Art & Science Node

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TALKS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS

 
C U R A T O R I A L   S T A T E M E N T

Relations between humans and plants are at the root of human civilisation. The (first) agriculture revolution, during the Neolithic period, brought a wide-scale transition of many human cultures allowing for settlements and global population growth. Experimenting with plants and observing their behaviour led to the domestication of plants into crops which in turn sparked wider environmental and societal transformations. An unprecedented impact of humans on the global ecosystem and our current Anthropocene state was the result.

How could further unforeseen results of scientific developments determine the future of plants and humans?

Today we find ourselves in a deep crisis which calls for prompt and effective solutions. Our global, societal and environmental systems are under threat. Climate change, the degradation of natural resources (of air and soil quality) and a growing human population to feed means we are in a state of emergency. It is difficult to compete with grim dystopian visions but, unlike during the first agricultural revolution, we no longer live in isolated, micro societies. Today’s global, macro-society allows for cross-boarder, cross-disciplinary exchange and thus the existence of multinational interdisciplinary science and technology research projects like CHIC consortium to manage, or to define, our future. New biotechnologies are applied to plant breeding in the hope of increasing food production and quality, reducing food waste and maintaining better nutritional values, thus addressing one of the most worrying challenges of our era – food insecurity. 

We are witnessing the dawn of another grand breakthrough in our entangled history – a new revolution powered by rapid advances in science and technology, transforming Earth into a Bio-Tech Planet. The consequences of wide scale, complex interactions of this new dynamic network are hard to predict. One thing remains certain – there will be a radical shift in values, assets and norms and the core way that humans think. A global approach is progressively important considering the constant new challenges and, equally, great opportunities we face.

What will the future of plants and humans be?

How will environmental changes, artificial Intelligence and biotechnology influence evolutionary processes? How sustainable will this new world be for future generations? With the support of the CHIC project the event Our Bio-Tech Planet: The Future of Plants and Humans will engage scientists, humanists, artists, policy makers and the public in discussions around these complex questions. We will try every day, step by step, to address at least one of the multiplex issues shaping the unknown of our FUTURE:

● the role of humans & technology in plant evolution
● the role of plant diversity, networking & ingenuity in human evolution
● the role of plants and humans in food production for the well-being of the world
● the cryptic, secret relationship between plants and humans
● the reproduction, evolution & transformation of plants and humans
● the extinction of plants and humans
● the strength of plants for food quality and human health
● and more

Discussion around these subjects will no doubt lead to the all important follow-up question:

How can we continue to reap future and new benefits from plants to help us define and drive our future
instead of giving in to: what we will be we will have to be; what we will become we will have to become?

 

 
Gut Feelings: Properties of Plants and the Future of Human Health

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 “What role for “tecnologie di evoluzione assistita” for making Italian agriculture more sustainable and more resilient?”

More information   

 
 
 
Health Wealth: trading commodity for common wealth through “good food”

More information

 

Hybridizations between nature and culture: dialogues on the future in philosophy, art and design

More information

Universal Gardens in Prima Porta

  More information

 

      

 

“Patterns. Decisions. Behaviour. How to survive in an increasingly competitive world?”
Dr. Alex Krawiec
More information
 

 
“Science and grand societal problems: facts, risks, values, narratives, experts, politicians, and YOU”
Prof. Dr. Janusz Bujnicki

More information

 
 

“Fascination of Plants Day”
Dr. Valeria Bianciotto

More information

 
 

 

“Making sense in the wild: How Artificial Intelligence transforms our understanding of biological systems”
Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Krawiec

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“Rhizosphere – the Big Network of Small Worlds”
Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann

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OBTP TALKS & PANEL DISCUSSIONS GALLERY

Gut Feelings: Properties of Plants and the Future of Human Health
26 OCTOBER 2022 // 14:00 - 15:30

 

The ancient medical system of humorism has fallen out of favour, but in a society reacting to the systems that have governed us for the last century we are becoming increasingly aware of the vital importance of gut health and microbiota/gut-brain axis for our wellbeing. The permeability of the brain-to-gut intake has the potential to be enlightening in relation to specific behavioural patterns and diseases, creating greater possibilities for better treatment. CHIC research shows that plants are not just sources of nutrition but also contain bioactive elements like fibre, inulin and terpenes. The intake of these as supplementary to our diets could have a profoundly positive impact on our health – our guts and brains. These natural and affordable plant-derived nutrients may be able to tackle health issues such as obesity, diabetes, calcium deficiencies, depression, and even slow down the aging process and have the potential to reach a broader public due to their accessibility and low price.

