World Science Festival Brisbane 2022 Is Replacing Its In-Person Program with a Virtual Lineup
With flooding impacting Queensland Museum, Queensland Cultural Centre, GOMA and South Bank Parklands, this year's science and technology fest is moving online.
Brisbane isn't quite the centre of the universe, but it was supposed to feel that way this March. For five days from Wednesday, March 9–Sunday, March 13, all things science and technology were set to take over the city as part of the only Asia-Pacific offshoot of New York's World Science Festival, which Brissie has hosted since 2016. Think: talks, panels, workshops and films, all about science and technology, as well as both science and art installations.
But, then the weather intervened. Accordingly, this year's in-person festival has been cancelled — including everything from its movie program at the Gallery of Modern Art to its stargazing night and sustainability market. Installation-focused art, science and technology offshoot Curiocity Brisbane has been postponed, too, with new dates for later in the year set to be announced.
"This is the second time the festival has been cancelled, first in 2020 due to COVID, and now in 2022 as a result of this extreme weather," said Queensland Museum Network CEO Dr Jim Thompson.
He continued: "the impacts of flooding at Queensland Museum, Queensland Cultural Centre and across South Bank Parklands, and the personal impact to some our incredible participants and staff, means we're not able to reschedule our main program of events. If the last two years have taught us anything, it's that our supporters are loyal and our team are versatile and able to adapt to changing situations quickly, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by the floods."
That's the bad news. In better news, World Science Festival Brisbane has pivoted to an online-only program, which'll run across the same festival dates. The smaller lineup of livestreamed events and talks includes chats about Einstein and quantum entanglement, a step into the space race and an exploration of humanity's fascination with Mars. Also, there's a session on a very apt topic: the weather.
The digital lineup still features an impressive range of talent, spanning leading scientists, musicians, journalists and academics from around Australia and the world — such as World Science Festival co-founder Professor Brian Green, space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman, Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Hugh Possingham and Torres Strait Islander human rights lawyer Sasha Purcell.
Also streaming: a selection of pre-recorded past conversations on the scientific search for a fountain of youth, cybercrime, the darkness of the universe, the rights of nature and coral.
World Science Festival Brisbane 2022 is no longer going ahead as an in-person event, but will run virtually from Wednesday, March 9–Sunday, March 13 instead. For more information and to buy tickets, head to the World Science Festival Brisbane website.
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