U50 Art Meets Science Series hosts plenary lectures

In celebration of York’s 50th anniversary, the Art Meets Science Series will host a set of plenary lectures to bring together three scholars whose work demonstrates the transformative potential of collaborations among artists and scientists.

Catalytic Collaborations at the Intersection of Art and Science will take place Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 4 to 6 pm, in Lecture Hall A of Vari Hall, followed by a reception at 6pm in the lobby outside of the Gales Gallery at 105 Accolade West Building.

The experiences of these lecturers show how working at the intersection of art and science can transform ways of seeing and working in both realms. The three plenary lecturers are as follows:

York Professor Nell Tenhaaf, associate dean of graduate studies, research and planning in the Faculty of Fine Arts at York University, is an interdisciplinary artist and theoretician who has exhibited her work across Canada, the United States and Europe. At the core of her research and creative work is the exploration of the generation of the self as a mutable entity shaped by science and the new technologies. Her interest in the parallel discipline of biology informs her most recent work in the field of artificial life at the intersection of art, technology and biology.

Right: Detail of one of the 16 installations from Martha Fleming’s exhibition Atomism & Animism at the Science Museum in London

Developmental neurobiologist Richard Wingate, a lecturer at the Medical Research Council Centre for Developmental Neurobiology at King’s College London in the United Kingdom, is active in collaborations at the intersection of art and science. Wingate has maintained a long-term collaboration with visual artist Andrew Carnie. His approach to visualization in his neuroscience research has been transformed through his engagement with approaches to visualization in the arts.

Artist and curator Martha Fleming is currently a Visiting Senior Research Fellow with the Materials Research Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at King’s College London. She recently completed a three-year research and exhibition project at the Medical Museion of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. These experiences have generated sharp insights into facilitating truly interdisciplinary conversations and collaborations.

The Art Meets Science Series hopes to spark new kinds of art-science convergences, conversations and interdisciplinary alliances for York students, faculty and staff.

The event is free of charge and all are welcome to attend.

For more information, visit the Art Meets Science Series Web site or contact York anthropology Professor Natasha Myers at nmyers@yorku.ca.