Julien Gremaud for EPFL Pavilion

Lighten Up! Symposium

Swissnex and the MIT Museum present an art-science symposium on light, rhythm, time, sleep, and perception.

To mark the U.S. premiere of Lighten Up! – a traveling exhibition originally shown at the EPFL Pavilions in Lausanne, Switzerland that explores circadian rhythms through artistic and scientific lenses – Swissnex, in collaboration with the MIT Museum, is holding a one-day interdisciplinary symposium, bringing together artists, scientists, and the wider community to explore themes of light, rhythm, time, sleep, and perception.

Framed by the metaphor of a prism – breaking light into its constituent colors – the day is structured into thematic segments that pair artists and scientists in dialogue, performance, or experiment. The prism can refract light into a spectrum, symbolizing how one event, idea or reality can be seen in multiple ways, depending on the angle or context. Like a rainbow appearing out of storm and light, multiplicity reveals itself in layers of color – each hue a different voice, a different view.

Departing from the classical symposium format, the event will be enriched with artistic interventions that shift the sensory and conceptual register throughout the day, along with slow lighting transitions, rhythm-based exercises, dreamwriting stations, and guided moments of reflection. These elements invite participants to not only talk about circadian rhythms, but to inhabit them.

 

Program

10:00–10.30 Arrival & Coffee

10:30–10:40 Welcome & Introduction

  • Michael John Gorman | Director, MIT Museum
  • Marc Streit | Head of Arts and Creative Industries, Swissnex in Boston and New York

10:40–11:00 RED: Warm-Up Exercise

The day begins with guided pacing and rhythm exercises, inspired by dance and movement practices, until everybody is aligned.

  • Ana Harmon | Visting Lecturer, Harvard University

11:15–12:00 ORANGE: Circadian Rhythms

Elizabeth Klerman and Guy Amichay will get together to lighten up the topic of rhythms from different angles. We will hear about rhythms across different timescales and look at the example of fireflies as well as circadian, lunar, and annual rhythms. Through conversation and short video screenings we will learn more about the different clocks that govern nature and ourselves.

  • Elizabeth Klerman | Professor of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School
  • Guy Amichay | Research Associate, Northwestern University

12:00–12:45 YELLOW: Perception

  • Marilyne Andersen | Professor EPFL, Head of LIPID Lab, Director General of GESDA Foundation

12:45–14:00 Lunch Break

14:00–14:45 GREEN: TBA

14:45–15:30 BLUE: Sleep, Darkness & Dreams

  • Seth Riskin | Founding Manger, MIT Museum Studio
  • Adam Haar Horowitz | CEO, DUST

15:30–16:00 Coffee & Reflections

Lighting design by Evey Connerty-Marin

Moderator

Welcome & Introductions

ORANGE: Circadian Rhythms

YELLOW: Perception

BLUE: Sleep, Darkness & Dreams

MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Partners

This symposium is presented by Swissnex and the MIT Museum on the occasion of the U.S. premiere of Lighten Up! – a traveling exhibition originally shown at the EPFL Pavilions in Lausanne.