Symbiotica

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1 SymbioticA 'The Art and Science Collaborative Research Laboratory'
2 About
3 Activities
4 History
5 References
6 External links

[edit] SymbioticA 'The Art and Science Collaborative Research Laboratory'

[edit] About

SymbioticA is an artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning and critique of life sciences. Located within the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia, it is the first research laboratory of its kind, in that it enables artists to engage in wet biology practices in a biological science department.

SymbioticA provides a situation where interdisciplinary research and other knowledge and concept generating activities take place. Opportunities are presented to researchers to pursue curiosity-based explorations free of the demands and constraints associated with the current culture of scientific research, while still complying with regulations. SymbioticA offers a new means of artistic inquiry, one in which artists actively use the tools and technologies of science, not just to comment about them, but also to explore their possibilities.

As a mark of international recognition of its activities, SymbioticA was awarded the inaugural Golden Nica for Hybrid Arts in the Prix Ars Electronica. An international jury chose SymbioticA from more than 400 entrants as the organisation that epitomised a space that transgresses boundaries and disciplines, describing it as an artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning and critique of life sciences.

[edit] Activities

SymbioticA hosts residents; runs workshops, Masters and Undergraduate units; produces exhibitions; and organises talks and conferences.

[edit] History

SymbioticA was established in 2000 by cell biologist Professor Miranda Grounds, neuroscientist Professor Stuart Bunt and artist Oron Catts. Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr from the Tissue Culture and Art Project (TC&A) had been working as artists/researchers in residence in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology and the Lions Eye Institute since 1996. The shared vision of Grounds, Bunt and Catts for a permanent space for artists to engage with science in various capacities led to the building of the artists’ studio/lab on the second floor of the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia.