This special World Water Day event, hosted by the Global Water Institute and UNSW Library, will feature a panel discussion among academics and researchers in water-related fields across art, science, and the humanities.
Titled An artistic and social perspective on human-environment interactions with water in a changing climate, the forum will present cross-disciplinary perspectives on topics including:
• Social, cultural, and artistic values of water in our environment
• Effects of dealing with a changing climate
• The value of the visual and performing arts in communicating research and engaging with the community
This event is presented in association with the exhibition Sonus Maris, an exhibition navigating the intersections between art and science emerging from an ongoing collaboration between artist Dr Nigel Helyer and water engineers and scientists at the UNSW Water Research Laboratory (WRL). The exhibition features audio-visual media reinterpreting data which charts the unique dynamics of intermittently closed and open lakes and lagoons (ICOLLs) along the NSW coastline.
Entry is free (registration required), and afternoon tea will be provided.
Location: UNSW Main Library, Seminar Room 506 (off the Level 5 Exhibitions Space)
Panellists:
James Carley
James holds a Master of Engineering Science degree in Coastal and Water Engineering and has over 30 years of experience in coastal and water engineering. James has served on Engineers Australia’s NSW Coasts Oceans and Port Engineering Panel (COPEP) since 2000 and is Chair of the National Committee on Coastal and Ocean Engineering (NCCOE). Prior to WRL, James worked in the construction industry, including construction and estimating experience for a civil/marine contractor. He is a long term surfer, surf life saver and open water swimmer.
Eleanor Earl
Eleanor is a chartered civil engineer and who has worked in the Caribbean, Europe, East and West Africa, South and East Asia and most recently the Pacific Islands. She is an advocate for the use of nature-based approaches, particularly for flood resilience. Eleanor is currently a PhD student in the Water Research Centre studying natural flood management in the Pacific Islands. Prior to moving to UNSW, she was an engineer at the consultancy Arup for seven years in London and Hong Kong, working on a variety of multi-disciplinary building and infrastructure projects predominately in the water sector but also encompassing arts and culture, city planning, education, health, infrastructure resilience, rail, and technology. Her work included the refurbishment of the BBC Television Centre in West London, training humanitarian practitioners in surface water management techniques in the Rohingya refugee camps, youth driven climate adaptation in an informal settlement in Bangladesh and one of the first sustainable drainage projects in Hong Kong. Throughout her career, Eleanor has volunteered with the Institution of Civil Engineers and several charitable organisations including Engineers Without Borders, the Social Mobility Foundation and the STEM Ambassadors program in the UK.
Dr Nigel Helyer
Dr Nigel Helyer is an internationally prominent sculptor and sound artist with an experimental practice that combines art and science to embrace our social, cultural, and physical environments. His practice is interdisciplinary and collaborative, developing projects that expand the boundaries of creative practice, including Environmental-Art and Bio-Arts. As the Creative Director of the AudioNomad Research Group (UNSW School of Computer Science and Engineering), Nigel pioneered location-sensitive, augmented audio reality concepts. He is an Honorary Professor at Macquarie University, a long-term collaborator with the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (UTAS), and a board member of the Paris-based l’Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art.
