Art x Science Dialogues: Shaping the Art-Science Collaborations

Join the upcoming Art x Science Dialogue to explore how can artists and scientists come together in collaborations that will benefit all players.

Many artists examine scientific concepts and topics through their artwork, while some scientists are currently attempting to move towards a scientific understanding of creativity and the arts. Collaborations between artists and scientists are underway all around the world.

How can artists and scientists come together in collaborations that will benefit all players? What’s the process of curating art-science programs, and how to communicate to the public? In the upcoming Art x Science Dialogues, we’ll explore these questions and get insights from experts in Switzerland and China.

We will invite Ms. Mónica Bello to share her perspectives and practices on the topic. Ms. Mónica Bello currently directs the Arts at CERN program at the European Center for Nuclear Research in Geneva, where she is in charge of research-oriented artist residencies and new art commissions that reflect on conversations and interactions between artists and particle physics professionals. After Ms. Bello’s presentation, we will invite Prof. Zhao, Associate Dean of the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University, to share the art-science collaborations initiated by Tsinghua University and their new art-science research platform in Tsingdao. Prof. Dr. Zhao focuses on interdisciplinary and cross-cultural design teaching, design research, and innovative practice. He advocates integrating culture, technology, aesthetics, business, and other elements through design innovation to realize the social attributes, humanized experience, and sustainable development of the design.

 

 

Program

*China Time

 

16:00 – 16:05               Opening Remarks

Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science, Swissnex in China

 

16:05 – 16:25               Presentation

Mónica Bello, Curator and Head of Arts, CERN

 

16:25 – 16:45               Presentation

Prof. Dr. ZHAO Chao, Associate Dean of the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University

 

16:45 – 17:00              Discussion and Q&A

 

 

Speakers

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    Mónica Bello

    Mónica Bello

    Curator and Head of Arts at CERN

    Curator and art historian. For the past twelve years, she has focused on multidisciplinary perspectives and narratives of today’s technoscientific culture. Her research and curatorial projects deal with how artists drive new conversations around emerging phenomena in our society and culture, such as the role of science and new knowledge in the perception of reality.

    She currently directs the Arts at CERN program at the European Center for Nuclear Research in Geneva, where she is in charge of research-oriented artist residencies and new art commissions that reflect on conversations and interaction between artists and particle physics professionals.

    Before moving to Geneva, she held the position of artistic director of VIDA (2010-2015) at Fundación Telefónica (Madrid), a pioneering award that fostered cross-cultural expressions around the idea of life. She set up and directed (2007-2010) the Education Department at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Gijón). She has worked as a curator of exhibitions and international events with contemporary artists, creators, and thinkers from different disciplines. As an internationally recognized figure in art and science networks, Bello regularly participates in conferences, selection committees, advisory teams, and mentoring programs.

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    Bio

    Prof. Dr. ZHAO Chao

    Associate Dean of Academy of Arts and Design, Doctoral Supervisor, Tsinghua University

    Prof. Dr. Zhao is the Vice President of the International Council of Design, Associate Dean of the Art and Science Research Center at Tsinghua University, Associate Dean of Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research, and the Secretary General of the Steering Committee for Teaching Design in Colleges and Universities of the Ministry of Education.

    Prof. Dr. Zhao focuses on interdisciplinary and cross-cultural design teaching, design research, and innovative practice. He advocates integrating culture, technology, aesthetics, business, and other elements through design innovation to realize the social attributes, humanized experience, and sustainable development of the design. In recent years, he has been mainly engaged in design research and practice in the fields of user experience research, human-centered design innovation method research, healthcare product, and service design innovation, aging design research, and theoretical research of social innovation.

    Prof. Dr. Zhao graduated from the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in design. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University afterwards to obtain a master’s degree in design, and later the School of Architecture and Built Environment of Queensland University of Technology (Australia) for the doctorate degree.

Organizations

 

Arts at CERN

Art is a knowledge-driven field, while science is an area that contributes greatly to our society and is a pillar of contemporary culture. Therefore, artists and scientists are often following common paths: from exploration to research, followed by production, delivery, and sharing with their communities and broad society. Artists across all creative disciplines are welcome to CERN to experience the way the big questions about our universe are pursued by fundamental science.

The programs of Arts at CERN are structured according to their values and vision, as they truly believe in the importance of creating bridges between cultures. They comprise research-led artistic residencies that take place on-site or remotely. They support further exploration into the forms and meaning of these exchanges through their program of art commissions. Additionally, they like to reach out beyond their communities of artists and scientists and contribute to a wider conversation with their exhibitions & events program.

Each of Arts at CERN’s programs is created and formed in collaboration with cultural institutions, other partner laboratories, countries, cities, and artistic communities that are eager to connect with CERN’s research, support their activities, and contribute to a global network of art and science.

 

The Art and Science Research Center, Tsinghua University

The Art and Science Research Center of Tsinghua University was established in 2001. It is a school-level scientific research institution approved by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China under the advocacy of the famous physicist Mr. Li Zhengdao and the famous artist Mr. Wu Guanzhong.

Under the Academy of Arts & Design, the Art and Science Research Center of Tsinghua University has been building an innovation platform around the interdisciplinary theoretical research of art and science and experimental exploration. After 20 years of development, the center has successfully held five international art and science exhibitions and academic seminars focusing on the issues and trends corresponding to interdisciplinary processes in different periods. The themes of the past years are: Art and Science (2001),  Art and Science in Contemporary Culture (2006), Information · Ecology · Wisdom (2012), Conversation with Leonardo da Vinci (2016), AS-Helix: The Integration of Art and Science in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (2019).

 

 

 

ART X SCIENCE DIALOGUES

Art x Science Dialogues is a new webinar series initiated by Swissnex in China in 2020. The webinar series not only presents artistic projects where scientists and research engineers are deeply involved but also looks into new interdisciplinary initiatives and trends. Through the dialogues between artists and scientists, we try to stimulate the exchange of ideas between the two different worlds and explore opportunities for collaboration.