Adele is a curator, researcher, and artist interested in the interrelationships between culture and nature, people and places.
She brings an expertise in Antarctic cultural history to the role of Curator Human History. Her current research interests focus on Antarctica, the sub-Antarctic region, the Southern Ocean and the interconnected earth system. Her work examines the role of art and material culture in interpreting and engaging with the far south, often in the context of recognising the interconnected and interdependent nature of the local and global ecologies of our living planet.
Complementing her role at the Museum, Adele holds an adjunct position with the University of Tasmania where she is a part of a team examining the legacy of Australian artists’ and writers’ engagement with Antarctica. She is a member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Standing Committee on the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the SCAR Action Group on Public Engagement with Antarctic Research.
Adele’s artwork has been exhibited internationally. Her most recent project Antarctic Sun Lines (2015–2022) was a pan-Antarctic solargraph photography collaboration with Antarctic researchers, base personnel, heritage institutions and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP).
Originally from the north of England, an area near the Peak District and the River Dearne, Adele made Ōtautahi her home when she came to study at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury. She completed a PhD in Antarctic Studies in 2021, holds an MA in Educational Research from the University of York (2006), and a BA(Hons) in Arts Education from the University of Leeds (2003). She has worked in arts, heritage, and environmental engagement roles in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica with organisations including Te Kōhaka o Tūhaitara Trust, Hermannsburg Historic Precinct, and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.
