Arts stories from National Science Week
Tuesday 18 August 2015
- Exploring the night sky through dance – tonight in Toowong, QLD
- See crystal art made with microscopes and smartphones – tomorrow in Bunbury, WA
- What art is inspired by ecosciences? – next Thursday in Dutton Park, QLD
- Science meets dance meets Robotronica – Sunday in Kelvin Grove, QLD
- My Trip to Mars – next Friday in Ultimo, NSW
- Arts vs Science Festival – Saturday in Lismore, NSW
- What’s the secret of places that spark creativity, innovation, art and science? – next Tuesday in Carlton, VIC
- Aurora Australis revealed – on now in Hobart, TAS
… and there’s more on each below.
Exploring the night sky through dance – Toowong, QLD
‘Starstruck’ sees choreographer/producer Liz Lea, in association with Ausdance Queensland, bring the Northern and Southern skies down to Earth through dance and film. Working with astronomers and scientists based at Mount Stromlo Observatory she is exploring the questions behind black holes, exploding stars and observing new galaxies.
Combined with music inspired by the Northern and Southern lights, this is a project that plans to tour to observatories nationally. This will include ‘Cygnus’ a solo inspired by the legend of the a northern constellation lying on the Milky Way, another solo exploring the Southern Lights with a film by Sean Goebel and young Queensland artist Michael Smith presenting his work ‘Planets’.
Tuesday 18 August, 6:00pm Event details, Media enquiries: Ann McLean, ann@ausdanceqld.org.au or 07 3122 7628, 0422 926 987
See crystal art made with microscopes and smartphones – Bunbury, WA
See fast growing crystals developing under a microscope before your eyes, and change the crystal’s colour by manipulating different properties of light, and then photograph and take home your own microscopic crystal art.
Gary Cass has been a key scientific collaborator with numerous art and science projects across Western Australia, contributing a vast range of skills in agricultural and biological sciences to ongoing research and creative projects. He’s the Scientific Director (aka Crazy Scientist) of The Scientific Creativity Initiative. He “Knows a little bit about science, a little less on safety and probably nothing about art!”
Wednesday 19 August Event details, Gary Cass is available for media interviews, contact: Gary Cass, gary.cass@thesci.org or 0400 636 818
What art is inspired by ecosciences? – Dutton Park, QLD
30 artworks inspired by ecoscience – a group of artists have been in residence working with scientists based at the Ecosciences Precinct for the past 6 months.
The Art-meets-Science Exhibition will feature over 30 artworks across a range of media (sculpture, installation, painting, digital and more) and the work of the scientists who inspired them. Located in the foyer of the Ecosciences Precinct it is also home to Café Eco.
On now until Thursday 27 August Event details Media enquiries: Andrew Grodecki, andrew.grodecki@dsiti.qld.gov.au or 07 3170 5759
Science meets dance meets Robotronica – Kelvin Grove, QLD
A
rtists, practitioners, researchers and scientists from across Australia and the world will get their groove on in a mash up of science and dance.
The DANscienCE Festival explores what dance and science have in common, and celebrate the science behind the moving body.
DANscienCE will also join forces with Queensland University of Technology’s Robotronica festival to showcase some of the world’s most spectacular robotics and interactive design. Friday 21 – Sunday 23 August Event details
Festival website: http://www.danscience.com.au/ Media enquiries: Liz Lea, lea_dance@yahoo.co.uk or 0498 988 252
My Trip to Mars – Ultimo, NSW
The
exhibition ‘My Trip To Mars’ by Sydney artist Adam Norton transforms UTS Gallery into a diorama replica of the surface of the red planet. Using video, sculpture and installation, Norton explores ideas about discovery and the imagination. The exhibition plays with the tropes of science fiction and the artist’s own research into interplanetary exploration.
