Antarctic Artists & Writers Program

The Antarctic Artists and Writers program facilitates deployments to the Antarctic for creative practitioners within the arts and humanities. Collaborations between polar researchers and artists & writers help increase the public’s understanding of and appreciation for human and scientific endeavors in Antarctica through the resulting works.

Artist Fellow Madeline Blount will join Researcher Fellow Kevin Arrigo and Educator Fellow Bhavna Rawal onboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in the Austral Summer of 2024/26 to build a generative machine learning “speculative live cam” that interprets and visualizes the Antarctic environment in new and unexpected ways. Rooted in her experience as a technologist within social justice and community-based projects, Madeline’s practice has always involved demystifying complex subjects and expanding access to technology. Through the project, Madeline aims to develop a co-creative, participatory relationship with an audience, designing an online platform to be freely accessible to a variety of learning communities. The machine learning element may foster engagement with polar science in surprising ways, leveraging current public curiosity with AI. The online project will be modeled after free public science “live cams,” minimizing financial barriers and encouraging widespread viewing.

Participants Involved in This Project

Kevin in front of a red plane

Kevin Arrigo | Researcher Fellow

Department of Earth System Science | Stanford, California
close up of Madeline in nature

Madeline Blount | Artist Fellow

Brooklyn, NY

From the Blog

Erika wearing a puffy jacket and holding up her hands in front of shelves of ice cores.
The Power of Collaboration
As a high school science teacher, I’m always looking for ways to inspire my students with real-world science and deepen their understanding of our planet. The PolarSTEAM Educator Fellowship has been an extraordinary opportunity to merge my passion for polar environments with my teaching. Through this year-long virtual collaboration with T.J. Fudge, a research scientist at the University of Washington, I’ve been immersed in cutting-edge research on ice cores, allowing me to bring current polar science research to my students.
Seven people sit up in sleeping bags in front of a building
A Day in the Life
The Juneau Icefield is a group of interconnected glaciers just north of Juneau, Alaska that extends into British Columbia, Canada and covers an area the size of Rhode Island. Maybe you’ve heard of the Mendenhall Glacier? It is part of the Juneau Icefield! The Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) has been collecting data on the icefield since 1948. 
Macall and Holli filtering water samples
A Day in the Life
An Unforgettable Adventure Begins As a high school science teacher, the invitation to join Macall Hock on an expedition to study the effects of a warming Arctic ecosystem on stream carbon cycling in Utqiagvik, Alaska, felt like stepping into a thrilling adventure. The beauty of the Arctic wilderness was a sight to behold, but the
A cartoon reindeer stands in front of a water tower with an illustrated reindeer logo that says "National Science Foundation Navigating the New Arctic"
Connecting to the Classroom
Drs. Peter Ungar, Mary Heskel, and Aleksey Sheshukov explained (patiently) their areas of expertise, Arctic research projects, and provided me with a virtual mountain of photographs from their fieldwork. We talked about what projects would be suitable and appropriate for a variety of audiences. What would be engaging to different ages, interests and levels of scientific knowledge? I knew that I wanted my Photoshop class to be involved with this project, so I suggested creating a comic book.
One person prepares to throw harpoon at a board painted with two black humps to symbolize a whale. Two other people watch.
A Day in the Life
Today we got set up and met the local 8th graders out on the ice! For some of them it was the first time they had been on the land-fast sea ice (which is ice that is "fastened" to the coastline). For some, it was old news. It was quite cold (-30F with the windchill), so many students hid in the tents we had set up. The previous days had been relatively warm, hovering around 0-10F degrees. The students were split into groups and rotated between the stations.