Our first guest speaker on (Tuesday 19 July 11.30-12.30) in the studio is Dr Shanti Sumartojo a Research Fellow in the School of Media and Communication.

Shanti is going to provide some context on the ANZAC topic we are working with this semester. Please read this article ‘On atmosphere and darkness at Australia’s Anzac Day Dawn Service’ by Shanti before the presentation.

An overiew of Shanti’s research interests:

Dr Shanti Sumartojo investigates the relationship between place and identity – specifically how the designed, discursive and experiential aspects of our surroundings affect us.

She researches in three main areas: public memorials and war commemoration, particularly the First World War; art in public space, including collaborations on public installations in Canberra and Melbourne; and the spatial experience of design, primarily understood through the frame of ‘atmosphere’. In addition to her ongoing work on global First World War commemoration and memorials, her current projects include a suite of ethnographic investigations into how people experience the ‘feel’ of designed environments, including their digital and automated aspects; creative practice projects as a means to research urban public space and collectivity; and how spatial aspects of creativity influence innovation.