbugaeva
Evgenia Arbugaeva was born in 1985 in the town of Tiksi, located in the Russian Arctic. In her personal work, she often looks to her Arctic homeland, discovering and capturing remote worlds and the people who inhabit them.
Arbugaeva has been a winner of various competitions. She is a recipient of the ICP Infinity Award 2015, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, and the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund Grant, and was selected as one of PDN’s “30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch.” Her work has been exhibited internationally and appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, Le Monde, and National Geographic, among others.
Organizations
-
National Geographic
Representing the largest brand on social media with over 780 million followers and 1.1 billion impressions each month, National Geographic Content’s award-winning and critically acclaimed storytelling inspires fans of all ages to connect with, explore, and care about the world through factual storytelling. National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, reaches over 532 million people worldwide in 172 countries and 33 languages as a digital, social, and print publisher and across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Established in 1888, National Geographic is a trusted print and digital publication that creates visually stunning, richly reported photojournalism and distinguished, impartial coverage of the globe’s most pressing issues. Visit nationalgeographic.com and natgeotv.com or explore Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit.
Life on Arctic’s Edge
Featuring: Evgenia Arbugaeva
Curated by: Kurt Mutchler
Locations
View Location Details Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Explore other locations and exhibitions nearby