Examining the intersection of art-science and science communication

Author: Eleanor S. Armstrong – University College London, United Kingdom

Co-author: Charles Ogilvie

Art-Science work, as seen in texts such as ‘Art + Science Now’, ‘Colliding Worlds’ and ‘The Practice of Art and Science’, or exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection, Ars Electronica or the Sci Art Centre NY, engages artists and scientists and often results in a public display of pieces produced through these collaborations. However, in some collaborations between artists and scientists there appears to be a strong ‘outreach’ or ‘science communication’ aspect to these programmes, whereas in others there is a significantly greater element of the product being a stand-alone piece of art unintended as science communication.

This session will address and discuss critically if there is a distinction between art-science projects and science communication, and if so what this is and how it describes or defines the intersection of the two fields. By use of contrasting case studies from the realms of science communication and art-science, including their documentation, and interviews with those involved, and conducting side by side analysis of these pieces and their gensis and the way the participants work together, we will explore whether the two labels effectively address the range of projects they are used to describe.

This forms part of ongoing work on the topology of art-science and how this can inform science communication by the authors.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Idea in progress
Theme: Science
Area of interest: Building a theoretical basis for science communication