Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger
Photo credit: Tristan Tyrrell
In residence: April - May 2026
Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger is an environmental artist whose work explores human impact on islands and isolated environments. Through immersive residencies as an artist, traveller, and observer, she creates works that critically examine the effects of the Anthropocene and consumerism. Her multifaceted practice spans sculpture, installation, and moving image, connecting art, science, and lived experience.
Based in Australia, Kannar-Lichtenberger has presented her research and artworks internationally through exhibitions, publications, and academic conferences. She holds Master of Fine Art (2016) and Master of Contemporary Art (2014) degrees from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, and is a member of the Royal Society of New South Wales, following her invited paper Antarctica: This Ain’t No Mirage – the value of art in disseminating scientific information. Her work has been exhibited widely, including at Sculpture by the Sea, The Waterhouse, The Heysen Landscape Prize, and international exhibitions such as Ancestral Echoes: A Decade of Bio Art (SVA, New York) and Nautilus Oceans (Explorers Club, New York).
Kannar-Lichtenberger continues her expeditionary practice in both Antarctica (2017, 2023) and the Arctic (2024–25), with each journey informing her artworks, research, and publications on fragile ecosystems and climate change.
During her residency at Artica Svalbard, Kannar-Lichtenberger will collaborate with American filmmaker and experiential designer Scott Carroll, whom she met during the 2024 Arctic Circle Expeditionary Residency. Together, they will develop The End of Sound, a tactile, multi-sensory installation that reimagines how we perceive sound and sight within the Arctic environment. By merging Kannar-Lichtenberger’s tactile materiality with Carroll’s cinematic and spatial storytelling, the work invites participants into an intimate dialogue between human agency and the fragile Arctic ecosystem. The installation aims to shift audiences from passive observers to active collaborators, fostering deeper reflection on climate change, environmental responsibility, and the sensory experience of a transforming world.
Instagram: @leakannarlichtenberger
Website: https://www.leakannar.com/