Space technology inspires new art lecturer

The world’s first artist to work with a material that collects stardust in space has joined Charles Darwin University.

Newly appointed senior visual arts lecturer Dr Ioannis Michaloudis is known for creating sculptures from silica aerogel, a nanomaterial used by US space agency NASA to trap cosmic dust.

The Greek-born lecturer said he collaborated with space industry scientists during these projects, and that interdisciplinary collaboration was key to an artist’s success.

Dr Michaloudis said he planned to encourage postgraduate visual arts students at CDU to form collaborations with experts from various fields, including IT, health and environment.

“Visual arts can only survive if we inject other disciplines into it,” he said.

“And art can also assist these disciplines by communicating their messages to the public, to make it easier for the public to understand.”

Dr Michaloudis said Darwin was strategically positioned near Asia and that a focus on interdisciplinary collaborations between artists and other experts would appeal to its overseas neighbours.

He is also an expert in interior design, and has worked as a researcher and academic in universities around the world, including Greece, France, the United States and Bahrain.