Full STEAM ahead
Cape Breton University conference connects art, science
Educators, academics, students, organizations and people interested in the creative economy around the island will want to attend the conference at Cape Breton University that brings together the concepts of art and science.
The ArtSci STEAM conference is part of Avatars of Human Creativity: Exploring the ARTSCI Connect, and is being held Saturday, Nov. 18 at CBU. The conference will include artists and speakers who incorporate aspects of science, technology and the natural world into their works.
The conference also includes access to real life examples at the ArtSci exhibit in the CBU Art Gallery. The exhibit opens on Nov. 17 and will run until Feb. 2 and features artists Jordan Bennett, Elizabeth Goluch and Jennifer Willet. It will be of interest to members of the general public, educators and school groups.
The conference ties together the intersection of art and science, and the Mi’kmaq guiding principle of Two-Eyed Seeing, which brings together Indigenous knowledge and Western science.
Two-Eyed Seeing is often communicated through visual arts. Conference attendees will learn of Elder Albert Marshall’s hope that the intersection of art and science can be seen in a similar light to the bringing together of Indigenous and Western worldviews.
STEM is science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Art is rapidly being incorporated into educational practices as a way of creative learning, known as STEAM.
The ArtSci STEAM conference will provide an opportunity to discuss how to bring art into the STEM fields as an approach to teaching and learning, and for the promotion of creativity and innovation.
Among other things, conference participants will be able to visit a lab in the gallery and see how Jennifer Willet, a leader in bioart research from the University of Windsor, cultivates algae while making music.
Gerald Gloade of the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre will talk about how he uses his artistic practice and the principles of TwoEyed Seeing to convey ecological knowledge of Mi’kma’ki.
Conference participants can also learn about neuroasthetics from McMaster University professor Sally McKay and hear about how the human brain actually perceives art.
Cape Breton Island is widely populated with creative people involved in many fields in the arts, environment and technology sectors. This conference is designed to have something for everybody and to create a public discussion about where the connection is between the two seemingly opposite disciplines of art and science.
Scientists and artists bring different, but often complementary, knowledge, creativities and perspectives to a question. That is why the artscience connection can spark new ideas in industry and research, and enhance education. It all starts with individuals who are curious and open to exploring alternate means of problem solving and creativity.
For instance, the keynote speaker at the conference is Andrew Pelling, professor of physics and biology from the University of Ottawa, who calls himself a “biohacker.” He finds creative solutions – like growing human cells on fruit – to scientific problems and will talk about unique and interesting combinations of art, technology and science in his interdisciplinary lab and company.
CBU is already actively blending art and science in the environment through its new interdisciplinary degree program. People at the university are exploring how to integrate different ways of learning and different ways of knowing in the School of Arts and Social Sciences, the School of Science and Technology, and Unama’ki College.
In Albert Einstein’s words, “The greatest scientists are artists as well.”
There is increasing emphasis on STEM learning and the growing awareness that innovation in the knowledge economy requires an understanding of the arts as well. Full STEAM ahead!
This project was made possible with support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Cape Breton University and The Lumiére Arts Festival Association.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/ybkk26tn for more details and to register.