Symbiosis was established by researchers from the University of Birmingham in the UK and Mount Allison University in Canada and by museum professionals from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
We aim to extend existing connections between academic researchers, museum curators, scientists and artists; to stimulate and foster new collaborations and research themes; and to enrich our collective understanding of the contribution that the arts and humanities can make to the public understanding of science and the appreciation of the natural world.
The network is open to all interested parties with no formal membership. We hold conferences and public events to share research and develop practice around the involvement of the arts and the humanities in museums of natural history. This website includes the programmes of these conferences and registration details for upcoming events, together with a showcase of projects from different museums, links to publications emerging from the network, and a blog carrying news of events and activities connecting art, the humanities and science in natural history museums and museums with natural history collections. Other museums which have been involved with the network through our projects and conferences include MUSE in Trentino, Museu de História Natural e da Ciência at the University of Porto and Muséum nationale d’Histoire naturelle in Paris.
Image: © MUSE Trento (photograph: Matteo de Stefano)