New York, NY, Sept 09, 2009 — This October, The Arctic Circle will embark on its first expedition into the High Arctic, with a collective of eighteen juried professionals aboard an ice-class, scientific research sailing vessel. The traditionally rigged 150’ Schooner will host a crew comprising international artists, architects and scientists that will set sail, using techniques of early exploration, for three weeks while working on individual projects in a collaborative environment.

Forging an alliance between the arts and sciences is a growing area of interest and importance. The Arctic Circle founder Aaron O’Connor believes that the organization provides a new focus that will serve to broaden creative exploration and raise awareness about the importance of the role that the artist and scientist hold in society. “Artists and scientists are the hunters and interpreters of new, vital, and often challenging information,” says O’Connor. “As observers and question-askers, both disciplines play a critical role in fostering human understanding of the issues of our time.”

Contributing participants on board the expedition will include Australian born, New York-based multimedia and sculpture artist, Ian Burns, whose work focuses on the relationship between art-viewing and technology; Canadian artist and Grange Prize winner Sarah Anne Johnson, whose work intersects early expeditionary documentation with a contemporary interpretation, and Andrea Galvani, an internationally-renowned artist and professor of Photographic Language at the University of Fine Arts in Bergamo, Italy.

Also joining the crew will be Matt Holzman, award-winning radio producer at NPR (National Public Radio) and PRI (Public Radio International). Holzman takes on the task of documenting the process and experience of this unique program.

The three-week expedition will take place in the international territory of Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The expedition will be followed by an international exhibition schedule, traveling to major centers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

SCOPE is pleased to present The Arctic Circle, the first of several projects hand selected by SCOPE’s curatorial committee in association with the SCOPE Foundation.