The Overview Effect

Description

The grant is to explore how satellite imagery and datasets can serve as the foundation fornew media art and design to reveal environmental issues. Students will partner withglobal aerospace organizations to transform overview data into creative projects forpublic awareness.CityU's Extreme Environments program is a highly regarded experiment in discovery-basededucation presented by the School of Creative Media. The program partners students with fieldscientists to interpret collected site data as art. Since 2012, undergraduate art and designstudents have visited scientific field research sites in some of the planet's most remote cornersincluding the Mojave Desert, Antarctica, underground caves in Vietnam, and with The NatureConservancy on the Solomon Islands and the State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollutionunderwater in the Coral Triangle. In each expedition, students explore a fragile ecosystem andcollect data that is transformed into new media artworks like games, interactive artworks,cinema, animations and more to help engage with wider audiences and promote a betterunderstanding of issues affecting the environment.Since student contribution is required for study tours, students from low-income families havebeen unable to participate in the past. In 2019, we would like to offer a smaller regionalexpedition connected to working directly with orbital science agencies and create virtualcmmections--to satellites, people, imagery and data. Our focus is still creative and alternativedata visualization, this time however using remotely collected materials. In addition, the grantwill serve as a prototype to re-envision the Extreme Environments program with theexpeditions removed yet retaining the core components: art and science partnership, studentexperiential education, community outreach and discovery-enriched learning.Satellite imagery of earth has a unique connection to art: an emphasis on how perspectiveinforms the message. ""The Overview Effect"" is experienced by many astronauts as a powerfulshift in awareness upon seeing Earth from orbit. The conflicting emotions of seeing our planet'sfragility and isolation act as a trigger to encourage actions to improve our environment.""Earthrise"", an iconic photo taken from space in 1968, was hugely influential in globalcampaigns to decrease pollution and a profound example of the power of media to reach thepublic. Overview imagery and data assists in understanding the 'big picture' but alsostrengthens the feeling of being connected. The view from above has the power to unite andinform like no other perspective.1Proposal No. TDG17B015D.Our students will utilize overview imagery and data to support the university's globalsustainability agenda. By using emerging technologies and creative strategies they willtransform critical environmental data into new media artworks. Collectively, the meaningfulstudent projects will address climate change issues and sustainability within both urban andnatural contexts and present them to the public through a range of innovative media materialsand outreach platforms including exhibitions, publications, social networks, online catalogues,screenings, talks and more.