UTAS Special Arts Forum:
Eco-Sustainability in Arts Practice
Join our illustrious panel of speakers as they share their approaches to environmental sustainability within their respective art practices, featuring Dr Betty Sergeant, Dr Niklavs Rubenis and moderated by Jan Hogan. This in-person Arts Forum event, hosted by University of Tasmania, is a great opportunity to hear from artists who are grappling with the challenges and opportunities of acting responsibly.
Dr Betty Sergeant is part of the artist duo PluginHUMAN who are navigating the complexities of maintaining a low carbon footprint in the field of media art. She will discuss advances they have made in their processes through their RBVA Fellowship where they are researching new carbon neutral and carbon negative working practices.
Dr Niklavs Rubenis is a designer, maker and Senior Lecturer in Object Design at UTAS. He is interested in the ethical implications of design and craft practice in a world already overflowing with ”stuff”. He will discuss how he has approached this thorny issue within his own creative practice.
This in-person event is presenting as part of Experimenta Life Forms: International Triennial of Media Art, exhibiting at Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania, 19 March – 9 May 2021
About the Speaker
Betty Sargeant
Dr Betty Sargeant is a multi-award-winning, internationally recognised media artist. She is co-creative director and artist with the art-technology duo PluginHUMAN. Betty creates multi-sensory immersive art installations that socially and physically engage audiences.
Betty Sargeant
Dr Betty Sargeant is a multi-award-winning, internationally recognised media artist. She is co-creative director and artist with the art-technology duo PluginHUMAN. Betty creates multi-sensory immersive art installations that socially and physically engage audiences.
Betty has exhibited internationally (Asia, Europe, North America, Australia). She has won Good Design Awards (2020 and 2018) and a Premier’s Design Award (2017) for her progressive artworks. She has created media art installations for institutions such as the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (Taiwan, 2018), Questacon (the National Science and Technology Museum, Australia, 2018) and the Asia Culture Centre (South Korea, 2016 & 2017). Betty’s current series of work investigates carbon neutral and carbon negative materials and working practices.
Dr. Niklavs Rubenis
Dr. Niklavs Rubenis is a designer and maker focused on craft, design, ethics and people. He has been involved with projects spanning community, non-profit, commercial and cultural institutions, and has had work presented and exhibited nationally and internationally.
Dr. Niklavs Rubenis
Dr. Niklavs Rubenis is a designer and maker focused on craft, design, ethics and people. He has been involved with projects spanning community, non-profit, commercial and cultural institutions, and has had work presented and exhibited nationally and internationally. Select collaborative projects include The Pet Project—Covid Companions; Object Realities; Transformative Repair; Object Therapy; and Crafting Waste. Niklavs has a trade in cabinet making, holds a BA Visual Arts (Honours), and a PhD from the Australian National University. He is currently Coordinator of Object & Furniture at the School of Creative Arts & Media University of Tasmania, serves on the board of the World Crafts Council—Australia and is a member of the Coordinating Committee for Global Climate Change Week.
