Ruth Beer is a Professor in the Faculty of Visual Art and Material Practice at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She is an artist and researcher who is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to these practices. Her work includes sculpture, photography, and digital new media to investigate ideas about social and cultural shifts related to marine environments and coastal communities. She has an extensive record of national and international exhibitions. She is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts and has completed several public sculpture commissions. Recently, as principal investigator, her work has focused on “Catch and Release: Mapping Stories of Geographic and Cultural Transitions”, as principal investigator of a project that is supported by a national SSHRC Research Creation in the Fine Arts Grant (2009-2013) to create artwork and exhibitions related to social history and fishing in collaboration with cultural and heritage museums.