OPERA ANTARCTICA
CIRCUMPOLAR
What is Circumpolar?
CIRCUMPOLAR is an installation that runs parallel to the opera, ANTARCTICA. Lead by Mary Finsterer, composer and University of Tasmania CALE Creative Fellow, a team of scientists from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) will work alongside specialists from the arts and creative industries to showcase research in the context of the opera. Comprising music, visual displays and publications both physical and online, CIRCUMPOLAR functions as a prism which dissects and reflects on the content of the opera including artistic inspiration, scientific data, storytelling & historical perspective.
There is a deep correlation to how scientists and artists think and respond to the world. Traditionally, the outcomes present differently, but the level of investigation, analysis and motivations align. The searching and researching for new ideas and ways to explain complex phenomena is continually present, the ultimate aspiration being to illuminate through innovation.
Contributed by: Dr Amelie Meyer
KEY PERSONNEL
Mary Finsterer – Composer, Director
Dean Golja – Visual Artist, Curator
Tom Wright – Writer
Guy Williams – IMAS Scientist Coordinator
Partner Organisations
Asko Schönberg, The Netherlands
Sydney Chamber Opera
The Hedberg, University of Tasmania
Dr Felicity McCormack
Researcher and Ice Sheet Modeller
Antarctic Gateway Partnership
Dr Amelie Meyer
Research Associate
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes
Dr Kerrie Swadling
Research Fellow and Plankton-Biologist
Centre for Ecology and Biodiversity, IMAS
Associate Professor Guy Williams
Opera Antarctic Symposium: First Light – Co-ordination Autonomous Maritime Systems Laboratory, UTAS
TEAM
Dr Sophie Bestley
DECRA Fellow, IMAS
Dr Jacqueline Halpin
Research Fellow, IMAS
Professor Craig Johnson
Head – Ecology and Biodiversity, IMAS
Dr Vanessa Lucieer
Deputy Head- Ecology and Biodiversity
Senior Research Scientist & Lecturer, IMAS
Dr Taryn Noble
John Stocker Postdoctoral Fellow
Antarctic Gateway Partnership
Dr Christine Schallenberg
Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem CRC, UTAS
Associate Professor Patti Virtue, IMAS
ARTS (alphabetical order)
Troy Beer MA
Digital Strategist, Wilderness Society
Dr Joel Crotty
Affiliate, Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music
Monash University
Professor Mary Finsterer
Composer
Creative Fellow | College of Arts, Law and Education
University Associate | IMAS
Adjunct Professor | Conservatorium of Music, UTAS
Dean Golja
Video / Image Artist, MA Electronic Arts, ANU
Associate Professor Elizabeth Leane
English, Humanities and ARC Future Fellow
School of Humanities, CALE & IMAS
Jack Symonds
Music Director – Sydney Chamber Opera Sydney, Australia
Fedor Teunisse
Artistic Director – Asko|Schönberg The Netherlands
Tom Wright
Librettist, Playwright
SCIENCE TEAM (alphabetical order)
Science Steering Committee
Associate Professor Zanna Chase
ARC Future Fellow IMAS
Associate Professor Mary-Anne Lea
Marine Predator Ecology Centre for Ecology and Biodiversity, IMAS