 

Panelists: Prof. Dr. Janusz Bujnicki, Chef Frank Fol, Dr. Alex Krawiec, Prof. Dr. Jill Scott, Dr. Marina Soković, Prof. Dr. Allan Tissler, Dr. Ingrid Van Der Meer

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Dirk Bosch

 

Prof. Dr. Janusz M. Bujnicki

International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (website), former member and current expert of the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (website).

 

Chef Frank Fol

Consultant on healthy, equilibrated and vegetal food and former owner of the first vegetables restaurant Sire Pynnock, Vegetables chef Frank Fol has been passionate about vegetables and earth-grown matter for more than thirty years. His cooking has always been geared towards the use of vegetables and fruit, and he is an ardent defender of “vegetables first, followed by the other products”. Whilst promoting his slogan “Think Vegetables! Think Fruit!”, he travels around the world sharing his approach to the kitchen of today alongside his peers. Frank Fol is the founder of We’re Smart® World and We’re Smart® Green Guide, which went international in 2017.

 

Dr. Alex Krawiec

Dr. Alexandra Krawiec obtained her PhD in economics from the University of Economics in Poznań, Poland. Her research focuses on organisational culture and the introduction of change in the context of women’s leadership and system theory.  Alex has also worked for various media outlets and co-authored a number of media projects. She has collaborated with many respected institutions including: the ERC (European Research Council), RSA (Royal Society of Arts), the ASF (Austrian Space Forum), MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), The 92nd Street Y, the Polish Academy of Science, and others. She was a keynote TEDx speaker. Since 2011, Alex has been representing the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) as its Polish Connector.

 

Prof. Dr. Jill Scott

Dr. Jill Scott is a media artist, a writer and art and science researcher. She is professor emerita at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZhdK) in Zürich and founded their Artists-in-Labs Program in 2000.  Her own artwork spans 44 years of production about the human body and body politics. In the last 20 years she has focused on human health based on research into molecular biology, neuroscience, and ecology. She has had many international exhibitions in both art and science venues. She also directs LASER Salon in Zurich for the Leonardo Society USA and writes books. (Springer and de Gruyter). Website: www.jillscott.org

 

Dr. Marina Soković

Dr. Soković graduated at Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade (1995), Master (1998), PhD (2001). She did postdoc at the Wageningen University (The Netherlands, 2002-2003). 

The main research topics are mycology, food safety, biological activity of natural products. Published 300 international papers, several books chapters, 140 conferences, cited 8000 times, h index 43. She is a highly cited (top 2%), among 10 the most cited scientist in Serbia. She is a reviewer in international journals, and guest editor. From 2019, Dr. Soković is the Assistant Minister for Science at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia.

 

Prof. Dr. Alain Tissier

Alain Tissier is head of the Department of Cell and Metabolic Biology and Managing Director at Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry. He studied in Paris and got his PhD in 1993 from the University of Paris-XI-Orsay in Plant biochemistry. After a postdoctoral stay in the Sainsbury laboratory in Norwich, in 1997 he moved to the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique in Cadarache, France, as a staff scientist. His research topics were on DNA repair and transposition in plants. In 2003, he founded a biotechnology company, Librophyt, whose main focus was metabolic engineering in plants. In 2009, he became professor at the University of Montpellier 2, and in 2010 he moved to the Leibniz-Institute of Plant Biochemistry as head of Department and with a joint appointment as Professor at the Martin-Luther University in Halle. His research here focuses on plant specialized metabolism, especially on terpenoids, as well as on plant synthetic biology.

 

Dr. Ingrid Van Der Meer

Dr. Ingrid van der Meer obtained her Ph.D. in Regulation of Plant Gene Expression at the Free University in Amsterdam and has subsequently gained over 25 years of research experience, including 18 years of project/group management experience. She has guided research projects on genetic regulation and modification of plant primary and secondary pathways such as phenylpropanoid-, fructan-, amino acid- and organic acid biosynthesis, and has over 980 publications. Dr. van der Meer is currently heading the Bioscience department at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Her department is focused on gaining a better understanding of plant genetic, metabolic, and physiological processes. Her work is especially focused on the biosynthesis of plant metabolites and proteins for food and nutrition with extensive use of state-of-the-art tools in the fields of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics.

