Antarctic Artists and Writers Project

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The Maryland Science Center (MSC) in Baltimore will hold a series of programs centered around an exhbit of works produced by participants in NSF's Antarctic Artists & Writers Program to coincide with the 50th anniversary convening of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). The ATCM will be held in Baltimore in April 2009. The MSC program will consist of the exhibit and science demonstrations. Never before has such an extensive collection of Artist and Writers Program works been on display. The exhibit will feature artwork, photography and sculpture and other media produced by Artists & Writers participants. The program makes possible Artists'& Writers' travel to Antarctica to create works that will increase public understanding of the Antarctic region and the research performed there. A related science demonstration will introduce the public to the harshness of the Antarctic environment by exhibiting the clothing and other protective gear used by Antarctic researchers. Scientifically accurate, large-scale floor maps and murals will give those attending a "sense of place" about the Antarctic environment and the challenges of conducting state-of-the-art science there under the auspcices of the U.S. Antarctic Program, which NSF manages. The programs will be developed and managed by MSC exhibit, education and program staff with a team of advisors encompassing scientists, art museum curators, former participants in the Artists and Writers Program and NSF staff. MSC's staff research into the Artists and Writers Program and its participants along with the artists' willingness to participate provide a strong foundation on which to build a meaningful program. Broader Impacts MSC plans to bring audiences in touch with artists' recreations of the continent as well as both artists? and scientists' accounts of living and working there. Audiences for the exhibit and science demonstration will include the general public and school groups visiting MSC in the Spring, when it is common for more than 2,000 students to visit on agiven day. For the 400 international delegates of the treaty meeting, the exhibit will provide a novel view of the continent and the Artists and Writers Program. MSC expects audiences to become aware of Antarctica as more than a cold icy wilderness and to understand the continent as both austere and beautiful with a variety of landforms and life forms, and a setting for critical scientific research. MSC will expose underserved audiences to the program through subsidized transportation and admission for 1,200-1,500 Baltimore City school students. RMC Research Corporation will conduct summative evaluation efforts.