Exploring Botanic Gardens Herbarium's value, via Environmental Aesthetics. . The project aims to aesthetically redefine engagement with the plant collection at Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium (RBG) Sydney and to communicate its artistic, cultural and heritage value to the public through a Public Program of creative arts case studies. It's expected that new insights will arise from an environmental art methodology utilising the digitisation of the Herbarium specimens, so that audiences can intera ....Exploring Botanic Gardens Herbarium's value, via Environmental Aesthetics. . The project aims to aesthetically redefine engagement with the plant collection at Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium (RBG) Sydney and to communicate its artistic, cultural and heritage value to the public through a Public Program of creative arts case studies. It's expected that new insights will arise from an environmental art methodology utilising the digitisation of the Herbarium specimens, so that audiences can interactively experience the plant archive through narratives that activate plants as underpinning ecosystems. Benefits to partners RBG, Bundanon Trust and Open Humanities Press will include the digital expansion of audience engagement with the Herbarium at RBG and Mt Annan and communication of collection’s significance.Read moreRead less
Australian plague locust population genetics and migratory behaviour. The project will allow improved monitoring and forecasting of locusts in Australia and thereby help prevent locust outbreaks. Benefits will arise directly through greater effectiveness in reducing locust damage to crops, and indirectly to Australian rural industry generally through the economic benefits of reduced losses and locust control costs. Environmental and social benefits will also arise from reduced, better targeted u ....Australian plague locust population genetics and migratory behaviour. The project will allow improved monitoring and forecasting of locusts in Australia and thereby help prevent locust outbreaks. Benefits will arise directly through greater effectiveness in reducing locust damage to crops, and indirectly to Australian rural industry generally through the economic benefits of reduced losses and locust control costs. Environmental and social benefits will also arise from reduced, better targeted use of chemical insecticides. This in turn can produce secondary economic benefits, e.g. through enhanced growth and profitability of the organic beef industry within the main locust-outbreak area. Read moreRead less
A history of press photography in Australia. Press photography has long influenced how Australians have understood themselves and their world. In collaboration with the National Library of Australia and the Walkley Foundation, the project explores the evolving role of photographs in breaking news, and historical shifts in photographic technologies, media practices and ethics.
Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity ....Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity & distribution of salt-tolerance. This project is the first to use DNA sequences from thousands of species to understand the evolution of salt-tolerance in order to provide the foundation for the development of new crop varieties, selection of species that can be developed for bioremediation, and identification of traits that will be profitable targets for breeding programs. Read moreRead less
Ambitious and Fair: Strategies for a sustainable visual arts sector. This project aims to strengthen the visual art industry’s economic ecosystem. In a context where artists’ incomes are low and falling, commercial galleries are financially vulnerable and public galleries face funding challenges, the project addresses barriers to the sector’s economic health and the challenge of improving artists’ incomes. To address this critical gap, the project will combine an analysis of current value chains ....Ambitious and Fair: Strategies for a sustainable visual arts sector. This project aims to strengthen the visual art industry’s economic ecosystem. In a context where artists’ incomes are low and falling, commercial galleries are financially vulnerable and public galleries face funding challenges, the project addresses barriers to the sector’s economic health and the challenge of improving artists’ incomes. To address this critical gap, the project will combine an analysis of current value chains and emergent forms of economic organisation with qualitative insights into the experiences of artists and arts professionals. It will propose interventions for arts industry and government policy to improve and develop this ecosystem. Benefits include improved incomes for arts workers and a sustainable arts industry.Read moreRead less
Australian art exhibitions 1968-2009: a generation of cultural transformation. The years 1968 to 2009 witnessed a transformation in the way Australians saw the art of their country. This project investigates the impact of increased funding (government and private) and new scholarship on the curating of art exhibitions, and traces the reconfiguration of Australia’s art history that took place in exhibitions during this period.
Contemporary Australian Comics 1980 – 2020: A New History. This project aims to document, preserve and investigate a new history of Australian comics and graphic novels created 1980 to 2020. This period represents a significant shift in the thematic content and material production of comics. In tracing the development of technologies and communities, this project expects to generate new knowledge about narrative innovations comics use to reflect diverse national identities and cultures in Austra ....Contemporary Australian Comics 1980 – 2020: A New History. This project aims to document, preserve and investigate a new history of Australian comics and graphic novels created 1980 to 2020. This period represents a significant shift in the thematic content and material production of comics. In tracing the development of technologies and communities, this project expects to generate new knowledge about narrative innovations comics use to reflect diverse national identities and cultures in Australian society. By consolidating and providing public access to a wealth of contemporary Australian comics through a website and public programs, this project should feed the future of Australian comics industry and scholarship, providing significant benefit to Australian artists, readers, and the public.Read moreRead less
Empowering Australia’s Visual Arts via Creative Blockchain Opportunities. This project investigates the provision of a blockchain-based solution for protecting the intellectual property and provenance of visual art, and ways to empower its economic, cultural, and social value and benefits. By exploring innovative non-fungible token (NFT) opportunities in a global cyber security context, we will co-design a user-friendly and compliant tool for expanding the creation and movement of art on existin ....Empowering Australia’s Visual Arts via Creative Blockchain Opportunities. This project investigates the provision of a blockchain-based solution for protecting the intellectual property and provenance of visual art, and ways to empower its economic, cultural, and social value and benefits. By exploring innovative non-fungible token (NFT) opportunities in a global cyber security context, we will co-design a user-friendly and compliant tool for expanding the creation and movement of art on existing virtual galleries and smart contract-enabled platforms. Building on interdisciplinary synergies between creative and IT practices, we will interrogate the efficacy, risks and governance surrounding this global technology, and produce vital new knowledge for engaging with risks and opportunities in the digital economy.Read moreRead less