Dr Bernadette Drabsch

Biography

Dr Bernadette Drabsch is a researcher, lecturer and polymath illustrator who has a passion for transdisciplinarity.   Her current teaching and research projects combine art, science and the humanities, reflecting her academic training in Ancient History, Archaeology, Natural History Illustration and Design.  Bernadette combines her love of the natural world and her desire to design a more sustainable future, with her research skills, developing networks of key stakeholders within industry, government and academia.   

Research expertise

There are two main themes to Bernadette’s research:  Visual Humanities and Art/Science collaborations. Her visual humanities research correlates with her exploration into early forms of visual communication and ancient art.  Bernadette began this field of research during her PhD, where she contextualised and re-created the 6000-year-old frescoes from Teleilat Ghassul in Jordan.  This led to ongoing research in the field of ancient near eastern art and society, resulting in numerous publications, collaborative opportunities and high levels of engagement. 

Bernadette’s recent research focuses on the development of innovative and effective science communication and sustainability.  She is working collaboratively with academic, industry and government partners to help communicate stories of biodiversity loss, changing climatic conditions on the coast of NSW and Geological trails/tales. Using field work and design thinking methods to gather the data and a range of visual communication techniques to share it, Bernadette hopes to use her design and research skills to make a difference to our every day lives, following the Creatives for Change ethos.

Teaching Expertise

Bernadette likes to share her passion for collaboration with her undergraduate and postgraduate students, encouraging them to work in transdisciplinary teams, both within academia and industry, on real-world (WIL) projects.   She has taught at the University of Newcastle since 2012 and her dedication to her students always results in positive student feedback.  Bernadette and her colleague, Dr. Andrew Howells, with the support of other UoN staff, produced and delivered the award-winning online course, ‘Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration 101’ on the edX platform. To date, the free course has provided world-class tuition to 110,000 students of all ages, from all around the world.

Collaborations

Reflecting her focus on transdisciplinarity, Bernadette’s collaborators are wide and varied.  Every second year, for the past ten years she has travelled to Pella, Jordan with the University of Sydney, to work as a volunteer archaeological illustrator and researcher.  She has also co-authored papers with the director of that archaeological dig, Dr. Stephen Bourke, on the artefacts from a neighbouring site, Teleilat Ghassul. 

Bernadette often collaborates with Dr. Andrew Howells and they are currently working on a cross-institutional research project with the Nicholson Museum to digitally re-colour a 26^th dynasty Egyptian coffin belonging to a priestess, Mer-Neith-it-es.  The animation of the re-colouring will be on permanent display at the new Chau Chak Wing Museum, along with Bernadette’s PhD work.

Other collaborations include a partnership with local fashion house, High Tea with Mrs Woo and the ‘Zero-waste, Slow Fashion’ research group.  The group aim to develop a more sustainable fashion in Newcastle and have designed a gender-neutral collection called ‘Six Seasons’ based on the changing seasons and colours of Australia.

New collaborations include the development of the Biodiversity Education and Engagement Network with conservation ecologists and colleagues from within the School of Creative Industries.  The Coastal Councils Communication Project, focusing on coastal erosion and inundation and the development of the NSW Geotrails app in collaboration with colleagues from earth sciences and Government.