Sciart

Scientists across STEM Colleges have been collaborating with artists as part of an artist in residence programme established and managed by Dr Caroline Gillett. This has seen several creative projects be brought to life in response to active research projects being undertaken by interdisciplinary teams of researchers.

In all cases the projects have been focused on addressing different biomedical or clinical questions, linking to quantitative science expertise within the Centre for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicine (SMQB). These research projects also include other scientists from fields such as psychology, engineering, biosciences, medicine and more. Through the artist residency, creatives have also been embedded within these project teams. Furthermore, an emphasis on patient engagement has also meant that lived experience expertise has contributed towards shaping the artistic outputs.

List of recent sciart projects:

Sci:Art Perspectives was a collaborative public engagement project between the University of Birmingham and the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, supported by the Wellcome Trust. It brought together scientists, artists, and individuals with lived experiences of PCOS and GDM through workshops and a public art showcase in Birmingham and London. The project used art as a medium to explore and communicate women's health research, resulting in co-created artworks inspired by personal stories and scientific insights.


Sci:Art Perspectives

 

Lore + (Dis)order

An exhibition of artists works recently took place in Digbeth’s cultural quarter within the city. Entitled ‘Lore + (Dis)order’, the exhibition referenced the stories of science, art and lived experience brought together around different health questions and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Featured artists:

  • Charlotte Dunn
  • Vicky Roden
  • Mellissa Fisher
  • Karina Thompson
  • Lucy Hutchinson
  • Agi Haines
  • Trish Thomas 

The photograph shows a young South-Asian lady in her twenties wearing a headscarf and admiring a hanging artwork which she is reaching out to touch in an art gallery space. The artwork consists of hundreds of bright and multicoloured discs. These discs artistically represent cells and the flow cytometry process within science which involves dyeing different cells and cell components into different colours to study different features. In this case the artwork references a project looking at residual leukaemia cells in disease monitoring after treatment.

The photograph shows two young women in their twenties, one of South-Asian descent and another or Black or Afro-Caribbean descent. The two are pictured within an art gallery space reading over a booklet together which features the interpretation text relating to the different artworks on display. In the background are several other men and women looking at the artworks featured throughout the room.
The photograph shows three young white men in their twenties or thirties wearing casual clothing such as shorts and drinking a beer whilst looking at a series of 10 blue and white cyanotype photography prints. The prints depict artwork by artist Mellissa Fisher about her condition papilledema. The artworks feature scans of her brain and photos of her eye alongside text not visible to the viewer.
The photograph shows a blond, white female and a south-asian male interacting with a motion sensitive artwork within an art gallery space. The artwork consists of a large black shell-like structure into which is projected a colourful turquoise audio-visual display of an abstract matrix which shifts in shape and which artistically represents the process of DNA methylation.
The photograph shows a close-up of an artwork created by Vicky Roden. It consists of a glass-like gameboard in the shape of a Greek shield. The gameboard is inset with gold leaf designs and leaves from the common gromwell plant, a nod to dubious herbal remedies from the past for hyperthyroidism. Also featured are red dice and game pieces in the shape of small, frosted glass busts. The gameboard is on a table covered in a green tablecloth within an art gallery setting.
The photograph shows a white man in his forties using crutches and a brunette woman in her thirties discussing a series of drawings on display on the art gallery wall. The drawings which feature different depictions of the brain tell an abstract visual story about coming to terms with an epilepsy diagnosis and the emotions felt by the artist.
The photograph shows the outline of a family of three consisting of a mum, dad and young son around 10 years of age in an art gallery setting. The family are looking away from the camera and viewing a digital artwork projected on to the wall in front of them. This colourful projection which appears blurry in the photo includes a network of different pictures including photos of two women and natural events such as storms and lightning. The artwork using metaphor to depict and connect the emotions of people with acromegaly and visitors can listen to audio recordings that explain the meaning behind each image featured in the artwork.

 

 

Lore + (Dis)order: A sciart exhibition bringing together health, science & lived experience