NYC artist and FIAF student Ellie Ga has been invited to join a team of French scientists onboard a polar ship named the Tara for a 6 month expedition near the North Pole. The Tara is currently drifting on the Arctic pack ice for 2 years as scientists study the effects of climate change. The Tara is France’s contribution to International Polar Year. Occurring every 40 years, 2007-2008 is an International Polar Year (IPY). IPY began in the late 19th century, as an effort by the advanced nations of the world to join together as an international scientific body to study the Polar regions. Read more about the Tara Expéditions at www.taraexpeditions.org.

Ellie Ga is delighted to have the distinction of being both the only artist and the only American to be invited onboard. She works with photography and writing and was asked to be onboard because of her deep interest in depicting the poetics of everyday life and her extensive knowledge of Polar history, which was fostered by her artist residency at the Explorers Club here in New York City. In addition to being the artist on board she will be assisting scientists in taking measurements and photographing weather conditions.

Needless to say, as the only non-French speaking person onboard, Ellie is keen to learn French in order to have a richer interaction with her shipmates. She does not want to rely on her shipmates being forced to speak English with her—as is sadly the case with most Americans abroad. Ellie studied Italian for 7 years and hopes this will give her a good foundation for her French studies.

Another important reason Ellie would like to learn French is that much of Ellie’s art relies on storytelling and writing. She uses photographs and writing to make livre d’artistes and she gives performances where she tells stories based on photographs and historic research. By learning French her art will become much richer and she will be able to share her art on a deeper level with her shipmates and a wider French audience.

Ellie studied French at FIAF's Language Center this Summer in preparation of the voyage.