Melanie Zurba’s (she/her) work aims to dismantle the false dichotomy between people and nature and explores the relationship between humans with the more-than-human world. She is an artist, curator, and researcher, originally from Winnipeg/Treaty 1 territory, now living and working in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. Her primary artistic mediums are sculpture with clay and found materials and painting with watercolour/gouache. Melanie’s academic and curatorial practice also connects to environmental themes and community wellbeing. As an academic (Associate Professor), Melanie works with communities on projects through her Community-Engaged CoLab at Dalhousie University. Her research methodologies include participatory and arts-based approaches. She also contributes to art-environment discourse through reviews and essays for art exhibitions. Melanie’s most recent curatorial contribution (with Erica Mendritzki, NSCAD University) was Worried Earth: Eco-Anxiety and Entangled Grief, which was shown at The University of Winnipeg Gallery 1C03 (2022), Anna Leonowens Port Loggia Gallery (2023), and will be shown at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie (later 2024). Melanie has trained with several artists through workshops, including through the Berlin Arts Institute, and has completed a residency with the Watershed Centre for the Ceramic Arts. She currently completing a Visual Arts (In Studio) Certificate at NSCAD University, has a PhD in Environmental Studies, and has a NSCAD Certificate in Gallery and Studio Management.