The City of Hobart is positioning itself as the prime gateway to Antarctica, with the port becoming a vital link and the region being a home to local and international research, scientists and researchers. What does this mean for the city economically and (equally importantly) culturally. Will it change the palette that local artists, writers, painters and musicians draw upon…and will it change the demands placed upon the City?

Panelists
Georgie Branch (City of Hobart International and Strategic Partnerships)
Elle Leane (UTAS)
Karen Rees (State Antarctic Advocate – State Growth)
Facilitated by Nicholas Farrelly – Pro Vice-Chancellor, Southern Transformation Southern Campus Futures

Nicholas Farrelly –
At the University of Tasmania, Nicholas Farrelly is a Professor and currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for Southern Tasmania. He was previously Head of Social Sciences, from 2020-2024, where he led a vibrant multi-disciplinary team based in Hobart, Launceston, Burnie and Melbourne. Nicholas specialises in the study of political and cultural issues, with an emphasis on rapidly changing Asian societies. As an academic leader, he also works closely with a wide range of Australian government, industry and community organisations to help meet their needs for high-quality social science input.

Elizabeth Leane
Elizabeth Leane is Professor of Antarctic Studies in the School of Humanities, College of Arts, Law and Education. She has a career-long drive to understand how non-specialists can connect with remote or seemingly inaccessible places and ideas. With degrees in both science and literature, she uses the insights of the humanities to understand how humans relate to the Antarctic, the 'continent for science'. She began collaborating with researchers in a wide range of disciplines, using textual, archival and qualitative methods to examine how people form understandings of Antarctica through both cultural texts and lived experience of the environment, and how these two ways of knowing the region interact.

Georgie Branch
Georgie Branch is the Manager of International and Strategic Partnerships for the City of Hobart, with a particular role in developing the City’s capacity of one the 5 ‘gateway’ cities.

Karen Rees (State Antarctic Advocate – State Growth)
Karen Rees is the current Antarctic Advocate at the Department of State Growth, having been the previous director the states Antarctic engagement with the Antarctic region since 2016. Karen is a passionate Antarctic advocate specialising in connecting people and businesses with opportunities for the benefit of Antarctica and Tasmania and public sector policy development.