Project Title

Polar STEAM Artists, Writers, and Educators

Summary

Event Number:
W-491-M
NSF / OPP Award 2221990

Program Director:
Dr. Lauren Culler

ASC POC/Implementer:
Allison Barden / Randolph Jones / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Kari Elizabeth Bisbee O'Connell
kari.oconnell@oregonstate.edu
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon

Project Web Site:
https://polarsteam.info/

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: McMurdo Station

Description

Polar STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) is a National Science Foundation-funded project that integrates and enhances two long-standing NSF programs — the Polar Educators program and the Antarctic Artists and Writers program — and facilitates virtual and deployment collaborations with scientists conducting research in the polar regions. Joining the programs creates new opportunities to connect the perspectives and work of creatives, educators, and researchers in some of the most interesting and critical ecosystems on the planet.

Field Season Overview

Four artists will immerse themselves in the Antarctic environment and scientific process, enabling them to return and translate the experience into captivating artistic creations to broaden the reach of the science to new audiences. All artists will deploy to McMurdo Station, each assisting with scientific sampling plans detailed in the associated approved research project.

Artist Margeaux Walter will capture the Antarctic environment through an interactive 2-D and 3-D narrative that depicts both the landscape and its story. Embedded with the B-249 (Thurber) project team, she will use photography that explores camouflage, perception, and the challenge of seeing within changing polar landscapes.

Artist Brad Johnson will create a large-scale immersive mixed-media experience that combines scientific insight and storytelling to reveal hidden Antarctic environments across scales, from macro to micro and through time. Embedded with the McMurdo Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM-LTER) project team, he will collect photographs, video, sound recordings, and other visual references while traveling through the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

Artist Erica Xin will create an interactive installation that translates Antarctic natural phenomena into tactile and responsive artistic forms. Embedded with the B-009 (Rotella) project team, she will use analog photography, long-exposure videography, interviews, audio recordings, and environmental observations to document the Antarctic environment and scientific fieldwork.

Artist Kamala Sankaram will create an immersive sound experience that explores Antarctic environmental change through music, field recordings, and scientific data sonification. Embedded with the I-169 (Banwell) project team, she will record environmental sounds and vocal performances in Antarctica using multimicrophone recording arrays and other audio equipment.

Deploying Team Members