Ariunzul Ganbaatar

Postgraduate student in Material and Visual Culture with a strong interdisciplinary foundation in anthropology, visual ethnography, and cultural heritage studies. Experienced in conducting multi-sited fieldwork across Mongolia and Dharamshala, with a focus on ritual materiality, gendered religious spaces, and transnational Buddhist networks. Skilled in multimodal documentation, photography, and public-facing research communication. Contributed to international research projects funded by Horizon Europe and Indiana University, as well as heritage initiatives such as the Mongolian Monasteries Documentation Project. Adept at coordinating field logistics, translating multilingual material, and producing both academic and creative outputs. Committed to ethical representation, collaborative knowledge-making, and culturally grounded approaches to research and exhibition.

Mongolian Galleries Association 04/2024- Present

• Actively participating encompassing input from Mongolian visual art collectors, galleries, artists, and other stakeholders utilizing scientific methodologies to grasp the challenges and opportunities within Mongolia's distinct cultural and economic milieu.
• Supported organizing "Intellectual Property into Economic Circulation: Discussion and Capacity Training" event. This event was aligned with the Ministry of Culture’s six priority sectors of cultural creative production and aimed at enhancing comprehension of the economic implications of intellectual property by empowering stakeholders, economists, and intellectual property lawyers. This enables the effective utilization of intellectual property rights, thereby fostering growth and stability within Mongolia's art economy.

Javzandamba Khutagt Centre, Mongolia 2018 – 2022

• Actively participated in charitable initiatives organized by the center, including distributing food and gifts to vulnerable groups and assisting in fundraising efforts
• . Supported community outreach programs aimed at improving the quality of life for underprivileged individuals.

 Arts Council of Mongolia, Digital Art International Festival 05/2019 – 08/2019 

• Assisted over 50 international artists participating in the festival, providing logistical and organizational support to ensure a seamless experience.

• Global Master's Scholarship — University College London (UCL)
  Awarded to support postgraduate studies at UCL.
• Private Sponsorship — UNEB LLC
  Awarded to support graduate studies at the National University of Mongolia.

• Visual Research and Storytelling: Proficient in using documentary photography and filmmaking for anthropological narratives, with a focus on urban and cultural contexts.
• Creative Documentation: Experienced in innovative methods for capturing material culture and spatial transformations through visual media.
• Technical Proficiency: Skilled in photography and video editing software, including Adobe Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.
• Fieldwork and Ethnographic Methods: Competent in conducting interviews, transcriptions, and participant observation in diverse sociocultural settings.
• Interdisciplinary Research: Strong background in integrating anthropology with visual methodologies, semiotics, and urban studies.

Documentation of Mongolian Monasteries
Arts Council of Mongolia & International Research Team — 2024–current

• Collaborating with researchers and the Arts Council of Mongolia to revise, translate, and verify English-language materials for a national database of Buddhist monasteries.
• Ensuring historical and linguistic accuracy in the documentation of oral histories, site descriptions, and archival data related to over 1,000 religious sites across Mongolia.

Mongolian Galleries Association
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — 2024

• Supported research and programming on cultural policy, intellectual property, and the visual arts sector in Mongolia.
• Assisted in organizing exhibitions, conducting stakeholder research, and producing materials for public-facing events.

Digital Art International Festival
Arts Council of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar — 2023

• Provided interpretation and logistical support to over 50 international artists during a week