Quo Vadis, meaning “Where are you marching?” in Latin. The vibrant art scene and the advancing science world, once again, makes us ponder on the synergetic future of Art-Science.
For the upcoming Art x Science Dialogues, it is our great pleasure to have Irène Hediger, head of the artists-in-labs program, Zurich University of the Arts (ZhdK) and Iris Long, writer, curator & researcher at Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), for an open conversation on the topic of Art-Science collaborations and challenges. As a pioneer in promoting collaborative programs between art and science, Irène blends in her curatorial expertise and constantly explores the laboratory’s interdisciplinary, experimental, and aesthetic dimensions, further creating a multi-faceted scientific world through a novel fashion. Similarly, Iris Long, the well-recognized art writer and curator, threw herself into the digital art wave both as a participant and observer of the artistic reaction towards the global reality of computing and big data.
The dialogue between Irène and Iris, will touch upon forward-looking reflections of technology and science on arts, dynamic interactions among them, and where they are heading in the future.
PROGRAM
16:00 – 16:05 Opening Remarks
Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science at Swissnex in China
16:05 – 16:25 Presentation: Art-Science, Quo Vadis?
Irène Hediger, Head of the artists-in-labs program, Department of Cultural Analysis at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)
16:25 – 16:45 Discussion
Irène Hediger, Head of the artists-in-labs program, Department of Cultural Analysis at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)
Iris Long, Writer, Curator & Researcher at Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)
16:45 – 17:00 Q&A
SPEAKERS
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Bio
Irène Hediger
Head of the artists-in-labs program, Department of Cultural Analysis at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)Irène Hediger is head of the artists-in-labs program (AIL) which is part of the Department of Cultural Analysis at Zurich University of the Arts. Through her long-term engagement as head of the AIL program, she promotes inter- and transdisciplinary exchange and praxis at the interface of art, technology and science. In 2009, she initiated the International artists-in-labs Residency Exchange program and, in 2017 started the KAUST-Swiss Residency Exchange in partnership with the Enrichment Office.
She has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions and accompanying programs on contemporary art, technology and science such as: “Think Art – Act Science” Barcelona, San Francisco and other destinations, “Quantum of Disorder” , “(in)visible transitions”, “Displacements – Art, Science and the DNA of the Ibex” and “Propositions for A Poetic Ecosystem” in Jeddah and currently “Interfacing New Heavens” in Pretoria. She writes essays and has published three books on art and science. Hediger is a jury member of the Swiss National Science Foundation Scientific Image Competition. She holds a degree in Business Administration, Group Dynamics and Organizational development (DAGG) and a MAS in Cultural Management from the University of Basel.
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Bio
Iris Long
Writer, Curator & Researcher at Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)Iris Long is a writer and curator. She currently works as a researcher on art, science and technology at Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), with a research focus on how art responses to the current global reality of ubiquitous computing and big data. She lectures on data art at CAFA.
She was shortlisted by the first M21-IAAC Award (International Awards for Art Criticism). Her translation work, Rethinking Curating: Art after New Media, received nomination from AAC Art China awards in 2016. In 2018, she was the recipient of Hyundai Blue Prize for curators. In 2019 she curated “Lying Sophia and Mocking Alexa”(Hyundai Motorstudios Beijing),The Third Session of “Future of Today”: Deja Vu (Today Art Museum, Beijing) and “Mind the Deep: Artificial Intelligence and Art”(McaM, Shanghai). She co-curated the opening show of UN Art Center, “The Kind Stranger” and “Latent Landscapes”. She is also the art jury of ISEA 2019, and art jury of SIGGRAPH ASIA 2020.
Her research work has been presented in “Art and Artificial Intelligence” (Open Conference, ZKM), “Korea Research Fellow” (MMCA), “Art Machines: International Symposium on Computational Media Art (ISCMA)” (Hong Kong), International Symposium on Electronic Art and Digital Research in the Humanities and Arts and ISEA. Iris has a master’s degree of Critical Writing in Art and Design from the Royal College of Art, UK and a bachelor’s degree of Journalism and Communication from Tsinghua University, China.
artists-in-labs
The artists-in-labs program AIL (Department Cultural Analysis/Zurich University of the Arts) is a unique program situated in higher education and research and embedded in practical and theoretical discourses within the arts and design. It draws on 15 years of experience in the field of art-science residencies and collaborations with professional artists and renown scientists from many science disciplines and Universities nationally and internationally as well as in the dissemination of the processes and results of these residencies into the public realm on a national and international level.
Art x Science Dialogues
The 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 collaborations.