Arts Catalyst commissions and produces new artists' projects that engage with science and technology in society. We explore, generate and share ideas around art, science and society through exhibitions, events, conferences, workshops, publishing, education and research.
Arts Catalyst's Centre for Art, Science and Technology (74-76 Cromer Street, London WC1H 8DR) opened to the public in January 2016. This followed more than 20 years as a non building-based agency, working in partnership with venues across the UK and internationally. The Centre acts as the 'hub' of our activities, and we continue to develop and show projects in a range of venues, and often site-specific. Arts Catalyst's commissions and exhibitions have been shown at many international museums and galleries in the UK and internationally.
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We are a funded client of Arts Council England (National Portfolio Organisation) and receive grants, fees and donations from many different sources including the Wellcome Trust, European Commission, and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
Artists and projects are usually commissioned as a result of in-depth curatorial research. There are occasional open calls for submissions. Commissioning opportunities for unsolicited applications are extremely limited, as the vast majority of our projects are self-initiated. Opportunities to get involved with workshops and conferences are more common and enable relationships to develop and for us to get to know artists' work.
No. Arts Catalyst is a commissioning, not a funding, organisation. We raise funds and resources to enable the projects we commission.
We can provide occasional production and marketing paid internships, as well as work experience and volunteer opportunities. These opportunities are advertised via our newsletter, social media channels and on our opportunities page.
Arts Catalyst has worked with primary, secondary and special schools for many years. We currently do not have a regular schools programme, but if you are a school or teacher interested in working with us, please contact us at admin@artscatalyst.org. We are particularly interested in developing collaborations with groups and organisations working outside formal learning.
We want to work with people of all ages and backgrounds. We organise projects with families, informal learning groups, colleges of higher education, young people, older people, artists, scientists and others. We aim to enable curious minds to have new experiences and encounters, and creative learning opportunities, that transcend the traditional boundaries of art and science.
This varies significantly from project to project. Some artists have created in-depth, long-term partnerships with particular scientists and these collaborations are critical to their work, for example artist Brandon Ballengee who undertakes primary biological research as part of his artistic practice. Others do their own amateur scientific research or use scientific processes, having occasional contact or collaborations with professional scientists. Some artists undertake residencies in science organisations or have become part of a interdisciplinary research group, such as the Gravity Zero project with choreographer Kitsou Dubois and the Biodynamics Group at Imperial College. And then there are artists who do not work directly with scientists at all, but are interested in the cultural milieu of science or in the relationship of science to society. What Arts Catalyst asks is that an artist's project experimentally or critically engages with science and our technoscientific culture, and this process can take many forms.
This is a complex question encompassing a vast arena of activity, of which Arts Catalyst explores only particular aspects. Arts Catalyst's particular interests are to encourage artistic and interdisciplinary experimentation, to contribute to a critical discourse between contemporary art and science-society issues, and to promote democratisation of science and technology through cultural educational strategies.
Other intersections between art and science could be said to include scientific procedures to preserve art objects, the scientific analysis of the process of art making and appreciation, consciousness studies, art that uses science for inspiration, and interdisciplinary disciplines that incorporate aspects of art and science (e.g. design, architecture).
Arts Catalyst has published a range of books, many available as downloadable eBooks on our website, click here.
Our Artistic Director, Nicola Triscott, writes a blog on art, science, technology & society at www.nicolatriscott.org, and has published many articles and chapters, several of which can be accessed on Academia.
Other books we recommend:
JOURNALS
ARTICLES