 

Prof. Dr. Dirk Bosch

Dirk Bosch is a scientist with primary research interest in unravelling biosynthetic pathways that lead to the immense biodiversity of molecules found in the plant kingdom. Using this knowledge, he aims to bring innovation to the agro-food and health sectors. He has ca 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is inventor on 19 independent patent applications. Dirk Bosch studied chemistry, did his PhD in microbiology at the Universities of Leiden and Utrecht respectively, and worked as PostDoc at Plant Genetic Systems in Ghent. He is currently Team Leader at Wageningen University and Research and coordinator of the EU-CHIC project.

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“What role for “tecnologie di evoluzione assistita” for making Italian agriculture more sustainable and more resilient?”
26 OCTOBER 2022 // 15:30 - 18:15

 

The discussion aims to discuss the possible role of genome-edited plants (tecnologie di evoluzione assistita, TEA) for Italian agriculture and food production. Within a few years, extreme weather conditions and disruptions of supply chains by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made clear that food security will become a topic of highest priority for EU and national policymaking. At the same time, there is increasing pressure to make agriculture more sustainable, e.g. by reducing pesticide use. This is particularly true for important producers of agricultural commodities and foods, such as Italy. Against this backdrop, representatives and experts from plant science, agriculture, civil society and policymaker will be invited to take a fresh look on the possible contributions of genome edited plants may to tackle these challenges.

 

Panelists: Dr. Federica De Maria, Vincenzo Lenucci, Prof. Dr. Mario Pezzotti, Prof. Dr. Sara Zenoni

Moderator: Dr. Armin Spök

 

Dr. Federica De Maria

Federica De Maria is a researcher in economics at Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) Research Center for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy in Rome (Italy).  She took a Ph.D. in Applied Economics at the Department of Economic, Statistical and Financial Sciences “Giovanni Anania”, the University of Calabria in 2009. She also is Research Associate at UMR MOISA, INRA, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, CIHEAM-IAMM, Montpellier SupAgro, France. Her research focuses on the effects of tariff and non-tariff measures such as health, phytosanitary and technical regulations on trade; International trade in the agri-food sector; Preferential Trade Agreements, European Trade Policies; EU Agricultural and Environmental Policies. Her activities also focused on consumers’ attitudes towards genetically modified food.

 

Vincenzo Lenucci

Director of Economic Department and Statistical Office at Confederazione Generale dell’Agricoltura Italiana (Confagricoltura) the Italian farmers’ organization with the longest tradition. His main responsibilities include EU and international aspects of agricultural policy and rural development, including also the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU.

 

Prof. Dr. Mario Pezzotti

Mario Pezzotti is Director of the Research and Innovation Center at the Fondazione Edmund Mach in San Michele all’Adige and Professor for Agricultural Genetics at the University of Verona. In the past fifteen years, he and his research group have developed modern knowledge and technologies for gene expression analysis and the application of “omics” sciences to the study of genotype-environment interaction in grapevines, berry ripening biology and post-harvest wilting. His many memberships include the Academy of Agriculture, Science and Letters of Verona, the Georgofili Academy, and the President’s Committee on Biosafety, Biotechnology and Life Sciences.

 

Prof. Dr. Sara Zenoni

Sara Zenoni is Associate Professor at the University of Verona with a research focus on the genetics of grapevine. In 2020, she was co-founder of the start-up company EdiVite s.r.l. The company aims at the development and marketing of improved grapevine varieties in response to the mounting needs for a more economically and environmentally sustainable viticulture in Italy. In order to develop such varieties, various methods of genome editing are applied.

 

Dr. Armin Spök

Armin Spök is a Senior Scientist and Lecturer at the Science, Technology and Society Unit of Graz University of Technology in Austria with more than 20 years experience in technology assessment and governance research related to agricultural biotechnology. He was also expert advisor in various national contexts as well as the international level (EU, OECD, UN). In the CHIC project, he is work package leader for stakeholder engagement, which includes research on social acceptability of genome edited plants.

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Health Wealth: trading commodity for common wealth through “good food”
27 OCTOBER 2022 // 13:30 - 15:00

 

The CHIC research project demonstrates the importance of innovation in agriculture. For millennia, humanity has experimented with plants to develop methods of increasing their nutritional value, resistance to pests, speed of growth, reduce water dependency and increase tolerance to environmental stress. This ancient practice continues today, but New Plant Breeding Techniques using CRISPR-Cas, gene editing make these procedures considerably faster and more accessible, giving rise to both new promises and fears. For years scientists have been working in laboratories to find solutions to the issue of global hunger, environmental crises (the devastating impact of climate change) and to bridge the agro- ecological wealth gap. Today we are at a key moment in the history of our evolution and we have high expectations of scientists. We believe that the effective application of science and technology to develop advanced agricultural systems could solve not only hunger but a wide array of global issues. We are keen to take this fundamental step into our new future and, with the help of societal acceptance and the administrative support, a healthier wealth/food system for all.

