ISWA

Immersion in the Science Worlds through Arts

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The objective of the project is to use art to communicate emotions related to the understanding of nature and to stimulate students create artistic initiatives able to demonstrate commonalities of artistic and scientific fascination. The objective will be pursued according to two strictly related aspects: 1)produce artistic works based on scientific phenomena at a professional level; 2)stimulate students of EC schools to produce their own works and to organize an international competition to prize the best ones. (We consider this a form of very deep and long lasting interactive action that we prefer to the sometimes superficial and ephemeral interactive processes available in some popularization science exhibitions). Practically we intend to realize artistic events based on scientific issues per each of the following artistic disciplines: 1)Modern dance 2)Cinema 3)Contemporary art 4)Imaging 5)Literature The produced art work will be exploited in a double way: a)By presenting them in live events in the different countries involved in the project addressing not only the targeted category of persons (high school students (15-18 years), but also the general public; b)By organizing a competition among the EU high school students for each of the 5 considered discipline (with a consequent interactive process involving potentially thousands of students). The consortium includes several scientists, artists, art critics, film directors, actors, musicians and specialists in science popularization, who will work together to achieve the goals synthetically above reported. The activities will be coordinated by the project leader who is, at the same time, a well known scientist and a person active since long time in several artistic activities. Universities, research institutes, dance schools, museums, theatres will be involved, together with the famous European Synchrotron Radiation Facility which hosts every year thousands scientists, including Nobel price winners.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An EU-wide competition has helped students appreciate science by using various art forms to express the workings of different scientific disciplines.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

When art and science join hands, students can potentially learn about complex scientific subjects in a much more creative and stimulating way. The EU-funded project 'Immersion in the science worlds through arts' (ISWA) enabled students to use different arts to understand scientific phenomena at a professional level. The project also organised an international competition that encouraged students of EU schools to produce a complex artistic rendition on a scientific theme.

Specifically, the project team focused on using modern dance, cinema, literature, imaging and contemporary art to portray complex science. It launched the competition in different EU countries, targeting high school students between the ages of 15 and 19 and reaching out to the general public.

The project brought together scientists, artists, film directors, actors, musicians and specialists in different fields. Universities, research institutions, dance schools, theatres and museums were involved. The well-known European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, which hosts thousands of scientists and Nobel Prize winners, also played a part in the project.

The results were nothing short of spectacular. They ranged from a stem cell ballet, titled 'On the way to immortality', to a live science experiment called 'Night in NanoPOLIS'. Several innovative short films, art exhibitions and audiovisual events tackled subjects like liquid crystals, nanotechnology, chemistry, bio-tech, astronomy, geology, cell renewal and biodiversity.

Overall, the initiative was an excellent example of bridging the gap between science and society and integrating creative and emotional processes with scientific principles. The project encouraged young people, particularly students, to approach science in novel ways and to use both the rational and emotional parts of their brains.

This project represents a highly successful example of public appreciation of the beauty, complexity and necessity of science. It also serves as an inspiration for young people to embark on scientific careers.

The Final Event of the project was been organized in Grenoble, at the CCSTI in February 21st, 2013. The artworks of the 5 principal winners were included in an exhibition ''Pixel Palette'' held at the CCSTI from 21 February until 21 April 2103. The winners of the ISWA competition were invited to the opening of the exhibition and presented their artworks to the public. Video and photos are available at the following link:http://www.ccsti-grenoble.org/02_programme.php?code_ana=PIXEL