Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, natural hazards and other forms of environmental change present challenges not only for understanding Earth systems, but also for how environmental knowledge is produced, interpreted and shared. Across the Earth and environmental sciences, researchers are increasingly collaborating with artists and creative practitioners to develop new ways of engaging with environmental processes, data, places and communities.

Art-science collaboration can extend beyond communicating completed scientific findings. Creative practices may contribute to observation and sensing, working with environmental data, visualisation and representation, field-based inquiry, interpretation of uncertainty and change, participatory research, and engagement with place-based and experiential knowledge. At the same time, a growing range of projects provides practical experience of how such collaborations work in different research and environmental contexts.

This session brings together empirical case studies, methodological contributions and critical reflections on art-science collaboration in Earth and environmental research. We welcome contributions from across the geosciences and environmental sciences, together with collaborating artists, creative practitioners, and humanities and social science researchers, particularly addressing:

(1) art-science collaborations concerning climate, water, biodiversity and ecosystems, pollution, landscapes, natural hazards and other Earth and environmental processes;

(2) creative and arts-based approaches to environmental observation, fieldwork, sensing, mapping, visualisation, sonification, environmental data, modelling and interpretation;

(3) methods combining scientific observations and evidence with local, Indigenous, experiential or other forms of knowledge;

(4) participatory and place-based approaches involving scientists, artists, communities and other partners;

(5) methodological and comparative studies examining how creative practices can be integrated into different stages of Earth and environmental research;

(6) different models of collaboration, including artist residencies, field-based collaborations, museums and cultural institutions, research programmes, laboratories and community partnerships.