Great National Science Week ARTS stories up for grabs now around Australia
- Is AI the next Shakespeare: can it write a play?
- DARK MATTERS exhibition – can art make the invisible universe visible?
- Meet the chemistry graduate turned artist behind the Atmospheric Memory exhibition.
- The Drag Experiment: Meet the performers mixing scientific concepts with drag.
- Creativity: are you born with it? Or can it be cultivated?
- Satirical science music ‘Road to Reason’: album launch at a planetarium.
More on these below and visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.
Scientists, experts, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.
Direct contact details for each event are below or contact Tanya Ha on tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863.
Media centre here. Images for media here.
Individual event details and media contacts
A play written by ChatGPT – West Melbourne, VIC
Is AI the next Shakespeare: can it write a play? How does ChatGPT actually work?
In this show, ChatGPT will generate a three-act play with creative contributions from you, the audience. These words will then be performed by actors as they attempt to humanise the machine-generated scripts of plays that have never been seen before.
This event will also venture into how AI works, the Turing Test, and the role of AI in our future lives and artistic endeavours.
Sunday 20 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/a-play-written-by-chatgpt/west-melbourne/
Media enquiries: Sean Elliott, Sean.Elliott@pintofscience.com.au or 0422 260 116
The art of dark matter – Carlton, VIC
Dark matter consists of a mysterious substance that does not present an interaction with electromagnetic forces, which means it does not absorb, reflect it, or emit light.
The DARK MATTERS exhibition explores the mysterious substance that makes up 85 per cent of the matter in the universe. It’s a collaboration between Science Gallery Melbourne, Arts at CERN and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics.
Through local and international experimental projects – some developed in conversation with scientists and researchers – explore life and all the dark matter that flows through it, under it and collides with it.
Wednesday 5 August – Thursday 30 November: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/dark-matters-2/carlton
Media enquiries: Katrina Hall, kathall@ozemail.com.au or 0421 153 046.
Scientists in drag battle – Ultimo, NSW
Scientists by day and drag performers by night. Meet the performers mixing scientific concepts with drag. Who will be crowned the ‘ultimate drag scientist’?
Hear from host, ‘bimbo biologist and flaming homosexual’, Dr Naomi Koh Belic, along with:
- Radha – culinary scientist
- Milton MANgo – a country bloke who cracks a whip (Lee Constable of The Conversation and Scope)
- ‘gaysian empress of Sydney’, Dyan Tai with a live music experiment
- Diva Attenbra – wildlife biologist at UNSW, drag performer and comedian who can talk about gay animals.
Thursday 17 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-drag-experiment/ultimo
Media enquiries: Dr Naomi Koh Belic drnaomikohbelic@gmail.com or 0422 213 119.
Meet the chemistry graduate turned artist behind the Atmospheric Memory exhibition – Ultimo, NSW
Meet the artist behind Atmospheric Memory – an immersive exhibition filled with light, sound, words and projections that make the atmosphere tangible.
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is a media artist working with ideas from architecture and performance. He was the first artist to officially represent Mexico at the Venice Biennale with a monographic exhibition in 2007.
Lozano-Hemmer’s use of technology in his practice creates critical dialogues about the interconnectedness of art and science. Having received a degree in Chemistry and working as an artist for thirty years, Lozano-Hemmer will present his artistic approaches and experiments within the fields of robotics, AI, nanotechnology and fluid dynamics.
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s breathtaking immersive art environment is inspired by computing pioneer Charles Babbage’s concept of air containing a ‘vast library’ of every word ever spoken. He is in coversation with Matthew Connell, Director of Curatorial, Collections and Programs at the Powerhouse.
Part of Sydney Science Festival: Saturday 12 – Sunday 20 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sydney-science-festival-2023/ultimo/
Media enquiries: Siân Davies, sian@articulatepr.com.au, 0402 728 462; or Sasha Haughan, sasha@articulatepr.com.au, 0405 006 035.
Atmospheric Memory image library.
Q: Can we innovate creativity? – Adelaide, SA
Creativity: are you born with it? Or can it be cultivated?
Ask a panel of artists and experts, including:
Dr Sarah Neville, Artist and Practitioner, whose research is in the area of the transmission and transfer of embodied knowledge in immersive digital simulation environments.
Alex Degaris, Artist, who is researching creative collaboration in virtual environments. Their work Traces of You is on display at MOD. as part of the FLEX exhibition.
Maria Vieira, Lecturer in Education Futures and PhD Candidate in STEM at UniSA. She is passionate about delivering innovative education experiences that cultivate creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills in STEM.
Thursday 17 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/q-can-we-innovate-creativity/adelaide
Media enquiries: Lisa Bailey, Lisa.Bailey@unisa.edu.au or 08 8302 6663.
Satirical science music ‘Road to Reason’: album launch at Planetarium – Toowong, QLD
Songwriter and Science Communicator Nathan Eggins (aka Conspiracy of One) is bringing his signature sciency music to the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.
Nathan’s pop-rock-funk music explores scientific and psychological concepts while highlighting and satirising many forms of pseudoscience, misinformation and cognitive biases.
Nathan and his band will share songs from his new album ‘Road to Reason’, along with fan favourite science songs like ‘We’re All Aliens, Baby’ and ‘The Sound a Duck Makes’.
Hear eclectic and thought-provoking music while seeing the cosmos via the Skydome.
Sunday 20 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/planetarium-concert-live-music-in-the-skydome/toowong
Media enquiries: Nathan Eggins, nathan@sentientproductions.com.au or 0402 593 431.
About National Science Week
National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural and economic impact on society – from art to astrophysics, chemistry to climate change, and forensics to future food.
First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year about 1.9 million people participated in more than 1,650 events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.
In 2023 it runs from Saturday 12 to Sunday 20 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.