 

Panelists: Prof. Dr. Dirk Bosch, Dr. Matthew de Roode, Prof. Rob Kesseler, Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Krawiec, Rafael Raddi

Moderator: Dr. Katja Cankar

 

Prof. Dr. Dirk Bosch

Dirk Bosch is a scientist with primary research interest in unravelling biosynthetic pathways that lead to the immense biodiversity of molecules found in the plant kingdom. Using this knowledge, he aims to bring innovation to the agro-food and health sectors. He has ca. 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is inventor on 19 independent patent applications. 

Dirk Bosch studied chemistry, did his PhD in microbiology at the Universities of Leiden and Utrecht respectively, and worked as PostDoc at Plant Genetic Systems in Ghent. He is currently Team Leader at Wageningen University and Research and coordinator of the EU-CHIC project.

 

Dr. Matthew de Roode

Matthew de Roode (Rotterdam, January 20, 1967) is manager of innovation at Sensus (part of Royal Cosun), a Dutch agricultural cooperative focusing on the production of food and feed ingredients. He was educated in chemical- and bioprocess engineering and after his PhD he has been working as an innovation manager in the cosmetic- and food industry. Together with his fellow innovators at Sensus, the innovations cover the supply chain from agriculture, process engineering and healthy food ingredients. In project CHIC, his role was to give input on the potential of new plant breeding techniques in chicory from a commercial perspective.

 

Prof. Rob Kesseler

Rob Kesseler is a visual artist, Emeritus Professor of Arts, Design & Science at Central Saint Martins, London and Ambassador for the Royal Microscopical Society. For over twenty years, he has worked with botanical scientists and molecular biologists around the world to explore the living world at a microscopic level.  Using a range of complex microscopy processes, he uses a sophisticated combination of hand, eye and intuition to create intense large format photographs and videos that captivate the viewer and extend the traditions of botanical art into a contemporary field. Collaborators include The Jodrell Laboratory Kew, The John Innes Centre, Norwich, MRC Cambridge and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany, Oxford Instruments. Website: www.robkesseler.co.uk

 

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Krawiec

Krzysztof Krawiec is a Professor of Computer Science at Poznan University of Technology, Poland, and scientific director of Hylomorph Solutions Ltd, UK. His research areas include artificial intelligence, in particular machine learning and evolutionary computation, including applications in medicine and image analysis. Krzysztof co-authored over 140 publications on the above and related topics and is an associate editor of Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines journal. He received the Fulbright Senior Advanced Research Award and was a visiting professor at University of California and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He serves as an advisor to Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence in Europe ( See CLAIRE) and co-founded Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning (See CAMIL Research), which is part of the EU Horizon 2020 Foundations of Trustworthy AI project (See more).

 

Rafael Raddi

Rafael Raddi studied Exhibition and Museum Management at the Technical University of Munich and the Institute of Arts at Harvard University – MA in Art History, Economics and Political Science at the LMU University in Munich. He also did specialized courses in Organizations at King’s Kollege University, London – Museum Management by Kerschensteiner Kolleg – Deutsches Museum. He is a consultant at the German Parliamentary Commission for Culture and Media (CDU/CSU Fraktion) and served as external referent for sustainable development area at OECD. As CEO of the Institute Plano Plano Cultural in Brasilia he organized several international art and education exhibitions. He is currently President of the Giuseppe Raddi Committee. His objectives are to support and develop strategies for the implementation of projects aimed at scientific research in the areas of exact and natural sciences and environmental education programs involving Biodiversity and Arts with emphasis on Biological Sciences and Biophysics. He is a member of Association of German Art Historians and Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research.

 

Dr. Katja Cankar

Katarina Cankar is a scientist working at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. Her research interest lies in plant compounds that give plants special properties, such as plant protection, flavor & fragrance, color or human health promotion. In the CHIC project, Katarina is involved in gene editing of chicory for enhancement of chicory to produce improved food fibers and healthy terpenes.

