  We present a comprehensive study of the stellar population and the
interstellar medium in NGC 6822 using high-quality \HI data (obtained with the
Australia Telescope Compact Array) and optical broad/narrow-band data (obtained
with Subaru and the INT). Our H$\alpha$ observations are an order of magnitude
deeper than previous studies and reveal a complex filamentary network covering
almost the entire central disk of NGC 6822. We find hitherto unknown HII
regions in the outskirts of NGC 6822 and the companion galaxy. The old and
intermediate age stellar population can be traced out to radii of over 0.6 deg
(> 5 kpc), significantly more extended than the HI disk. In sharp contrast, the
distribution of the young, blue stars, closely follows the distribution of the
HI disk and displays a highly structured morphology. We find evidence for an
older stellar population in the companion galaxy -- the current star formation
activity, although likely to have been triggered by the interaction with NGC
6822, is not the first star formation episode in this object. We show that the
properties of the giant kpc-sized hole in the outer HI disk of NGC 6822 are
consistent with it being formed by the effects of stellar evolution.
