2022 CIRCA-IMET Artist-in-Residence: Ann Sofie Clemmensen

Dancer (Rachel Wesley) dressed in a silver full bodysuit, wearing a 3D cardboard shark head mask, inside the 12’ empty tank.

As the 2022-23 CIRCA-IMET Artist in Residence, I have been invited into the wondrous world of marine biology and the incredible work that the researchers are doing at IMET. The experience has really opened my eyes to what we cannot see yet is so important for all life on this planet. In conversation with researchers Dr. Allen Place, Dr. Vikram Vakharia, and Dr. Helen Dooley, my project seeks to bring their research data into visual form using the moving body and cinematography. The outcome from this residency will result in an exhibition of 4-6 short cinematic dance-for-camera works that communicate on a sensory, visual, and kinetic level new perspectives on the work being done to protect and preserve healthy marine ecosystems.

Ann Sofie Clemmensen, Assistant Professor, Department of Dance was awarded the 2022 CIRCA-IMET Artist-in-Residence Fellowship. The fellowship is a collaboration between The Center for Innovation, Research and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA) and Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET), intended to support and promote significant collaborative research in the Arts between colleagues at IMET and UMBC. Professor Clemmenson’s residence at IMET began in Fall 2022. The award includes a course release for the Fall semester and a project budget up to $7000.