VIB.BE
en
About
en
About

Art & science collaborations

Beyond regular science communication

Science and society are not separate entities. Scientific research is embedded in culture and society, which in turn are shaped by science. 

To facilitate this interaction, VIB participated in the ‘Studiotopia' artist in residence program, a collaboration with Bozar and Gluon from 2019-2022. Two artists - Sandra Lorenzi & Kuang-Yi Ku - visited the labs of project partners of the 'Soy in Flanders' and 'Pointillism' projects (and vice versa) to find inspiration. This lead to the creation of three artworks inspired by VIB science, which were part of the exhibition in Bozar Brussels in 2022.

In 2024, VIB participated in another art & science project called 'S+T+arts in the city', specifically for the 'value of care' hosted by Gluon. Here, artist Roel Heremans gathered with experts in science and technology to deliver an artwork inspired by the journey of a cancer patient during treatment.

Watch the teaser video that was made for the Studiotopia exhibition in Bozar Brussels in 2022.

Participating scientists and artists

Kuang-Yi Ku
Kuang-Yi Ku
Artist, Gluon for Studiotopia
Meet Kuang-Yi
Sandra Lorenzi
Sandra Lorenzi
Artist, Bozar for Studiotopia
Meet Sandra
Sofie Goormachtig
Prof. Sofie Goormachtig
VIB Group Leader / Expert for Studiotopia
VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
Meet Prof. Goormachtig
Jean-Christophe Marine
Prof. Jean-Christoph Marine
VIB Group Leader / Expert for Studiotopia
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology
Meet Prof. Marine
Roel Heremans
Roel Heremans
Artists, Gluon for S+T+arts in the city
Meet Roel
“The artist-in-residency programme is a dive into the unknown, an ultimate form of interdisciplinarity through languages, materials, aesthetics and ethics of two very different but incredibly creative disciplines. We believe that this interaction will give rise to a higher level of creativity and generate visibility and dialogue with stakeholders and the general public.”
Sofie Bekaert
Sofie Bekaert
Manager translational program (until 2023)

The Studiotopia project is cofinanced by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.

The S+T+ARTS in the city project is funded by the European Union under grant agreement LC-01984766 under DG CNECT's STARTS - Science, Technology and Arts initiative.