Adam Norton’s art practice examines science, technology and space exploration as a means to ask bigger questions about the power structures that govern our lives. In 2011 he constructed a Mars Gravity Simulator in the foyer of Carriageworks to replicate the conditions in which the Apollo astronauts were trained for spaceflight, and in 2008 he unleashed a fleet of tanks in the Sydney CBD as part of a public art project produced by the City of Sydney.
‘My Trip To Mars’ constructs a recreation of the Martian surface to set the scene for Norton’s speculative space experiments, which examine different aspects of Martian exploration, gravity and habitation. This included makeshift exploration equipment, including a portable habitation unit called ‘Space Yurt’. It is a comical attempt to build a dwelling for the artist for a short stay on Mars. Another work, ‘Mars Relic’ is a tattered NASA flag stained with red soil, which represents a piece of future history, the relic of this imaginary trip. The speculative drive of science fiction is combined with the artistic impulse of experimentation in this exhibition that invites the viewer to be the explorer.
On now until Friday 28 August Event details, Artist Adam Norton is available for media interviews
Contact: ammnorton@hotmail.com or 0452 588 009, event enquiries: Eleanor Zeichner, eleanor.zeichner@uts.edu.au or 02 9514 1652
Arts vs Science Festival – Lismore, NSW
A solar-powered sound stage, a ‘Backyard Big Scrub Makeover’ with Gardening Australia’s Costa, and a National Science Week schools art competition are just some of the features of the 2015 Arts vs Science Festival in Lismore, this year in collaboration with Big Scrub Rainforest Day.
The Arts vs Science Festival brings together science, creativity, and sustainability. It will be held on Saturday 22 August at Lismore City Hall with interactive science and arts workshops, judging of the schools art and video competition, films, guest speakers, and live music.
Saturday 22 August Event details, media enquiries: Kristin den Exter, kristin.denexter@scu.edu.au or 0414 223 139
What’s the secret of places that spark creativity, innovation, art and science? – Carlton, VIC
Why
do some places generate extraordinary outbursts of creativity, while others remain locked in routine? What was so special about Renaissance Florence, the Weimar of the Bauhaus, London during the birth of punk, or the Silicon Valley of the Homebrew computer club? What are the pitfalls of “orchestrated creativity”? What new kinds of creative, collaborative environment are emerging to challenge traditional institutions?
In this talk Michael John Gorman will explore sites of creativity, and consider the social embeddedness of creativity in science, technology, and the arts and design. Drawing on the experience of establishing Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin as a space for creative collisions between science and art, he will consider the challenges that face cities and institutions as we seek to nurture creativity in the 21st century.
Michael John Gorman, CEO, Science Gallery International and Founding Director of Science Gallery at Trinity College, Dublin will be available for interviews on Tuesday 25 August
Tuesday 25 August Event details, Media enquiries: Nerissa Hannink, nhannink@unimelb.edu.au, 03 8344 8151 or 0430 588 055
Aurora Australis revealed – Hobart, TAS
Tasm
ania is quickly becoming a mecca for southern hemisphere aurora viewing. The Aurora Australis & Night Sky Festival is based around a 4 week photographic exhibition in Hobart, Tasmania. It also offers talks, workshops and outdoor gatherings to share the love of the Aurora Australis and the night sky in general.
On now until Thursday 3 September Event details, event enquiries: Loic Le Guilly, auroraaustralistasmania@gmail.com or 0414 612 716
About National Science Week
National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss the hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural and economic impact on society.
Several events bring science and art together, with artists inspired by science, photography exhibitions and workshops using the tools of science to make art.
Australia’s eighteenth National Science Week will be one of Australia’s largest festivals, with 1,500 plus registered events expected to reach over a million people.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government; partners CSIRO, Australian Science Teachers Association and the ABC; and sponsors NewScientist, Cosmos, Popular Science and PrimaryConnections.
National Science Week 2015 will run from 15-23 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.
National Science Week general media enquiries:
Tanya Ha – tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863