Arts | Science | Technology - Innovation

Bringing artists together with scientists and technologists

ASTI Coordinator
Professor Steven Bishop University College of London

Arts | Science | Technology - Innovation

ASTI Workshop Facilitator Professor Josep Perrelo University of Barcelona

ASTI Workshop Organiser Magda Gajownik Science &Innovation Office British Embassy, Warsaw

ASTI Workshop Facilitator Professor Dave Murrey-Rust University of Edinburg

ASTI Organiser Athena Bounti University College London

Art and Science often seem to be mutually exclusive, running along paths that rarely intersect and maybe even parallel. Technology for many, sits somewhere else but also quite distinct, and yet we know that many artists that utilise technology to produce new art forms and indeed, for many artists, it is the process of producing the art that is as interesting as the art itself and therefore technology plays its part. Equally, when these elements do collide artists can genuinely contribute to the foundations of science and help to build scientific knowledge leading to innovations.

The best example must be Leonardo Da Vinci who managed to combine all three. Finding a modern day Leonardo is not easy and so ASTI is an initiative aiming to establish permanent links between individuals and groups and to find ways to open up the minds of scientists to the opportunities that artists offer and vice versa. In bringing groups together this will create a platform from which innovation can be instigated towards new technologies and products that encompass this broader, artistic perspective.

In 4th and 5th March 2013 the first ASTI workshop took place in Warsaw. The event was coordinated by Steven Bishop and hosted by the Science and Innovation Office of the British Embassy.
This two-day event focused on the benefits of scientists collaborating with artists in a research environment and vice versa. The key component is to allow art to interact with scientific research, rather than just depicting it so producing long-term gains that are also more accessible to a wider audience.

ASTI showcased examples of artistic collaborations that already

exist, urging participants to engage in a conscious dialogue. It tried to formulate questions that arise when art comes together with science and technology and then find potential answers: Determine the areas where collaborations are most likely to be productive in the future. Propose a process which can bring groups together leading to new innovation. How can science profit from the emotional and cognitive responses that art can trigger? How can science and technology trigger new forms of artistic expression? How do new social media change art and society?

ASTI initiative aims to build the foundations of an

active community and through more future meetings

provide a guide to best practice to help drive creative collaboration in the future.

Arts | Science | Technology - Innovation

Bringing artists together with scientists and technologists