Wide green pasture with scattered trees and small farm structures, rolling hills in the midground, and a tall, jagged mountain range in the background beneath a blue sky with large white clouds.

Climate Vocabularies: Musicians x Scientists Workshop

One of the major challenges in tackling the climate crisis today is effectively communicating scientific knowledge. Climate Vocabularies proposes a radical shift to climate communication, positioning music in a driving role.

By working with leading musicians and scientists, Climate Vocabularies explores how music can enhance science storytelling to create more compelling and emotionally resonant climate messaging, and how arts-science collaboration can lead to innovations in creative practice.

This Australian Research Council Discovery Project will entangle music and science research processes and shape possibilities for musicians and scientists to work together to enhance the capacities of both fields for climate messaging towards action.

As part of this project, the team will hold a workshop of hands-on sessions to bring scientists and musicians together for ideas exchange, sharing research insights, mutual learning activities, and collaborative project seeding.

Join us for this one-day workshop hosted by the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music on Tuesday 22 September 2026.

Date: Tuesday 22 September 2026, 10am-5pm

Venue: Music Auditorium, Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University, 55 Scenic Boulevard, Clayton, VIC.

Places are limited. Expressions of Interest in attending will be assessed by the project team. There is no fee to participate. Scientists and musicians at all career stages, including PhD candidates, are encouraged to apply.

Project Team

  • Dr Louise Devenish: Percussionist, artistic researcher, Director of The Sound Collectors Lab
  • Dr Lucy Richardson: Audience messaging and impact researcher, Deputy Director of the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub
  • Prof Christian Jakob: Weather and climate researcher, Director ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century
  • Prof Cat Hope: Composer, artistic researcher

How to apply

Complete the Expression of Interest form by 1 July 2026. It should take less than 10 mins. Expressions of Interest are encouraged from all career stages, including PhD candidates, academics, and industry scientists.

Successful applicants will be notified by 5pm Friday 17 July 2026. If you have questions about your application to attend, please contact louise.devenish@monash.edu

What to expect

“I’m a physical oceanographer and climate scientist, long drawn to art and music but always felt that science lived in a separate space from art. I fell in love with Dark Oceanography from the get-go: watching scientists, musicians, and musical technologists collaborate as equals was a joy – and by the end, it was often the musicians explaining the science to the audience. This was my favourite project of the year, and beyond.” – Dr Navid Constantinou on his recent experience collaborating with musicians from The Sound Collectors Lab.

For more information and to read the FAQs for this project, click here to download the PDF.