UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State English professor is co-curating a climate-focused art and writing exhibition that will open in October, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Hester Blum, who is also co-editing an upcoming issue of the environmental humanities journal “Regeneration: Environment, Art, Culture” and writing its introduction, said the exhibition will feature the work of artists, writers and researchers with whom she sailed on an expeditionary residency program called The Arctic Circle in 2022.  

“The environmental humanities draw insights from natural history, political ecology, cultural geography, anthropology, philosophy and ecocriticism, among others in the social and natural sciences, in order to study the cultural and theoretical implications of environmental conditions,” Blum said. “The multimedia, interdisciplinary, creative meditations in our work for the exhibition are drawn from and respond to our experience of high Arctic flora and fauna, anthropogenic climate change, the history of resource extraction, the Northern Lights and Svalbard’s glaciation and geography.” 

The Penn State Climate Consortium is supporting Blum’s exhibition. Erica Smithwick, director of the consortium, said incorporating the arts and humanities into climate research brings a more meaningful dimension to the work, deepening the understanding of both the human and environmental aspects of the climate crisis.  

“This interdisciplinary approach not only broadens the scope of inquiry but also enhances the emotional and cultural resonance of the research, making it more accessible and compelling to a wider audience,” Smithwick said. “By integrating creative and critical thinking, we can uncover new insights and solutions that might otherwise remain unexplored. The Penn State Climate Consortium is proud to support Hester in this groundbreaking scholarship, as she continues to push the boundaries of climate research, demonstrating how the intersection of art, culture and science can lead to more impactful and transformative outcomes.” 

Blum said the current climate emergency requires new ways to communicate and inspire collective action. 

“Our Svalbard collective’s work represents many disciplines and media: sound, painting, sculpture, data collection, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, public art, calligraphy, dance, performance and game design,” she said. “Our multidisciplinary projects help us think about the past, present, and future, and how we can adapt and regenerate in this time of environmental change.” 

Blum also authored an essay for the journal, “‘The World Is Here Too’: Out of Place in Svalbard,” an excerpt of which will be featured in the gallery show. 

“My contribution is part of my current book-in-progress, ‘Polar Erratics,’ which emerges from my research travels in the polar regions, which is unusual terrain for an English professor,” Blum said. “In the book, I tell stories about an eccentric collection of ideas, people, remnants, and resources that are out of place, conveyed by large-scale environmental change, yet which nevertheless must be accounted for in the new landscape formed in the wake of climate disturbance.”