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Hybridizations between nature and culture: dialogues on the future in philosophy, art and design
29 OCTOBER 2022 // 10:00 - 12:00

 

The panel by NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti aims to highlight the interconnections between nature and culture in our complex present time, integrating a philosophical reading with experiences generated through artistic practices, curatorship and design. In a moment of planetary crisis at different levels and scales, that has received – among many other names – that of the geological era of the Anthropocene, it is meaningful to observe that for some time now a number of philosophers, scientists, artists, researchers have been looking at the vegetal world, not only deconstructing common ideas about plants, but also as a possible model of co-existence and social re-organisation. Scholar and NABA lecturer Gabriela Galati aims, through a speculative and non-linear approach, to unfold new ways of seeing the world to propose ways to cope with it and maybe even mitigate these effects in order to open the possibility of a future for most species. Design curator, researcher and lecturer Angela Rui’s presentation moves from the premise that whether biotic or not, matter in all forms includes the embodiment of the world: a material “network” of meanings, properties and processes, in which human and non-human actors are interconnected. The contribution of philosopher and NABA lecturer Leonardo Caffo, focusing on the Contemporary Posthuman, follows a conceptual journey with practical steps for putting philosophy into practice, by drawing on philosophy, design, art, and architecture.

 

Panelists: Prof. Dr. Leonardo Caffo, Prof. Dr. Gabriela Galati (NABA Lecturers), Dr. Angela Rui

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Silvia Simoncelli, NABA Head of Education – Rome 

 

Prof. Dr. Leonardo Caffo

Leonardo Caffo (Catania, 1988) is Lecturer at NABA Campus in Milan. He curated the Public Program at the Milan Triennale in 2020, and taught Theoretical Philosophy at the Polytechnic University of Turin. In 2015 he won the Frascati National Prize for Philosophy. He collaborates with Rai Radio 3 and the Corriere della Sera. Among his books: La vita di ogni giorno (Einaudi, 2016), Fragile umanità (Einaudi, 2017), Il cane e il filosofo (Mondadori, 2020), Essere giovani (Ponte alle Grazie, 2021).

 

Prof. Dr. Gabriela Galati

Prof. Dr. Gabriela Galati is a scholar and gallerist. She is Lecturer at NABA Campus in Milan and at IED, Turin. She has published “Duchamp Meets Turing: Arte, modernismo, postumano” (Postmedia Books, 2017), and the volume “Ecologie complesse: pensare l’arte oltre l’umano” (Meltemi 2021). She regularly collaborates with AdVersus, Leonardo Reviews / Leonardo Journal (The MIT Press) and Acoustic Space Journal for scientific publications. She edited for Mimesis Scenari the issues # 10 and # 11 dedicated to art and posthuman theory, and the first Italian translation of a book by media theorist Joanna Zylinska, “The End of Man. For a feminist counter- apocalypse” (Rogas 2021). She is co-founder of the contemporary art gallery IPERCUBO and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Plymouth.

 

Dr. Angela Rui

Angela Rui, PhD in Exhibition Design, is a curator and design researcher based in Milan. She is passionate about the design counterculture, she taught at the School of Design (Politecnico di Milano) and she was a Lecturer in the Master of Interior Design program at NABA Campus in Milan. She believes that design today positions itself as a critical practice that problematises conventional ways of inhabiting and experiencing the world in order to redesign notions of the collective common good, regenerative and convivial practices, as well as human and non-human justice. She recently curated the exhibition and program “AQUARIA. Or the Illusion of a Boxed Sea” at MAAT (Lisbon, 2021); she co-curated “I See That I See What You Not See”, the Dutch national participation for Broken Nature –  XXII Milan Triennale (2019) and “Faraway So Close” – the 25th Ljubljana Design Biennale (2017). She currently teaches at the Design Academy Eindhoven (NL) GEO-Design master’s course and Criticism of the Contemporary at San Marino University of Design. 

 

Prof. Dr. Silvia Simoncelli

Silvia Simoncelli is an art historian and curator. Since 2019 she is Head of Education of the NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti campus in Rome, and she was previously Lecturer and Course Leader of the Academic Master in Contemporary Art Markets, in the Academy’s Campus in Milan. She has lectured at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, and Brera Art Academy; she worked as a research assistant for the Master in Curating at the Zürcher Hochschule der Kunste. She participated and organised conferences in London (ICA), Zurich (Migros Museum), Berlin (Technische Universität), Milan (NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, University Milano-Bicocca) and curated exhibitions in Zurich, Milan and São Paulo.

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Universal Gardens in Prima Porta
30 OCTOBER 2022 // 14:00 - 15:30

 

We present an actual botanical and urban regeneration project ongoing in the Roman periphery. Universal Gardens is a case study of artistic and academic method fusing to support biodiversity. An innovative collaboration between the public and private sectors, Universal Gardens is rooted in Rome, and provides ASN attendees with a local and regional inflection to “Our Bio-Tech Planet.” We speak of a project to replant the ancient garden of Livia, wife of Augustus, in Prima Porta, Rome, based on archeo-botanical methods; we show the responses of contemporary artists to the world-famous fresco cycle in the Museo Nazionale Romano, depicting a plant kingdom without human presence; we introduce research on past and present by august voices from premiere institutions.

