Interpolar Transnational Art Science Constellation (ITASC) is an official project of the International Polar Year and is supported in Antarctica by the South African National Antarctic Program. ITASC is a network of individuals and organisations working collaboratively in the fields of art, engineering and science on the interdisciplinary development and deployment of renewable energy, waste recycling systems and sustainable architecture to enable the production and distribution of open-format, open-source remote field research in Antarctica and the Arctic.
ITASC is a lichen-like structure sharing and integrating local knowledge, resources and skills across seven continents in order to symbiotically engage with the air, ocean, earth and space commons. Acknowledging that Antarctica and the Arctic are critical departure points in developing a complex understanding of common ground, ITASC has established in Antarctica the framework conditions for collaborative research projects between artists, scientists and engineers through the installation of ICEPAC, a mobile IPY research station in Antarctica in the 2008/2009 summer season.
ITASC is a project built around the principles of the Antarctic Treaty and goals of the IPY, and is specifically geared to bring artists, scientists and engineers into collaboration around issues affecting the polar regions and the planet as whole, and to communicate the resulting research to audiences around the world. As such ITASC is fully committed to the open research culture and data-sharing that has underpinned the successes of International Polar Years past and present in advancing knowledge, awareness and peace in Antarctica.
ICEPAC (2008/9), UMTHOMBO WOMLILO (2007/8)and GROUNDHOG (2006/7) and the ITASC RECE, SITE and FIRE expeditions were realised with the generous collaboration and support of the South African National Antarctic Program; the South African National Energy Research Institute; Sets and Devices, Cape Town; Akademie Schloss Solitude (Stuttgart, Germany) Goethe Institut (Rio de Janeiro/Munich); Oi Futuro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil); Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia; Projekt Atol (Ljubljana; Slovenia); Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (South Africa); BELARE/International Polar Foundation (Brussels, Belgium); South African National Department of Public Works (Cape Town); University of Kwa-Zulu Natal School of Physics (Durban, South Africa); University of Stellenbosch Dept. of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering (South Africa); University of Pretoria Dept. of Electrical Engineering (South Africa); University of the North West, Cosmic Ray Program (South Africa); University of Canterbury; Electric Power Engineering Centre (Christchurch, New Zealand); Universidad Federico Santa Maria (Valparaiso, Chile); University of California Santa Barbara (U.S.A.); Arquiteturas por Zonas Extremas (Valparaiso, Chile); SETSOLAR (Cape Town, South Africa) Solaris Tecnologia Fotovoltaica (Sao Paulo, Brazil) Nanosolar (Palo Alto, U.S.A) Southwest Windpower (Flagstaff, U.S.A); NAMPAK (Cape Town, South Africa); Alternative Energy Development Corporation (Johannesburg, South Africa); Young Africa (Gauteng, South Africa); Campbell Scientific Africa (Stellenbosch, South Africa); Alucushion (Cape Town, South Africa); Swiftheat (Johannesburg, South Africa) Panavision (Los Angeles, U.S.A.)
Our special thanks go to Henry Valentine; Jean-Baptiste Joly; Dr. Pierre Cilliers; Bobby de Beer; Mustakim Gierdien; Johan Berte; Gigi Johnson-Amin; Johann Van Altena; Lorna Ferguson, Bongi Dhlomo-Mautloa, Kadri Nassiep and Dr. Thembakazi Mali who at various times during the project have made the impossible possible.
ITASC was co-founded by Thomas Mulcaire and Marko Peljhan in 2005. The project has developed under the direction of Thomas Mulcaire, Siphiwe Ngwenya and Ntsikelelo Ntshingila since 2007. ITASC is a not-for-profit company registered in South Africa.
