art + science + technology in-conversation

ANAT residencies tackle layered, complex subjects. Our Micro Talk series turns those big ideas into short, accessible, bite-sized conversations. On Wednesday , 3 December, 2025, we explored the nature and nuances of multidisciplinary collaboration, through the lens of artists and partners from two of ANAT’s 2025 program.

Hosted by Melissa DeLaney, ANAT CEO, MICRO TALK 2025 featured these four wonderful speakers:

ANAT Synapse Residency 2025, two decades of art + science innovation
– James Nguyen, Artist
– Dr John Gould, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle

ANAT Bespoke :: Re-cultivate ANAT + South East Water + FB IDEAS, Melbourne
– Yandell Walton, Artist
– Kate Spencer, General Manager, FB IDEAS

The conversation touched on the joy of late-night frogging, shared agency, extraction, climate change, compassion, chemical warfare and why remembering these histories matters. James reminded us of the wartime origins of the word “collaborate”. Yandell admitted to a love for abandoned warehouses and spoke of developing and creating work that moves away from anthropomorphic-centric viewpoints to centre on giving shared agency between humans, non-humans and the machine (technology).

Watch previous Micro Talks  2024  |  2023  |   2022

---

ANAT Synapse 2025 :: Diasporic Amphibians

JAMES NGUYEN + DR JOHN GOULD UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE

James’ project, Diasporic Amphibians, is a collaborative project exploring the biological, social, and evolutionary impact of frog communities that have become geographically separated and isolated. The consequences of habitat disturbance and disease burden may be reshaping how frog communities might be undergoing distinct ecological pressures and even biological differentiations that could be conceptualised as a diasporic experience.

The Green and Golden Bell Frog once abundant across the Southeastern Seaboard of Australia has dwindled, now surviving in small isolated pockets including at Homebush Bay, Kooragang and Broughton Islands.

James Nguyen was born in Bảo Lộc, Việt Nam. He is currently based in Murrumbeena (close to where the Boyds once ran their pottery studios). Nguyen’s work engages with reMatriation, decolonial thinking and language-brokering. He makes memes, performances, film, sculpture and installations that draw attention to the diasporic absurd.

James has shown both ground-breaking and lacklustre work at institutions including ACCA, MCA, NGV, Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, 4A, and Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art.

Dr. John Gould is a conservation and animal behaviour scientist at the University of Newcastle. Currently, John’s research focus is on the conservation of the threatened green and golden bell frog, Litoria aurea, including ways to manage key threatening process such as habitat modification and invasive species.

The ANAT Synapse residency program is supported by the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT) and the University of Newcastle (UoN).

ANAT Bespoke :: Re-cultivate

YANDELL WALTON + SOUTH EAST WATER + FB IDEAS

ANAT Bespoke :: Re-cultivate is a three-month creative partnership between the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT), South East Water and FB IDEAS with artist Yandell Walton. This immersive residency reimagines our relationship with water through artistic inquiry and creative innovation, encouraging new ways of thinking about water systems, sustainability, and the future of urban environments.

Yandell Walton is a multi-award-winning artist based on Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne who creates embodied moving image works with various presentation outcomes, including immersive and interactive installations. Her work is known for blurring lines between the real and the virtual, and exploring ideas of impermanence in relation to environmental, social and political issues.  

Her recent projects navigate the intersections of performance and visual arts, developing innovative workflows that integrate human movement with plant life. This research began during her tenure as the inaugural Phillip Hunter Fellow and through ANAT’s IDEATE program.

Kate Spencer is the General Manager of FB IDEAs, a not-for-profit organisation established to support incremental urban renewal and seed an collaborative innovation culture in Fishermans Bend.  Kate is also a designer and creative producer, with 25 years’ experience shaping and overseeing the strategic and creative direction and delivery of award-winning cultural and placemaking projects.  She has worked across the cultural, heritage, creative, tourism, built environment, education and innovation sectors to build collaborative partnerships and bring experiences, places and new ideas to life.