 

Panelists: Karolina Liusikova, Flavia Prestininzi, Bernard Anson Silj

Moderator: Dr. Cornelia Lauf

 

Karolina Liusikova

Karolina Liusikova (b. 1987, Minsk), is an artist and cultural producer based in Rome. Of Tatar origin, Liusikova explores cultural themes that can be said to date back to the Assyro-Babylonian times, while studies in particle physics enable her to project her knowledge base into the far future.  An immense manual dexterity has yielded essays in ceramics, etching, engraving, sculpture, computer graphics, and many other media.  Liusikova is the founder of TiberTatar, a project of wearable art editions, collected by the music and art scene.  She is currently developing a series of engravings at the studio of Maestro Luigi Ferranti, master engraver, Rome.  For Universal Gardens, Liusikova has managed project coordination and contributed to the Artist’s Herbarium. 

 

Flavia Prestininzi 

Flavia Prestininzi (b. 1987 Rome) is an independent curator based in Rome and a PhD candidate in “Medium and Mediality” at eCampus University. She took an MA in Philosophy at University of Roma Tre, and in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Art UAL, London. In 2017, she started orginizing collective exhibition in Italy, Spain, UK and Iran working with her intenrational curatorial collective active until 2020. She has woked with national and internationa foundations and galleries, where she developed a strong interest in the relation between art, sience and nature. Mostly focused on supporting emergent and international artists, she believes that the curatorial process is strongly linked to a collective and shared knowledge, where different subjects and fields can be readdressed and redefined through the lens of art. She is currently researching about this horizontal and multidisciplinary approach, that can be said as Rhizomatic, within her PhD practice based research.

 

Bernard Anson Silj

Bernard Anson Silj., author, visionary, storyteller, is a scion of well-known Italian and British families.  His maternal side were the nineteenth century landowners of a vast swathe of land north of Rome, including the fabled villa of Livia.  His paternal side includes the founders of The Dilettanti Society, and Admiral George Lord Anson, one of the greatest British explorers, whose life inspired R.L. Stevenson’s Treasure Island.  Anson is founding commissioner of a cultural and botanical project to requalify Prima Porta, a peripheral area in Rome where his family runs Villa Anson Silj, a hotel and retreat.  He has made this heritage estate into an observatory of Story Gardens –  based in Edinburgh, Scotland – a networked map of the world that seeks to link global myths and story through time and subject matter, thus creating commonality and unity for the human condition.

 

Sztuka i Dokumentacja / Art and Documentation is an Open Access journal of scholarly profile, published by the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Since its establishment in 2009 the journal’s mission has been to be an open archive that will enrich our understanding of art and bridge the worlds of art and scholarship. The founder and editor-in-chief of the journal is Dr. Łukasz Guzek. He is an art historian whose field of research is contemporary art, in particular conceptualism and performance.

 

Dr. Cornelia Lauf

Cornelia Lauf, Ph.D. (b. 1961, Freiburg)  is an independent curator and art historian. She holds a doctorate from Columbia University, and currently teaches in the MA Program of Art History at John Cabot University, Rome. Dr. Lauf is the author of numerous book publications in the field of contemporary art, and has a distinguished career in museum, public, and private sector work. Dr. Lauf develops projects which address the key issues of the field, and is known for her close dialogue with major contemporary artists.  

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“Patterns. Decisions. Behaviour. How to survive in an increasingly competitive world?” by Dr. Alex Krawiec
25 OCTOBER 2022 // 13:30 - 15:00

 

Our relationship to the natural world determined our social evolution, allowing us to better understand the world and ourselves. By observing patterns, we have initiated a process of learning and development that continues until today. In the 21st century, Homo Sapiens faces another wave of changes, for which we need new skills and directions. In this talk, Dr Krawiec will address some of the current socio-economic issues which impact our everyday life; our job identity, sense of belonging and connectedness. She will touch upon problems related to modern leadership challenges and the future of work, drawing upon adaptation in the light of the complex adaptive systems.

