ARTS on Oceans sets sail

Jan 26th, 2015

Janet Harron

ARTS on Oceans sets sail

The Faculty of Arts is launching ARTS on Oceans, a faculty-wide initiative looking at our understanding of oceans through the lens of the social sciences and humanities.

“The importance of the ocean has always been recognized by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, but it is garnering increasing attention globally as well, amid growing concerns about resource development, overfishing, and climate change. Research in the arts has much to teach us about the social, cultural and economic relations that shape interactions between people and the sea ,” says Dr. Danine Farquharson, chair of the ARTS on Oceans committee. “We’ve come up with an exciting platform of activities from films, to interactive displays, to panel discussions and public lectures. Just like all Faculty of Arts research, there's something for everyone.”

The first ARTS on Oceans event is a partnership with the People and the Sea Film Festival and takes place Wed., January 28 at 7:30 p.m. in room 2001 of the physical education building on the St. John’s campus. Films to be screened include: Once Upon a Tide; Kelp Forests of the North East Atlantic; Windy People; Dynamic Landscape; Gloop; The National Treasure of Bonaire; and Lophelia II: Reefs, Rigs, and Wrecks. Faculty members Dr. Barbara Neis (sociology), Dr. Charles Mather (geography), Dr. Evan Edinger (geography), Dr. Farquharson (English) and filmmaker Anne Troake (a recent MA graduate in anthropology) will participate in a panel discussion following the screening.  All are welcome and admission is free.

Future events will include an ARTS on Oceans public showcase and family fair in March, a symposium in early April in the Junior Common Room and the ARTS on Oceans Distinguished Lecture in September.  Please see www.mun.ca/arts/news/events/aoo.php for further details.

ARTS on Oceans is organized by Danine Farquharson, Meghan Burchell, Sean Cadigan, Reade Davis, and Janet Harron and is supported by the Vice President (Academic’s) Fund for Scholarship in the Arts. It follows the successful ARTS on Violence series in 2014.