Philip Samartzis

Philip Samartzis is a sound artist, researcher, and curator whose practice investigates the social and environmental conditions of remote regions and marginalised communities. Working across Antarctica and sub-Antarctica, the Swiss and Australian Alps, and the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia, he uses advanced audio technologies to register environmental change in some of the world’s most fragile and dynamic ecosystems.   In 2024, Philip received the RMIT Research Award for Engagement and Impact in recognition of his work advancing environmental understanding through contemporary art and sound research. He has been awarded the prestigious Australian Antarctic Territory Fellowship three times and is currently leading a 20-year longitudinal sound study of Antarctica, documenting the shifting sonic ecology of the continent. This research is contributing to a forthcoming co-authored book with Carolyn Philpott (UTAS) on Antarctic Soundscapes, to appear in Cambridge University Press’s Elements in Arctic and Antarctic Studies series. His book Antarctica: An Absent Presence (Thames & Hudson) is widely cited in soundscape studies and the geohumanities, and is taught at institutions including the London College of Communication and Durham University.   Philip was honoured with the 2021 Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools Distinguished Research Award, and was featured on a commemorative $2.20 postage stamp by Australia Post recognising the significance of the Antarctic Arts Fellowship. In 2019, he received a Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship to conduct research at the High Altitude Research Station at Jungfraujoch, with outcomes featured in The New York Times and Deutsche Welle Radio. His recent projects include Concealed Spaces—supported by a Creative Australia International Engagement Grant—exploring cold war architecture and subterranean soundscapes in Valais, Switzerland, in collaboration with the Verbier 3-D Foundation and the Valais School of Art. Most recently, Philip has been commissioned by the Anna Polke Foundation to create a new sound work for Athanor NOW, an international research and exhibition initiative marking forty years since Sigmar Polke’s Athanor won the Golden Lion at the 1986 Venice Biennale. The work extends Polke’s interest in alchemy, material transformation, and the interplay of art and science through a contemporary acoustic and environmental lens culminating in a concert series at The Großmünster in Zurich in October 2026.   Philip’s work has been presented widely in Europe and Asia, including exhibitions in Switzerland, France, Italy, China, and Japan. He has collaborated with leading organisations such as:   • Anna Polke Foundation • Australian Antarctic Division • Australian Network for Art and Technology • Bogong Centre for Sound Culture • Creative Australia • Creative Victoria • Hibou Foundation • High Altitude Research Station (Jungfraujoch and Gornergrat) • Martumili Arts • National Gallery of Victoria • University of the Philippines Centre for Ethnomusicology • Swiss National Science Foundation • Tura • Valais School of Art (EDHEA) • Verbier 3-D Foundation   Combining art and research, Philip’s practice positions sound as a critical tool for interpreting environmental and cultural change, offering new ways of sensing, knowing, and communicating conditions at the edges of the world.