Research Seminar - Tales from the Trenches of Arts / Industry Collaborations: Or can writers save the world (and get paid for doing it)?

Tales from the Trenches of Arts / Industry Collaborations: Or can writers save the world (and get paid for doing it)?

Presented by: Dr Helen Marshall, Dr Amanda Niehaus, and Ms Joanne Anderton

Date: Friday 5 May 2023
Time: 12-1pm
Location: Online via Zoom and in-person at the SCA Writer's Studio (Level 6, Michie Building)

Abstract

The What If Lab in the HASS Faculty specialises in creative arts and imagination-led workshops for industry. One recent collaboration with industry was Project Ursula, a collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), which adapted speculative fiction techniques into a creative workshop for exploring the potential disruptive effects of emerging technologies. In this presentation, Dr. Helen Marshall, the lead for Project Ursula, will discuss more broadly what her team of creative writers learned about setting up contract arts-oriented research with industry.

To spark ideas within the School, she will also invite Dr. Amanda Niehaus and Ms. Jo Anderton to present on their own arts-driven collaborations with industry. In her private consultancy, established in 2016, Dr Niehaus uses storytelling methods to help researchers at all levels more effectively conceptualise projects and write grants and papers. Ms. Anderton has been working with Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) to use her skills as a science fiction writer to develop short narrative scenarios against which to test frameworks managing ethical risks. 

Presenters

Dr Helen Marshall is a Senior Lecturer of Creative Writing at the University of Queensland. She has won the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award and the Shirley Jackson Award for her two collections of Weird short stories. Her debut novel The Migration argued for the need to remain hopeful, even in the worst circumstances. It was one of The Guardian’s top science fiction books of the year. With her colleagues, Prof Kim Wilkins and Dr. Lisa Bennett, she runs the What If Lab at the University of Queensland, which specialises in creative arts, speculative fiction and imagination-led workshops for researchers from different backgrounds and disciplines. 

Amanda Niehaus is a scientist-turned-writer and author of the novel The Breeding Season - a story of love, loss, and the crazy sex lives of northern quolls. Amanda also edits the magazine Science Write Now, which publishes creative writing inspired by science.

Joanne Anderton is an award-winning writer of speculative fiction, children’s books, and creative nonfiction. Her most recent short story collections are Inanimates: Tales of Everyday Fear and The Art of Broken Things. She's currently undertaking a PhD at UQ, where she's attempting to use speculative fiction to write memoir and having far too much fun in the process.