Research Background: Research is crucial in enhancing environmental knowledge, to “show us where we are” and “how to get to where we need to be” (United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), 2021) However, because scientific projects are often highly specialised and complex, they can be hard for the general public to access or understand, and it can be difficult to connect with why they matter (Chandler, 2021). Sites of Connection presented creative works by nine Queensland artists working at the intersection of creative practice and environmental research. The exhibition was designed to demonstrate how creative practice can complement scientific discourses in building understanding and raising awareness of environmental matters.
Research Contribution: The exhibiting artists, Leah Barclay, Bloom Collective (Jan Baker-Finch, Renata Buziak, Vicki Kelleher, Erik Griswold and Vanessa Tomlinson), Donna Davis, Alinta Krauth and Emma Lindsay employed interdisciplinary creative methods to explore prescient environmental topics including carbon cycles and climate change, soil erosion, wildlife rehabilitation, biodiversity and species loss and the value of knowledge, understanding and care, and the intrinsic interconnectedness of human and non-human species and the natural world. A catalogue with an essay by exhibition co-curator Lisa Chandler was published for the exhibition.
Research Significance: The exhibition was presented for Horizon, the Sunshine Coast’s premier arts and cultural festival. In association with the exhibition, there were several public programs including Field Trip, a hybrid 'live and digital' symposium that explored the ethics of interdisciplinary art and creativity as a tool for responding to the climate crisis and reimagining our future. The exhibition was well attended and favourably reviewed by audiences.