Multi-media artist Edith Skeard will be creating sound works during their term as the 2026 ONC ArtScience Fellow—a partnership program co-led by the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Ocean Networks Canada. Skeard began their four month term in May 2026.
*The following article was written by [John Threlfall](https://finearts.uvic.ca/research/blog/category/graduate/), School of Fine Arts, University of Victoria, and republished with permission.*
While they may have just graduated in June 2026 with an MFA in Visual Arts, [multi-media artist **Edith Skeard**](https://www.edithskeard.com) isn’t quite done with UVic yet. This summer, they are the latest Fine Arts grad student named to the [Ocean Networks Canada ArtScience Fellowship program](https://finearts.uvic.ca/research/blog/2025/10/31/onc-2026/).
Skeard has been spending their summer creating sound works from ONC’s immense data collections. “I’ve been learning from their science team and engaging with the Oceans 3.0 portal,” they explain. “My primary focus has been on the relationship between seismic events and the flora and fauna of the ocean . . . . this is a really lovely opportunity to focus in on sound and the library of hydrophones ONC has.”
Given that biology underpins a lot of their practice, this ArtScience collaboration is well within Skeard’s purview. “It’s been really wonderful to learn about their work, engage with the sea and create new sound works which utilize their data,” they say. “This was a unique opportunity for deeper, focused research-making.”
# Oceanic fascination
Skeard says their ONC application centred on tsunamis and earthquakes — which were present in their MFA work — and aligns perfectly with both the ecological and technological aspects of their artistic practice. Despite coming from Saskatchewan (or perhaps because of it), Skeard has always been fascinated by the ocean.
At UVic’s ONC, Skeard has been able to coordinate and perform for one of the ONC community’s lunch-and-listen sessions (where they and two Prodigy program ArtScience fellows played new compositions), as well as meet with different scientists, attend tour their Marine Technology Centre and attend an Oceans Past Symposium. Still to come in August is a site visit to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.
> “My welcome has been warm and the science team has been generous with their time and knowledge sharing. I’m learning a lot and feeling immersed in the different teams and activities. This year is quite special in that there are several sound and music researchers and fellows working at ONC this summer. It’s been really interesting to hear how other folks are interpreting the data in their works.” - Edith Skeard