Natasha at the Southbank Centre, London
This summer Natasha joined artistic-led organisation Manasamitra at the London Southbank Centre, for their performance of MELTWATER. MELTWATER is a music piece that uses the amazing diversity of sound created by ice sheets turning back into water; running streams, crashing ice and rain combine with evocative Indian vocals and instrumentation to create an impactful performance, and framed by a backdrop of melting glaciers, filmed by Richard Sidey. It showcases water as an environmental disruptor and taking inspiration from the startling fact that in the last two decades the rate at which ice sheets and mountain glaciers have melted has more than doubled.
Natasha has been working with composer and vocalist Supriya Nagarajan, and the Manasamitra team, since 2022 as part of MELTWATER. At the Southbank, one of the UK’s most iconic performing arts centres, Natasha gave a presentation on sea level and ice-sheet change as the supporting scientific expert, following the musical performance, as part of the Planet Summer series.
It was an incredible experience to bring together the arts and science to tackle and grapple with the climate crisis. The theme of the Planet Summer series is climate hope, so Natasha closed her talk focusing on the positive action that individuals can take to make an impact in their local communities. It was wonderful to meet so many people from creative industries, as well as science and sustainability, who shared their own experience of dealing with climate change either in a very practical sense, as well as through the performing arts.
Meltwater will next be performed at the Howard Assembly Room, part of Opera North, in Leeds on 27th September, supported by the University of Leeds Priestley Centre for Climate Futures and water@Leeds.