Art&HENVI 2011–2012

Art&Henvi

Art&HENVI
Science and technology are amongst the most potent forces transforming life on earth, influencing and shaping our society on every leve, resulting in the need to approach scientific, social, economical and cultural issues from a plurality of directions. The recognized benefits of interdisciplinary work leads as well to an increasing development of collaborations between artists and scientists especially in the area of environmental research, biology and biotechnology. These collaborations are motivated by a mutual interest and concern towards the transformations of our everyday life and the environment we live in and depend on. Art and science are both practices based on intellectual creativity which shape our experience, perception and understanding of the world. The Finnish Society of Bioart (Suomen Biotatieen seura ry http://bioartsociety.fi) together with Helsinki University Centre For Environmental Research (HENVI http://www.helsinki.fi/henvi/index.htm ) created the project Art&HENVI to facilitate and interdisciplinary project between professional artists and the newly establish HENVI research groups.

After an international call 4 artists (Laura Beloff/ Finland, Tuula Närhinen/ Finland, Mari Keski-Korsu/ Finland, Ursula Damm/ Germany)  have been chosen by an international jury.

Art&HENVI enables 4 artists to attach themselves to and collaborate for approximately one year with the current HENVI research programmes which are:
Forest and Climate Change: Optimizing forest management and conservation to account for multiple interactions with the climate and artist Mari keski-Korsu
ENSURE - Enhancing Sustainable Urban Development through Ecosystem Services  and artists Laura Beloff and Ursula Damm
MULTIDOM: Multidisciplinary assessment of the role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the environmental status of the Baltic Sea and artist Tuula Närhinen

The result of the collaboration will be an artwork (installation, performance or participatory) which will be first presented during the Helsinki University program for the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 at the Science Corner with the opening date 22nd of November.
The projects will experimentally or critically engage with the thematics and/or science of the HENVI research programmes and specifically addresses socio-cultural aspects of the scientific research undertaken in the programmes. The main emphasis is to create artworks which are able to communicate environmental research to create public awareness about environmental research and its topics.