Creativity in space; sci-fi inspired installations; and art bringing extinct animals back to life
Great National Science Week Arts stories up for grabs now around Australia
- Performance art in zero gravity; habitat beyond Earth; what is a space environmentalist? – Sydney
- Art-science exhibition explores science fiction – Melbourne
- ‘We’re All Aliens, Baby’: science songs and astrophysicists at a live Planetarium concert – Brisbane
- Hedy Lamarr’s Hollywood glamour and scientific genius on stage – Canberra & Victorian tour
- Can environmental arts activism save the world? – Wyangala & Cowra, NSW
- Art bringing Miocene megafauna back to life – Alice Springs
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
Performance art in zero gravity; habitat beyond Earth; and what is a space environmentalist? – Sydney Science Festival goes off planet
- Creativity in space: Australia’s first female astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg in conversation with visiting Asian American artist and engineer Xin Liu.
- Celestial Emu: Gamilaroi astrophysicist Karlie Noon and Bangarra Dance Theatre dancer Daniel Mateo share Indigenous astronomy in a short film directed by Olivia Costa.
- Crowded skies: American space environmentalist Moriba Jah and artist Trevor Paglen reveal the unseen, crowded sky, from space junk to ‘invisible’ surveillance satellites.
- Building sustainable habitats beyond Earth, with Indian spaceship designer, entrepreneur, climate action advocate, and space diplomat Susmita Mohanty.
Hear from compelling speakers on science’s hot topics. Sydney Science Festival is back with events in multiple locations around Sydney and online.
Saturday 10 – Saturday 17 August. Multiple dates and locations.
Many of the speakers and international visitors are available for media interviews.
Media enquiries: Michelle Lollo, media@powerhouse.com.au or 0419 523 735.
Art-science exhibition explores science fiction – Parkville, VIC
The free exhibition SCI-FI: Mythologies Transformed at Science Gallery Melbourne offers fresh insights on science fiction – a genre built on envisioning alternative futures and imaginary realms.
The lines connecting science fiction with ancient philosophy and mythologies are brought to light by Asian artists and collectives. Shown in Australia for the first time, this narrative is expanded to incorporate First Nations perspectives and knowledges.
SCI-FI includes works by:
- Paola Balla, a Wemba-Wemba and Gunditjmara woman of Italian and Chinese heritage
- Japanese multidisciplinary artist Mariko Mori, whose practice explores themes of technology, spirituality, and transcendence
- Asian American artist and engineer Xin Liu, an artist-in-residence at The SETI Institute (SETI is short for ‘Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence’).
This free exhibition features contemporary artworks, historical artefacts, books, and cinema from both Asia and the West.
Image credit: Miko No Inori (1996) by Mariko Mori.
From Saturday 10 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sci-fi-mythologies-transformed/parkville
Media enquiries: Katrina Hall, kathall@ozemail.com.au or 0421 153 046.
Science Gallery Melbourne Director Ryan Jefferies and Head of Curatorial Tilly Boleyn are available for media interviews.
‘We’re All Aliens, Baby’: science songs and astrophysicists at a live Planetarium concert – Toowong, QLD
Award-wining songwriter and science communicator Nathan Eggins (aka Conspiracy of One) is bringing his signature sciencey music back to the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, with a couple of University of Queensland astro-experts in tow.
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 debut album ‘Road to Reason’, along with fan favourite science songs like ‘We're All Aliens, Baby’ and ‘The Sound a Duck Makes’, set against the backdrop of the starscapes of the Skydome.
Participants will also hear from dark energy expert Tamara Davis and extrasolar planets researcher Benjamin Pope and enjoy free popcorn and ‘homeopathic cocktails’.
Saturday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/planetarium-concert-live-music-in-the-skydome-2/toowong
Media enquiries: Nathan Eggins, nathan@sentientproductions.com.au or 0402 593 431.
Hedy Lamarr’s Hollywood glamour and scientific genius on stage – Canberra & Victorian tour
Hedy Lamarr, glamorous star of the silver screen, also invented Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Technology that makes the world of wireless communication tick. From Austria to Hollywood, WWII, torpedoes, ecstasy, and intrigue to the very cell phone in your pocket, Hedy Lamarr is there!
American actor and writer Heather Massie, who also studied astrophysics, enchants the audience as Hedy Lamarr, along with Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Louis B Mayer, and more in a one-woman solo play with 36 characters. She’s coming to Australia with her award-winning show, touring Victoria and ACT.
“In Lily Tomlin-esque fashion … Massie channels the iconic star … vividly yet matter-of-factly, and often very humorously … In a balance of high energy and poise, Heather Massie is no less than captivating.” Jed Ryan - The Huffington Post.
More information: www.heathermassie.com.
Heather Massie is available for media interviews.
Media enquiries: Helen van de Pol, hjvandepol@icloud.com or 0448 920 235. Heather may be contacted directly via What’s App +1(212)600-0514.
Can environmental arts activism save the world? – Wyangala & Cowra, NSW
What do our native trees have to say amidst climate change? ‘Eucalyptus Monolgues’ or the inner voices of our native trees – derived from the tree genome, field recordings and generative music from live trees – are amplified among a myriad of arts activations focused on environmentalism during ERTHWRX24.
The multi-day event by the CORRIDOR project (a not-for-profit multidisciplinary arts and cultural organisation) brings together community, scientists, cultural knowledge holders, architects, ecologists, traditional medicine, global explorers, and artists ‘to ideate, create, share and explore humanity’s entangled relationship with natural environments’.
Artists on the line-up include Angus Fisher, whose charcoal drawings capture the beauty of the Moon, impacting all life on Earth, created during a residency program at the CORRIDOR project, exploring night skies and drawing and recording the passing moon with an on-site telescope.
ERTHWRX24 involves 25 artists and 16 panellists.
Saturday 10 August & Sunday 11 August (The CORRIDOR Project, Wyangala)
Saturday 17 August & Sunday 18 August (Cowra Micro Gallery)
https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/erthwrx24-national-science-week-2024/wyangala/
Media enquiries: Phoebe Cowdery, phoebe@thecorridorproject.org or 0413 910 697.
Art bringing Miocene megafauna back to life – Alice Springs, NT
How do palaeo-artists reimagine and recreate what an extinct animal looks like when there are no living specimens to paint from life?
Renowned artist and book author Peter Schouten and fellow palaeo-artist and Megafauna Central’s senior curator of earth sciences Dr Adam Yates discuss the methods they used to put flesh, fur, skin, and scales on long extinct creatures and re-imagine their environments.
Megafauna Central will unveil Peter’s large mural showcasing iconic species from the Late Miocene Alcoota fossil assemblage in their main gallery.
Peter and Adam will discuss the unveiled work, and the process and challenges met in its creation.
Saturday 10 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/brushes-with-the-past-unveiling-the-late-miocene-with-peter-schouten/alice-springs
Media enquiries: Sam Arman, samuel.arman@magnt.net.au or 0431 197 171.
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 2.7 million people participated in more than 1,860 events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.
In 2024 it runs from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.
Contact details:
Direct contact details for each event are in the media release, or contact Tanya Ha on tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863.