 

Dr. Alex Krawiec

Dr. Alexandra Krawiec obtained her PhD in economics from the University of Economics in Poznań, Poland. Her research focuses on organisational culture and the introduction of change in the context of women’s leadership and system theory.  Alex has also worked for various media outlets and co-authored a number of media projects. She has collaborated with many respected institutions including: the ERC (European Research Council), RSA (Royal Society of Arts), the ASF (Austrian Space Forum), MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), The 92nd Street Y, the Polish Academy of Science, and others. She was a keynote TEDx speaker. Since 2011, Alex has been representing the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) as its Polish Connector.

 

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann

Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann is a professor at the University of Arts in Poznań and leader of the Studio for Transdisciplinary Projects & Research Media, Joanna Hoffmann is an artist and academic. She is co-founder of the Art & Science Synergy Foundation and Chair of the Art & Science Node in Berlin. Her artistic works have been presented in many exhibitions and festivals including at the DANA Centre/Science Museum and MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in London, Transmediale Festival for Digital Culture in Berlin, MUSE New York, and the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. Joanna was awarded the Gloria Artis medal by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland. See website

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“Science and grand societal problems: facts, risks, values, narratives, experts, politicians, and YOU” by Prof. Dr. Janusz Bujnicki
27 OCTOBER 2022 // 15:00 - 16:30

 

Can science influence serious decision-making to help solve the problems that really matter to humanity?

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realize that we don’t know everything. The success of vaccines has shown that scientific knowledge can save lives, while exposing the distrust and fear of simple solutions to complex societal problems. There has been an increased demand for information that is considered scientific. The media have been flooded with comments from experts presenting their diagnoses, explaining their own findings, commenting on the findings of other scientists, predicting the future, offering solutions, and arguing to conduct new research.

Is a scientist who makes a comment in the media an objective scientific advisor? How can science help to make really important decisions about the future of our society? What issues need to be addressed with the help of science, and what issues should be left to policymakers? How can we better use science to help solve the problems that really matter to humanity?

 

Prof. Janusz M. Bujnicki

International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (website), former member and current expert of the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (website).

 

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann

Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann is a professor at the University of Arts in Poznań and leader of the Studio for Transdisciplinary Projects & Research Media, Joanna Hoffmann is an artist and academic. She is co-founder of the Art & Science Synergy Foundation and Chair of the Art & Science Node in Berlin. Her artistic works have been presented in many exhibitions and festivals including at the DANA Centre/Science Museum and MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in London, Transmediale Festival for Digital Culture in Berlin, MUSE New York, and the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. Joanna was awarded the Gloria Artis medal by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland. See website

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"Fascination of Plants Day" by Dr. Valeria Bianciotto (EPSO, CNR)
28 OCTOBER 2022 // 14:00 - 15:00

 

Plants are everywhere on Earth. We depend on plants for our survival but often, due to their silence and lack of movement, they appear invisible to many of us. Plants determine the characteristics of the atmosphere, control the flow of water and regional climates, supply our food as well as many medicines and other materials and, finally, they enrich our lives with the beauty of their shapes and colors. For these reasons, the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) organizes a global event, named Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD), that outlines the importance of plants. This event aims to show children, students, families, citizens, through exhibitions, conferences and laboratories, how plants are useful, beautiful and essential for our life. FoPD aspires to increase awareness and stimulate thoughts and actions to protect plant biodiversity, particularly in this time of continued, radical disturbance of natural habitats. This special day puts the fascinating world of plants in the spotlight, recalling that plant science is of critical significance to the social, environmental and economic landscape now and in the future.

 

Dr. Valeria Bianciotto

Valeria Bianciotto is a Senior Researcher Scientist at the Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP) – CNR. Her scientific interest has always been focused on a special group of soil fungi, the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) that live in symbiosis with the plant roots. In the last decade, she has undertaken the study of the biodiversity of soil microbiota in natural and agricultural ecosystems using a metagenomic approach. In particular, her research is focused on the analyses of soil fungal communities and their potential for use as bio-fertilizers and bio-stimulants of plants. She is author of more than eighty articles and chapters in international journals and books. She has given invited lectures at congresses of Mycology, Microbiology, Biotechnology and at a Gordon Research Conference and, since 2018, she is National co-coordinator of the Fascination of Plants Day launched by EPSO (European Plant Science Organization).

 

Moderator: Dr. Lara Bruno

Lara Bruno is a curator and sinologist with a PhD in intercultural relations and international management from the University of International Studies of Rome (UNINT). Her research interests include the relation between body, mind and language and the socio-cultural impact of multilingual communication. Her background spans more than 7 years of combined experience in Chinese interpreting and teaching, contemporary art and project management. After a long period in Asia, Lara moved to Berlin, where she currently works as one of two resident curators at Art & Science Node. 

