Hi-KIDS: A combined optical+HI 3D study of nearby dwarf and irregular galaxies

Dwarf galaxies provide fundamental clues about galaxy origin and evolution. Many of them have irregular shapes and have processed little their gas. Still, many dwarf galaxies are very gas-rich and are currently forming stars, sometimes in a spectacular way. With these new observations using the KOALA+AAOmega instruments at the AAT we are "dissecting" dwarf galaxies to characterize the properties of the gas and the stars within them. Combining these data with radio observations (HI at 21 cm) of the diffuse gas within them we will get a better understanding of the local and global star-formation processes in galaxies, the feedback of the newborn stars, the importance of inflows and outflows of gas, and the chemical evolution of galaxies.