The Reciprocal Benefits of Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Image: Emily Hiemstra's viola quartet performing in the exhibition Atmospheric Shifts, at the opening reception in January, 2026.
A Panel Discussion
March 2, 5-7 pm
Moscovich Recital Hall (MB 242), Music Building
Free | Registration suggested as space is limited. Register here
Interdisciplinary thinking is often the catalyst for creative innovation. Coinciding with Atmospheric Shifts at McIntosh Gallery and The Art of Creation at Weldon Library, this panel will provide a rare opportunity to learn more about recent creative interdisciplinary projects that have taken place at Western. Focusing on the reciprocal value and benefits of bringing the arts into conversation with other disciplines, panelists will imagine a future where the blurring of disciplinary boundaries leads to extraordinary results.
The event will open with a short musical performance of An Alpine Trio composed by Ryan Duffy, featuring Jana Starling (clarinet), Aaron Hodgson (trumpet), and Denis Jiron (trombone). Written for the Faculty of Music’s Kaleidoscope of Creativity event in 2024, Duffy took inspiration from both Strauss’s tone poem An Alpine Symphony and research conducted by the engineers in the Northern Tornado Project.
Moderated by McIntosh Gallery Curator Helen Gregory, the panel will include some of Western’s most creative boundary-pushing thinkers: Sarah Gallagher, Director of the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration; Gregory Kopp, Director of the Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory and ImpactWX Chair in Severe Storms Engineering; Julia Martin, undergraduate student in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering; Andrew Nelson, Department Chair and Professor of Archaeology/Biological Anthropology, and member of the Bone and Joint Institute; Timothy Regnualt, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Sharon Wei, Associate Professor in the Don Wright Faculty of Music.