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“Making sense in the wild: How Artificial Intelligence transforms our understanding of biological systems” by Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Krawiec
28 OCTOBER 2022 // 15:00 - 16:00

 

While our understanding of biological systems continuously improves, we learn with each year how little we still know about them. Ecosystems and biological phenomena once thought to be known, turn out to be much more complex when observed through the lens of new measurements, or when put in the context of other systems.

How can we make sense of that reality, and keep building a coherent understanding? In this talk, I will share a few insights into how the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning facilitate this process, by helping us detect relevant patterns in data, discover causal relationships, and build human-understandable models of observed phenomena.

 

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Krawiec

Krzysztof Krawiec is a Professor of Computer Science at Poznan University of Technology, Poland, and scientific director of Hylomorph Solutions Ltd, UK. His research areas include artificial intelligence, in particular machine learning and evolutionary computation, including applications in medicine and image analysis. Krzysztof co-authored over 140 publications on the above and related topics and is an associate editor of Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines journal. He received the Fulbright Senior Advanced Research Award and was a visiting professor at University of California and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He serves as an advisor to Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence in Europe (CLAIRE) and co-founded Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning, which is part of the EU Horizon 2020 Foundations of Trustworthy AI project (TAILOR).

 

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann

Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann is a professor at the University of Arts in Poznań and leader of the Studio for Transdisciplinary Projects & Research Media, Joanna Hoffmann is an artist and academic. She is co-founder of the Art & Science Synergy Foundation and Chair of the Art & Science Node in Berlin. Her artistic works have been presented in many exhibitions and festivals including at the DANA Centre/Science Museum and MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in London, Transmediale Festival for Digital Culture in Berlin, MUSE New York, and the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. Joanna was awarded the Gloria Artis medal by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland. See website

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“Rhizosphere - the Big Network of Small Worlds” by Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann
29 OCTOBER 2022 // 12:00 - 13:00

As revolutionary advances in science and technology make the world-understanding   increasingly difficult, complex, initiatives that combine science and art become more essential than ever for the Future of Plants & Humans.

 “Rhizosphere: The Big Network of Small Worlds” is a supportive project that brings together art, science and education. Inspired by plant network strategies, “the Wood Wide Web”, it aims at opening closed academic/educational structures, expanding communication and exchange of knowledge and experiences “beyond divisions”. In biology, Rhizosphere is an underground network, created by roots, rhizomes, fungi and microorganisms. It is a place for the exchange of signals/information and resources such as water, minerals, and products of photosynthesis. These networks, based on symbiotic associations, diversity, and interdependence, have been allowing plants to grow, spread, and survive in adverse conditions for millions of years.

Rhizosphere, as a model of a sustainable environment, with an operating system based on the „small worlds network”, has been inspiring our imagination for a better, more open and prosperous global future. “Rhizosphere: The Big Network of Small Worlds” is built on a collaboration between the Studio for Transdisciplinary Projects and Research I lead at the University of Arts in Poznan and the Faculty of Biology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, with the support of Art & Science Node. Started in 2018 the project is rapidly expanding its interdisciplinary and international network proving that art can be a driving force behind deep structural changes. As a form of social communication, art helps make knowledge more democratic and create relationships between individuals and the world around them, which in turn raises awareness of the transformations taking place in the world and engagement in such changes.

 

Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann

Prof. Dr. Joanna Hoffmann is a professor at the University of Arts in Poznań and leader of the Studio for Transdisciplinary Projects & Research Media, Joanna Hoffmann is an artist and academic. She is co-founder of the Art & Science Synergy Foundation and Chair of the Art & Science Node in Berlin. Her artistic works have been presented in many exhibitions and festivals including at the DANA Centre/Science Museum and MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in London, Transmediale Festival for Digital Culture in Berlin, MUSE New York, and the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. Joanna was awarded the Gloria Artis medal by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland. See website

 

Moderator: Juliette Wallace

Juliette Wallace is a curator, journalist and performer with degrees in art history (BA) and curating the museum (MA), both from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London (where she was born). Since her move to Berlin in 2015 Juliette has founded her own multidisciplinary curating organisation, Tundo Curating, which has put on art/science/music shows including “Voice in the Mirror”, “Harmonic Ratios” and “An Anatomy of Art”. Juliette is currently one of two resident curators at the art and science organisation, Art & Science Node Berlin. She is also a multi-instrumentalist and is the frontwoman of the Berlin post-punk band, Kamoos. 

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