In 2017 I received a phone call from a dear friend who had recently become a professor in the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), my alma mater. He was looking for some advice on how to create a strong science communication program for a competitive grant he was working on at the time.
I knew exactly what he had to do, and I did not think twice: start an art residency program in your lab.
In 2014 I completed my MPhil at Cambridge University, exploring the challenges and opportunities the ArtScience movement brought to a major conservation NGO in the UK. Since then, I learned that ArtScience was already a reality in the United States and other countries. And although some initiatives already existed in Brazil (as I came to learn a few months later), ArtScience was still incipient in my home country, even though we are globally known for both our art and our science.
My friend, Dr. Pedro Meirelles, secured the grant, and the science communication component was launched. Currently, there are three artists in residency in his laboratory. I became an adviser for the program, which I am extremely proud of.
Their first 'product' was a performance called Mergulho, a live installation that brought together a cyanotype animation, combined with live music and VJing. The theme of the performance was water and microbiota, following the scientific pursuits of the lab where the residents are based, which explored the microbiome of aquifers and their influence on water quality and their ability to store carbon in the face of global change.
More on the performance can be found online, including through the links below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI_MyXpukPA#action=share
http://www.edgardigital.ufba.br/?p=10795
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