A group of past participants in the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program have officially organized as the Antarctic Artists and Writers Collective (AAWC). The group comprises artists and writers who have traveled to Antarctica through the program over the past 40 years. The AAWC’s mission is to inspire and educate the public about Antarctica and its scientific exploration through collaborations in the arts. More information and a list of current members can be found at the Collective’s website: aawcollective.com.
Since the early 1980s, over 120 artists, performers and writers have traveled to the seventh continent on a zero-dollar grant, using their creative talents to tell the story of this largely unexplored continent though art, music, writing and performance. The AAWC is a collaborative effort to bring those talents together and share their work with the public at large. Through the arts, the AAWC artists and writers convey the visceral experience of an extreme and remote environment few people get to visit in person in words, images, sound, and multimedia installations, informed by their interactions with the scientists conducting research there.
As artists who share a unique experience and an interdisciplinary perspective, group members plan to create a network for future collaboration, including virtual and physical exhibitions, concerts, performances, lectures, and publications. The Collective’s website is serving as a comprehensive central resource and directory of projects produced through the Antarctic Artists & Writers Program, something that has not existed to date. Currently, the AAWC has 69 members. The Collective has engaged an independent curator to prepare an online exhibition, Adequate Earth: Artists and Writers in Antarctica, consisting of works by the 13 founding members, to premiere on the AAWC website in late January 2021. A series of virtual events will be presented in conjunction with the exhibition.
With the official launch of the website, the group has also launched social media channels:
Instagram: @antarcticcollective
Facebook: @antarcticcollective
Twitter: @AntarcticAWC
For more information, please contact:
Helen Glazer, Media Chair, Antarctic Artists & Writers Collective
Phone: +1 410-654-0077
Email: info@aawcollective.com
Note: The cover photo was provided by Helen Glazer; Copyright holder: Helen Glazer/Antarctic Artists & Writers Collective
Women in the Arctic and Antarctic 